A/N - Hello all. :) This is the part where I respond to reviews and such, so if you just want to get to the story, simply scroll past the bold/italic text until you've reached the next horizontal line.

Psudocode Samurai - "On your marks...

Get set...

FLIRT!

Couldn't resist :) sorry I didn't review earlier, but I didn't know this would be a story proper, seemed like a good one-shot to me so I left it at that :P

Sorry so many are being rude about your Anko, but as a guy that loves and studies Anko just as much I has to say you we're pretty spot on, to paraphrase another author she not the rose, she's the thorns, but still part of a lovely hole. In my mind, if I had to put a single 'word' to her it would be cock-tease (pardon my French, but there is no 'nice' way of saying that). She's not a slut, but she's not above teasing and driving a guy up the wall, and is playful as hell. The bluntness is just 'Tom-boy' to me, and it works quite well. I've known a lot of guys and girls that are quite similar to her in that regard, now that I think of it, most are ex military, they are mostly nice, but blunt and can appear standoff-ish, may be one reason I liked her so much when I first saw her in Naruto _

Anyway, just trying to encourage you a bit there, the assholes are always more vocal, until they meet me _. Hope to see more of this and the one with Kurenai :)"

My response - I agree with you 100%, and I'm glad we meet eye-to-eye on Anko's personality. :) But it was only one person that didn't enjoy how I portray Anko, so it's not like it was a lot lol, But either way, I don't really let anyone else's negative opinion get to me; it wont affect how or how fast I write my story, since it is MY story. But thanks so much for taking the time out to write your words of encouragement, and I'm glad you like the story so far! :D

Capt. Freedom - "i have to agree with Psudocode Samurai i have friends in every branch of Armed forces ranging from grunts to Special Ops and they all end up the same blunt and to the point hell i have even picked it up from them as well so i will have a bit of a lead on the guys i got to boot with lol. as for the guy saying your making her slutty i have seen way worse fics that make Anko give succubi a bad name

For those who don't know what that is here is the Definition for it- A succubus (plural succubi) is a female demon or supernatural being appearing in dreams, who takes the form of a human woman in order to seduce men, usually through sexual intercourse. The male counterpart is the incubus. Religious traditions hold that repeated intercourse with a succubus may result in the deterioration of health or even death.

As for how people deal with people dieing that are close to them like team mates it really does range from person to person for me i have lost a few people close to in my life, but me i have always been able to disconnect myself from the emotions that come with that stuff and some people call me an asshole for not feeling stuff and i have even been called a monster to my face it comes down to how the person was raised and how they were treated at a young age if they lived though a lot of hellish bull shit like i did tho i will say other people have had it worse then me, they learn to disconnect themselves just like Anko does and her being in T&I specialist she has to be able to do that to get what she wants and if you think about she used a form of interrogation called revise interrogation and a few others that i can't remember the name to them at this moment.

All i am saying is yes Anko is a bitch but she is the Bitch that cares more then people think she does. If you think about yes she can get lonely as well the training an T&I member goes though you have to be um-readable so you don't get played by the person you are interrogating and that makes it really hard for people to try to talk to you and some times avoid you all together trust me i know friend thought me what he learned and sense then a lot of people saty away from me because that can't read me.

so with this huge review i think i have proven my point about Anko for this story lol.

it is a great story and i can't wait to see the next chapter. keep it up and dont let assholes beat you down because they just want to try to make you feel bad."

My response - As with Psudocode Samurai, I agree with you 100% and am glad that you agree with me as well :) But I respect the fact that people have two sides of everything, so I don't take criticism to the heart. Everyone has their own opinion, and when it comes to making a story, it is my opinion that truly matters, so again, I don't retaliate too much with people's disagreements, even if they try to make me feel bad. But thank you so much for taking the time to write all that, and I'm happy that you enjoy the story! :D

"Oof!"

"Hah! Gotcha!"

"No way, you cheated!"

"How?"

"You used a shunshin!"

"Didn't Iruka and all the other people chasing you three years ago use shunshins too?"

"...Shut up."

Anko chuckled as she got off of Naruto's back, "Well, I was going to say something regarding this not being a challenge, but it actually was." She offers Naruto a hand to get up, "I chased you for about an hour, and I have to admit, you actually outsmarted me a few times."

Naruto used Anko's assistance to get off the ground. He gave a small grin and dusted himself off, "Well, I'm not as much of a prankster as I used to be, so I might have gotten a bit rusty."

The Jounin smirked, "In any case, I'll give you credit where it's due. Just be sure to be like this more often on the battlefield." She teased.

"Whatever." Said Naruto, "How about we do this again someday? Only next time, we can use jutsu." He proposed challengingly.

Anko could only accept a challenge like that, "Alright, you're on."

POOF.

Next to the pair, revealed Yamato via shunshin. Naruto and Anko weren't expecting him to pop up at a time like this, but neither jumped out of their skin at his sudden appearance.

"Naruto," The wood-syle user said to the blonde. "Come with me. Tsunade-sama wishes to speak to us."

Naruto immediately got a bit nervous as he said that, "Um... About what...?" He said in a tone that gave a hint as to whether or not it regarded the mission a couple of days ago.

Yamato shrugged, "I'm not a hundred percent sure, but she said it has to do with the spy mission two days ago."

"Shit..." Naruto mentally cursed. He really didn't want to face Tsunade. At least not right now.

He turned to Anko, "Um, I'll see you in a bit, Anko-sensei."

Anko nodded. With that, Naruto and Yamato vanished in a puff of smoke.

She then headed back to her apartment, wondering how Tsunade would react if her assumptions about Tsunade finding out the truth regarding that mission were true.

In the Hokage's office, Tsunade sat behind her desk, doing paperwork as she usually does. Shizune was beside her, holding Tonton, helping her leader with every Hokage's dreaded responsibility.

Then a knock came to her door.

"Enter." She called. Then, walking inside the office were Yamato and Naruto.

Naruto hesitated before he stepped in, trying to formulate any possible last-minute alibis to not see Tsunade right now. But as he forced himself into the room, he immediately looked at her to see her facial expression to predict what will happen next. From what he saw, Tsunade didn't seem angry at him.

But then again, Tsunade can be full of surprises.

Before Tsunade said anything, a certain silver-haired Jounin walked into the room. Naruto looked at him and saw that he's fully recovered from the hospital.

Tsunade looked at all three of them, "Good, all of you are here." She looked at Kakashi, "Do you feel better, Kakashi?"

He nodded, "Yes, good as new." He said.

"Good." She said, "So now that you are all here, it'd be best if I told you why I summoned you here."

This is where Naruto could feel his heart pounding.

Tsunade took a small pause, one that Naruto thought was longer than it actually was.

"Sai... Has been reported dead."

The three men in the room weren't prepared to hear such news.

Tsunade could tell from their expressions, especially Naruto's, that they wanted her to elaborate, "Sai's body has been found in what we would assume was Orochimaru's hideout. After inspecting Sai's wounds, it seems that he'd been finished off from a specific lightning style justu that you, Naruto and Kakashi, should be familiar with. The Chidori."

While Kakashi showed slight surprise, Naruto's eyes almost bulged from their sockets. It was a lot to take in; not only was Sai dead, but...

"It's almost a no brainer that Sasuke Uchiha was the one who killed him."

Sasuke. He hasn't heard about him since he first joined Orochimaru. And now, to hear that he killed Sai... Well, it's not like Sai was much of an ally to him anyway, he was the one who fled and tagged along with Orochimaru. But still, why would Sasuke kill him if they were on the same side?

Yamato vocalized Naruto's thoughts, "Why would Sasuke kill him, if Sai betrayed us and joined them? Was he a spy?"

"Yes." Tsunade answered, "After speaking with Danzo, he revealed that he sent Sai on a secret mission aside from the one I assigned him to. He was to secretly join Orochimaru, then assassinate Sasuke Uchiha once they met up at their hideout."

"But it seems that Sasuke was either too strong for Sai, or caught on to his plan." Says Kakashi. As Tsunade nodded to Kakashi's assumption, it was then that Naruto wondered how strong Sasuke had actually become over the years. Sai was in ANBU, and he knew he was not weak, rivaling with his own skills, although he didn't like to admit it. So to hear that Sai was eliminated on an assassination attempt, made him very curious as to how he'd stack up to Sasuke right now.

"So Sai didn't actually betray the Leaf. He was following under Danzo's orders." Said Yamato, "But why wouldn't Danzo inform you of this plan?"

"Because Danzo is a snake and likes to do things behind my back." Said Tsunade bitterly. "He knows that I wouldn't approve of such an idea. The only reason he told me the truth is because I know one of his top and most trusted ROOT members wouldn't betray Konoha that easily, unless Danzo was attempting to team up with Orochimaru through Sai, which is something I can definitely have him executed for."

The three nodded.

"And I'm still going to have a discussion with the council to discuss his punishment for not informing me of his plans."

"That does seem a bit treasonous, Tsunade-sama." Kakashi said, "And I'm assuming Sasuke and Orochimaru are no longer at that hideout."

"You assumed correctly, Kakashi." She said, "The whereabouts of those two are still unknown."

She then turned her eyes at Naruto.

"Naruto-kun, you're unusually quiet."

Naruto didn't know what to say. Not only was the news unexpected, but he still felt conflicted about being in the same room with a person he lied to.

Kakashi glimpsed at him, "It's probably a lot to take in. Especially given what happened recently."

Naruto inwardly thanked him for speaking up for him. Tsunade accepted Kakashi's statement.

"I see. Well, now that Sai is no longer with us, I'll give Squad 7 a few days off to recuperate, especially since Sakura's funeral will be held two days from now. Sai's will be held the following day after."

Naruto felt a lump starting to form in his throat.

"So that is all I have to inform you. You guys are dismissed." She says. The three males in the room nod and begin to exit.

"Hey, Naruto?" Tsunade calls, just as he was about to leave. His heart skipped a beat, and he hesitated to turn around and face her.

"...Yeah?"

Tsunade gives him a look of sympathy, "Everything is going to be alright."

Naruto hasn't looked her in the eye the whole time he was in the room, "I know. Thanks, Tsunade-sama."

With that, he left.

Tsunade frowned. Shizune leaned down to whisper to her, "Naruto didn't call you Baa-chan this time..."

Tsunade nodded, still looking out the door frame, "I know. That's what has me worried."

Shizune worried for Naruto as well, "He must still be really hurt over what happened... I hope he's okay..."

"Yeah," Tsunade mumbled, "Me too."

Just as Naruto exited through the front door of the Hokage tower, he spotted Kakashi on the other side, who was waiting for him.

"Yo, Naruto. We have to talk." He said. Naruto sighed inwardly. He wondered if Kakashi might have found out the truth as well.

"Um, sure. What's up?" Naruto replied.

"I have to speak to you about a number of things, actually. It'd be best if we discussed things at Training ground 7."

Naruto nodded, and the two remaining members of Squad Seven shunshin to the empty training ground. Kakashi sits on a tree stump, and motions for Naruto to sit on one beside his.

He looks at Naruto seriously, "I'm not going to beat around the bush here, Naruto. I know what happened on the spy mission."

Naruto sighed. He was ready for Kakashi to say something like that, "Yamato-sensei told you, didn't he?" Naruto felt no need to deny or lie about the truth any longer.

Kakashi nodded, "Yes."

Now Naruto knew never to trust Yamato with a secret again.

He sighed again, "Listen, it wasn't my fault. Orochimaru got me so angry, and I just lost control."

"I understand that." Said Kakashi, "But there isn't much you should be apologizing for."

"I know, but..." Naruto paused, "I still feel so guilty, like it was my fault. I didn't mean to do what I did, but it keeps eating at me."

"Naruto, relax." Kakashi replied, "It's not like something like this hasn't happened before."

"I've never killed a comrade before!" Naruto said, "This is the first time my actions have hurt those close to me, and as a result, Sakura is gone..." Naruto prevented a tear from falling. He thought he sorted things out through that talk with Anko.

Kakashi only looked at him, with a raised eyebrow, "...Naruto, are you saying that you killed Sakura?"

Naruto shook his head in confusion, "I don't know. I know the Kyuubi was really the one that did it, but I still can't help but feel like it was me, even though I didn't do it on purpose."

"...Huh." Kakashi mumbled, surprise evident in his voice.

Naruto looked at him, "What?"

"Last I heard, Orochimaru was the one that killed Sakura. Now you're saying that you did it?"

Naruto looked at him, confused, "Well, yeah... Isn't that what Yamato told you?"

"Yamato told me that you grew four tails into the Kyuubi state. He didn't tell me that you killed Sakura."

Naruto wanted to hang himself. Thanks to a misunderstanding, he accidentally confessed about what happened. His guilt over what happened had forced him to believe that Yamato broke their promise and told Kakashi the truth, when that clearly wasn't the case.

"Shit..." Naruto mumbled. On the plus side, at least he doesn't have to hide the secret from him anymore.

Kakashi gave a small, non-comical chuckle, "Well, I gotta say that you fell for a trap that I didn't even lay out. I thought that Orochimaru killing Sakura was what might have triggered you that far into the Kyuubi state." He said, "But now it all adds up. No wonder you seemed quieter than I thought you'd be."

Naruto didn't say anything.

Kakashi continued, "Well, I'm not going to blame you for what happened. You lost control, and something unfortunate occured because of it. There's no reason to beat yourself up."

"I know..." Naruto mumbled, "But it's hard not to blame myself."

"I know." Kakashi said, "I know exactly how you feel."

"You do?" Naruto asked, turning his head to look at him.

Kakashi nodded, "Yes. I'm going to tell you something that I never spoke to anyone else about." With Naruto's nod, Kakashi began, "I've killed a teammate of mine before, too."

Naruto's eyes went wide, "Really?"

Kakashi nodded, "It happened quite a few years ago. I won't go into details, but events had forced me to kill someone very close to me, just like how you were close with Sakura. I blamed myself over what happened for months, even though I did what any sensible shinobi would have done in my situation. So to sum it up, I understand exactly where you're coming from. But don't make the same mistake I made when I was young, and let your mourning slow you down from becoming stronger."

Naruto nodded, "I know. I had a similar talk like this with someone yesterday." Said Naruto. "But thanks anyway."

"No problem," The Copy Ninja replied, "But back to what I originally wanted to talk to you about. I've done some thinking while I was in the hospital, and I want to give you special training."

"Special training?" Naruto repeated.

"Yeah. Since using the Kyuubi's powers are too dangerous to use, I figured that I'd give you special training that can make you a lot stronger really soon."

Naruto's eyebrows raised in shock, "Really?" He then thought for a minute, "Actually, I've been doing some thinking, and I figured that I would try to learn how to control the Kyuubi's powers."

Kakashi showed signs of interest, "Hm... And how do you plan to do something like that?"

"I'm not really sure. But I figured I'd talk with Ero-Sennin, and see if he could help me."

Kakashi thought to himself for a bit, "Controlling the Kyuubi's powers... I gotta say Naruto, that doesn't sound easy. Not impossible. But not easy."

"I know." Said Naruto, "But if I can learn to control those powers, I think I can become a lot stronger. I can also not worry about losing control of those powers if I get too angry or upset."

"You make some valid points, Naruto." Kakashi agrees, "So do you still wish to continue with the training I planned for you?"

"Yes." Naruto nods, "I'd still like to become stronger without Kyuubi's powers, too."

"Good." Says Kakashi, "So meet me here tomorrow at noon. I'll have everything ready for you then."

The next morning, Naruto woke up in his apartment, had breakfast, and did as he was told to attend Kakashi's training session. He ended up waiting an hour more than he should have, however, as usual.

Kakashi poofed in front of him, "Sorry I'm late, I-"

"Save it." Naruto said with a small grin, "I've dealt with you for years, I'm used to it now."

Kakashi chuckled, "Good. So now that I'm here, I suppose we can get right too it."

Naruto smiled. He hasn't trained with Kakashi in a long time, and no matter what, training always made him happy.

"But before that, I have to explain a few things to you."

This is where Naruto sighed. Kakashi had a bad habit of hyping him up with something exciting, then holding off on it right before they can get to it.

"We're here because we're going to work on developing a new ninjutsu for you, one stronger than the Rasengan." Kakashi said, and grinned inwardly as he saw Naruto make a face that showed him that he had his full attention. "You have a lot of ninjutsu capabilities, and sometimes shadow clones and the Rasengan might not be enough for certain situations."

Naruto nodded.

Kakashi held up two fingers, "Now, there are two forms of chakra manipulation when it comes to jutsu. There's the chakra change in form, which can change the overall shape and effect of your ninjutsu. Then there's chakra change in nature, which changes the element of your jutsu." Before Naruto could say anything, Kakashi continued, "But before we get into two things at once, lets start off with explaining the chakra change in form."

Naruto nodded again, "Naruto, make a Rasengan." Kakashi told him. Naruto looked at him, wondering where he was getting at, but shrugged nevertheless.

The Uzumaki summoned a shadow clone. He held his hand out, and he and the clone formed a Rasengan with trained ease. The shadow clone dispersed, and Naruto looked at Kakashi with the ball of chakra in his hand, hinting for him to continue.

"Good. Now as you can see, you've managed to compress your chakra into a perfect sphere, while at the same time manipulating the chakra to spin and swirl at incredible speeds."

Naruto nodded, "So, that means I'm good at manipulating my chakra's form, right?" He said, staring a the jutsu.

Kakashi nodded, "Not only are you good at it, you've pretty much mastered it. The Rasengan requires extensive skill it that area."

Naruto's face lit up, "Awesome!"

Kakashi smiled, "So now that you've gotten that down-pat, lets start with chakra change in nature."

Naruto nodded and let his Rasengan give away. Kakashi went through three hand seals, then held up his arm, "Lets use the Chidori for example. The Chidori requires both change in form and nature. First, I channel my chakra into my hand." He does so, and a small dosage of blue chakra forms into the palm of his hand. "Then I shift my chakra into the lightning nature." The chakra grows, and begins to spark and crackle with electricity. "Then I change its shape to determine the range and severity of it's effect." The lightning-style chakra in his hand suddenly grows and expands around Kakashi, surrounding him in a spectacular view of electric chakra.

Naruto could feel the chakra radiating off of his sensei. He nods, and becomes enchanted with the lightning dancing around Kakashi. "So... What would happen if I added the change in nature to my Rasengan?"

"It'll make it stronger." He said, "And that's exactly what I'm going to train you for."

Naruto couldn't help but grin. He loves knowing that he'll become stronger.

Kakashi dispelled his Chidori, "But first, we have to figure out what your chakra nature is. I'm sure you know that there's five possible elements that every shinobi can have, which can determine what style jutsu they can use."

Naruto nodded, "Yeah, Fire, Wind, Earth, Water, and Lightning."

"Correct. So we're going to figure out what your nature is right now." He reached into his back pouch, and held out a piece of paper, "This is special paper that was taken from a tree fed with chakra. With this, you can tell what your affinity is by adding chakra of your own. Like so." The paper in Kakashi's hand suddenly crumpled up. "See? The paper reacts to your chakra's element. Since mine was Lightning, it crumples up. If it were fire, it would have burned. If it were water, it would have gotten soaked. If it were wind, it would have cut in half. And if it were earth, it would have crumbled into pieces."

Naruto showed that he was following Kakashi so far. Kakashi then gave him the same paper, "Here. Now pour a bit of your chakra into it, and we'll find out what your nature is."

Naruto took the paper and nodded. He focused his chakra into the paper. A moment later, he saw the paper split in half.