Sum of our Parts
A Debt to be Repaid
***I do not own anything involving Naruto. ***
"Le gasp!" normal talking
'das fuken?' normal thinking
"set-you-on-fire-no-jutsu" Jutsu and other techniques
"I will murder you!" Tailed beast talking
***SooP***
"So Ero-Sanin where is this lady at?" Natsuko inquired, after a few hours of travel.
"Don't you worry about that, I have a very reliable source that tells me that my former teammate will be at Pippu for the next couple of days in preparations for a gambling tournament."
"So she is really good at gambling and winning money then?"
"HAHAHAHA! Oh hell no she isn't she is about the most unlucky human being I have ever met, and I have met a LOT of people. No she just likes to lose money and drink I guess, a pity too she was so talented back when we were a team."
"So what happened? Was it the same thing that turned you into a pervert?"
"Super pervert" The man corrected, earning a giggle from his companion.
"Okay, super pervert."
"Not really, Tsunade had a hard couple of years and I think it just broke her spirit in the end. So she and her apprentice left Konoha and went traveling."
After a few minutes of silence between the two Natsuko whispered out a question that had been plaguing her from the start, "Do you think she can fix Akane-chan?"
"Of course! She isn't called the greatest medic Nin of all time for nothing you know, all we need to do is convince her to come back with us."
"Don't worry about that Ero-Sanin, we will get her back, one way or another."
The man shivered at the way the young blonde said the last part of the statement, suddenly fearing for his teammate's safety.
***SooP***
"Why are we stopping Ero-Sanin? I can keep going which means we can get there faster!" The blonde asked, her tone losing some of its joy and wonderment.
"Because it will be significantly harder to get there at night, besides think of this as part of your training. You should never rush a mission, doing so not only endangers you but your teammates and the objective. Just because you might be able to physically get to a destination does not mean you will be in any shape to act once you get there."
"Do you think she will attack us?"
"No, but that doesn't mean we are in the clear. Orochimaru is still active and he knows how badly your sister was injured. He may very well try and target Tsunade as well to try and prevent us from enlisting her help."
The blonde huffed before plopping down before their campfire.
A few minutes later the white haired man noticed the girl staring into the fire, as if remembering something buried deep inside her mind.
"Something on your mind Natsuko?"
"I… I can't lose her Jiraiya-Sensei… If something happens to Akane-chan, if she doesn't make it… I don't know what I will do. She has always been there to take care of me, she is my source of strength and always has been. When I felt weak or helpless growing up she would be there to push me forward, to encourage me, to be a role model for me. Without her…"
"That won't happen. We will find Tsunade and bring her back, then she will heal Akane and everything will be right in the world again. Don't worry so much about the what if's of the world. All that does is cause doubt and uncertainty."
The young girl smiled at the man, not one of her bright and ridiculously cheerful ones, but one of her genuine smiles.
"So since you have so much damn energy to burn and we aren't going any further tonight I believe it's time to continue your training! Now then I noticed that you required Kage Bunshin to form the Rasengan during the tournament, well let's see if we can get you to form a small one without them."
The blonde nodded happily before starting her Chakra exercises, but despite her cheerful attitude she could not shake her worry for her sister that lay injured back in the village.
***SooP***
Anko stared at the scene wide eyed, her dango falling on the floor, forgotten.
"This… this isn't possible, this can't be happening! What have we done to anger the Shinigami for such a thing!?"
"Very funny Anko-san now if you don't mind, I am here to relieve you."
"ON TIME! You Kakashi Hatake the perpetually late Jonin who wouldn't be on time for anything short of an Icha Icha conference!"
"I get it Anko-san I have a habit of…"
"HABIT!? Oh no no no no no, my eating dango is a habit. Natsuko's consumption of ramen is a habit. This…this is practically part of your soul! In fact I actually don't want to leave you alone with Akane-chan at this point. I am starting to think you are an imposter! WHAT'S THE COLOR OF THE DAY YOU MOTHER FUC…"
"Anko! Seriously… don't you think this is taking it a bit far?"
"I don't know, let's ask Gai shall we? HEY GAI!"
"Oh please for the love of all that is holy in this world don't…"
"YOUTH!"
"Great…." Kakashi muttered out, feeling a massive headache coming on.
"WHAT CAN I ASSISST YOU WITH TODAY ANKO!? DO YOUR FLAMES OF YOUTH NEED REKINDLED!?"
The purple haired woman stared at the man for a moment, before growling in response.
"Are you hitting on me…"
"O-OF COURSE NOT ANKO-SAN I WOULD NEVER…."
"Oh so what your saying is you are too good for me then…"
"N-NO OF COURSE NOT I WAS JUST…"
"Enough!" Kakashi shouted in irritation, before taking several deep breaths to calm himself.
"Anyway, Gai we have a major problem and I need your input, you see I believe Kakashi is an imposter… he arrived on time for his shift."
The bowl cut Jonin stared wide eyed and horrified at his best friend, who sighed in response.
"Truly this is serious indeed, for an enemy Ninja to get this far into our village is quite intimidating. There is but one way to deal with this… KAKASHI! MY ETERNAL RIVAL, I CHALLENGE YOU TO A FEAT OF STRENGTH AND WILL!"
"Hm did you say something Gai?"
"CURSE YOUR HIP ATTITUDE!"
"I still say we check him for…"
"WOULD YOU THREE SHUT THE HELL UP! My god I can hear you from outside of the freaking hospital." Kurenai roared as she entered the hallway.
"Oh hey Kurenai-chan whatsup?"
"I was on my way back home after visiting Hinata and I heard three idiots screaming from outside."
"Well in my defense…. Kakashi was on time..." Anko replied with a sage nod.
The red eyed Kunoichi slowly turned towards the silver haired man, her eyes wide in horror.
"Seriously…." Kakashi lamented, this perpetually tardy thing was starting to become way more trouble than it was worth.
"Kakashi… what's the color of the day?" The Genjutsu mistress asked softly, while reaching for a kunai.
"Oh for the love of Kami! It's green alright!"
***SooP***
"So this is the place huh?" the Uzumaki asked, staring up at the bright neon 'Casino' sign.
"Yep, but the tournament doesn't start for another few hours, until then I will see if I can pick up her trail in town, meantime you go check us into a nice hotel and…"
"Why?"
The Sanin blinked, a bit confused at the girl's question.
"What do you mean 'why'?"
"Why would we bother getting a hotel, if the tournament is today then no matter what we will find Tsunade and leave before tonight, there is no reason to…"
"Natsuko…" The man calmly interrupted, before crouching down to look the girl in the face. "I know you are worried about Akane, but she will be okay. We are just getting a hotel on the off chance we run into complications. I fully intend on leaving today but as Shinobi you must always hope for the best, plan for the worst."
"How do you want me to plan for my sister dying?"
The man's eyes widened in shock as tears began forming at the young girls eyes when she asked this.
He really needed to start thinking these 'words of wisdom' through before saying them.
"That's not what I meant Natsuko, she isn't going to die. That is not an option so remove it from your mind."
The blonde nodded slowly, before the toad summoner gave her a soft smile.
"Alright, how about this, we will split up and start searching now. If we don't find her by the time of the tournament's start you get us a room while I scope it out. You wouldn't be able to come into the casino anyways."
She nodded happily before taking off in search of the woman.
***SooP***
"It should have been me you know…" Kakashi whispered out, as he stared at the young girl laying comatose in the bed.
"I should have been there to protect you and your sister. I should have just stayed with you when you were growing up rather than just watching from afar. It's just that… I guess I was afraid, I was afraid that if I got too close that you two would be taken from me just like everyone else has been. I was afraid of failing you two just like all the others."
The silver haired man stood, and slowly walked to the window, gazing out at the moon lit Konoha.
"But I guess I failed you anyway didn't I? If I had been there I could have saved you. I could have stopped whatever it was that happened, I could have stopped those monsters from ever laying a hand on you…"
The man held back a choked out sob, memories of his Sensei filling his mind, and the fact that he had let the man down once again.
"You should have been on my team, not Kurenai's. I wanted to teach you both so badly, to make my Sensei proud of me. But after seeing how my current team turned out I don't know if that would have been a good idea or not. I can't imagine either of you getting along with Sasuke, the spoiled brat. Plus we would have had to deal with Sakura stalking you two for taking 'her love away' or some such nonsense."
The Jonin chuckled, before returning to his chair.
"How the hell anyone ever let her graduate from the academy is beyond me, course I let her pass my test so I am just as much to blame if not more so. I guess I see myself in Sasuke, so much anger and drive. Being called a prodigy and genius by everyone, I can relate to him. But maybe that is the problem. Maybe because I can relate to him I choose him over the others, I have trained him so much harder than Kiba or Sakura. Everyone has seen that result, Kiba practically molested a fellow Ninja and Sakura is about the most pathetic Ninja I have ever laid eyes on."
A deep sigh filled the air.
"Would I have neglected your training for Sasuke as well? Deemed you too weak to become a Ninja with all of your deficiencies? Would you have trusted me with your secrets like you did Jiraiya? Would you have trusted me at all?"
The man let the silence of the night fill the room once more, leaving himself to his own thoughts and the steady beeping of the heart monitor as his only comfort.
***SooP***
"Hey Tsunade-hime long time no see!"
"Oh great look who it is… the pervert…"
"Aww come on now don't be like that, aren't you just a little happy to see me?"
"You know what Jiraiya, yes I am."
The man gave a large grin.
"Because that means that now I can personally knock your teeth out!"
"Now let's be reasonable about this hime, I'm not here to start trouble I just wanted to talk to you about something…"
"I'll give you ten seconds Jiraiya."
"Orochimaru attacked Konoha and badly injured someone who saved Sensei's life. We need you to come back and heal her. Also Sensei wants to talk to you about something but I don't know what."
The man amazingly got the entire speech out within ten seconds, much to the blonde woman's irritation.
"Come back to Konoha? Pass, I have better things to…"
"Ero-Sanin! There you are, I have been looking for you. Oh hey is that the Tsunade lady who is going to fix Akane-chan?" Natsuko interrupted as she burst into the diner.
"Ero-Sanin? Oh that's just fantastic, who's the brat Jiraiya?"
"She is one of my two new students. Her sister is the one who is injured Tsunade."
"Ah, well that does suck. Sorry brat I have better things to do."
"B-but my sister is dying! She saved your Sensei's life and protected Konoha!"
"Well then she is a fool, I bet she has all these big delusions about becoming Hokage too right?"
"No, I'm going to be Hokage!" the blonde countered, her voice rising in desperation.
"You see Shizune? I told you everyone in Konoha is a fool. Look brat nothing good comes from that position. You and your sister should just give up such a dream. I bet Hiruzen wants me to take over for him right?"
"That was the idea Tsunade, he is getting too old for this you know that. He needs to retire and Akane needs to have the wounds she sustained healed." Jiraiya replied.
"Lady Tsunade we should go back, at least to help the girl. She saved your Sensei and…"
"No! I don't give a shit who she is, if she was stupid enough to get herself stabbed then…
Before she could finish Tsunade found herself thrown up against the wall, held up by her collar by an enraged Genin.
"Listen bitch, I don't care whether you come back and become Hokage or not, you seem pretty worthless to me to become something so important. But you will be coming back to heal my sister or so help me I will break your damn legs and drag you back by your hair!"
The girl's eyes had shifted into a deep crimson, her voice becoming powerful and demonic, just as her pupils began to become slits the ground started shaking from her fury.
But the most terrifying thing, in Tsunade's opinion at least, was that she could see roots begin tearing their way through the floor.
Few things in the world were more terrifying than an enraged Mokuton user, one of which was probably an enraged Jinchuriki Mokuton user.
"Natsuko that's enough!" Jiraiya shouted, while he attempted to pull the small girl off of his teammate.
Finally he succeeded, just as the Kunoichi's eyes shifted back to normal, and her features faded back to what they should have been.
"Go get something to drink and let me talk to Tsunade, we can't have you bringing the entire building down on our heads." The toad summoner ordered.
Receiving a glare and a huff for his efforts the blonde stormed out of the building to find relieve some stress.
"See Shizune it's just like…" Tsunade stuttered out, before receiving a glare from her own apprentice.
"How incredibly compassionate of you Lady Tsunade, the girl's sister is dying and you throw it back in her face." The brunette then ran out after the blonde, hoping to speak to the girl.
"What the hell just happened…" The slug Sanin muttered out, before picking herself up off the floor and sitting back down.
"Looks like you pissed off the only known Jinchuriki Mokuton user alive, nice going by the way."
"Can it Jiraiya, you want to explain to me how the hell she has my grandfather's bloodline?"
"Probably because she is related to him, how else do you think she has it."
"Jiraiya… who is she?"
"Who the hell do you think? She's Minato and Kushina's kid, or at least one of them." He whispered out, hoping to avoid any prying ears.
Luckily the diner had been mostly emptied by that point and the few left had fled during the shaking.
"So he did seal it into his kids, stupid bastard now who the hell is left to look after them?"
"They don't have very many, I know Sensei does what he can and Kakashi has been trying his best but they have had a rough life up until now. The only people they truly count on are each other which makes what you said and did about ten times worse."
"You could have warned me you know…"
"What, and miss out on you pissing yourself in fear of a Genin? Not a chance."
"Alright fine, so how is Konoha doing after the attack?"
"It's functioning, things are still pretty chaotic since they aren't sure if Suna is officially declaring war on them or not, plus now that we know Orochimaru has his own nation it could very well escalate into a two on one war. We need you back hime, and this time it isn't a request. If this does escalate then we could be dragged into another war and you know that Orochimaru would target you first, before you can interfere." The spy master pointed out.
Tsunade growled in annoyance.
"Damnit… yeah I know. You know how much I hate that place though."
"I know, but trust me Tsunade, those two girls have far more reasons to hate Konoha than you do. They have lost just about everything to that village and they have almost nothing to show for it. Meanwhile you are still hailed as a hero and legend. You are allowed to come and go as you please and rumor is you are still on the payroll due to Sensei."
"What are you saying Jiraiya? That I owe him?"
"No… I'm saying that for all we did and failed to do. We owe those two sisters, and it is time to pay on your debt for once."
***SooP***
"I'm glad you came with us baa-chan!"
"For the last time brat stop calling me that!"
"You might as well just get used to it hime, she has been calling me Ero-Sanin since we met."
"That makes sense though Jiraiya, you are a pervert. I am not old!" the slug summoner shot back in annoyance.
Shizune giggled as she watched the antics of the two former teammates, and the young blonde who she had grown quite fond of since their talk after 'the incident'.
***Flashback***
"Hey wait up!" the medical apprentice called out, finally forcing the Genin to slow down and allow the out of breath Kunoichi to catch up.
After taking a few deep breaths Shizune was able to straighten herself out and look over the blonde, who appeared to have tears in her eyes.
"Are you alright?"
"I-I can't fail here, m-my sister's life is in danger right now and that woman is the only one who can help."
"I understand, I don't know what Lady Tsunade's problem is right now but I am sure she will help, she is the greatest medical Ninja in the world after all and I can't imagine her ever turning down a request to help someone."
"She has before…" the young girl muttered out quietly.
"What did you…"
"Never mind, it doesn't matter. Sorry if I scared you back there it's just that… Akane-chan is all I have left…"
"No need to apologize, my name is Shizune by the way. I am Lady Tsunade's apprentice."
"Natsuko Uzumaki, apprentice to Ero-Sanin and future Hokage!" The blonde cheerfully exclaimed.
The older Kunoichi immediately felt her spirits lifted at the girl's optimism, it was like dark clouds had just parted and sunshine had come pouring through.
"So you and your sister are both Genin huh?" Shizune continued, immediately wanting to get to know her fellow Kunoichi.
"Yep! Akane-chan is awesome, she is like really fast and strong and super dangerous, oh and she's really good with a sword, and she can totally beat up like anyone!"
Shizune giggled a bit at the girl's excitement.
"She sounds amazing, what about you?"
"Oh I'm nothing special really, but my other teammate is Hinata and she is like suuuuper smart and has all these really cool Jutsu and can like touch peoples arms and make them go limp, its realllly cool."
"You seem quite special to me, back in the diner that was Mokuton wasn't it? I have heard stories about it from Lady Tsunade."
"Oh that? Yeah sorry, Akane-chan said not to use that since people would try and take advantage of it or something. Akane-chan usually knows a lot about these things too."
"Well it is quite special, I have only heard of one other person ever being able to use it so you are quite the unique person Natsuko-san."
"You can call me Natsuko-chan if you want." The blonde smiled happily, as she threw herself into a hug around the medical apprentice.
***End Flashback***
After that the two had only grown closer in their journey back to Konoha, which was surprisingly quiet and tame compared to when the two Kunoichi normally left a town.
Of course Natsuko had been pestering them to go faster the entire time but the white haired Sanin had reminded her that if they arrived early but Tsunade was too exhausted to help it would set them back even further.
Reluctantly the pouting blonde had agreed.
"So baa-chan are you going to stay in Konoha or leave immediately?"
"I told you to… you know what never mind. I was planning on leaving immediately. I hate that damn village."
"Why?"
Tsunade froze in place, while the two older Ninja tensed just in case there was another incident.
"You have the nerve to ask me why?" The older woman growled out, earning a confused look from the Genin.
"That village took everything from me! My family, my husband, my brother! EVERYTHING!" the woman screamed at the blonde, who took a few steps back, wide eyed in fear.
The Sanin took another step forward, and the blonde reacted on instinct, leaping away for protection.
"Damnit Tsunade she didn't know." Jiraiya mumbled.
"Oh right and you didn't tell her?" The medical Kunoichi growled out sarcastically, before noticing the expression on the man's face. "You really didn't tell her…" she repeated, this time far softer in a guilty tone. "Natsuko come back I'm sorry I didn't mean to snap at you." The woman called out, and slowly the blonde emerged from behind a tree she had been using for cover, a look of fear still etched on her face.
"Jiraiya, what the hell happened to her?" the older woman whispered out, before crouching down to the Genin's eye level to show she had no hostility.
"I only know bits and pieces from what happened during their Chunin exams. But I will say this, I am going to have a long and painful discussion with Sensei when we get back and Akane is healed."
"Count me in…" Tsunade muttered out, as she finally coaxed the blonde out of hiding.
"I'm sorry Natsuko, I just have a lot of bad memories of that place. I didn't mean to scare you. I am from the Senju clan so both my grandfather and granduncle were Hokage. They both died protecting that village, and then my young brother was killed in his quest to become Hokage just like my husband was as well."
"I'm sorry baa-chan, I can't imagine what that feels like, to lose your family like that…"
The slug Sanin sent a slight glance towards her teammate in question, in which the man shook his head slightly.
"Is your sister the only family you know of then?" the older Kunoichi questioned.
Natsuko nodded sadly, "Yeah, we have tried to find out who our parents were but no one knows, not even Jiji. We thought that maybe Jiraiya would know since he is our Godfather on our birth records but he didn't either."
"Sorry Natsuko, I know how badly you want to know about your parents but I am just an adopted Godfather, the Fourth asked me to take care of you two due to your tenant so I don't know who they were either."
The white haired man did his best to ignore the glare from his teammate.
***SooP***
Less than a week from their departure Natsuko, Jiraiya, Tsunade, and Shizune walked through the gates of Konoha and headed straight for the hospital.
Despite her best efforts the slug summoner had also formed a bond with the young blonde. She saw in her the same determination as her family, along with the cheerfulness that she also had as a child.
After arriving at the girl's room, and asking Kakashi to stay behind for a moment to get an update on the village, the Sanin went to work stabilizing and then reviving the young redhead.
***SooP***
As Akane opened her eyes she immediately tensed at seeing the Sanin looking over her wounds, and the unfamiliar setting.
Tsunade, of course, noticed the reaction and looked up to the girl to comfort her, before appearing shocked herself.
"Ah Akane-chan, I am glad to see you are awake once more." Hiruzen called out, gaining the girl's attention and calming her down slightly.
"H-how long was I out for?" The girl inquired, her voice hoarse from the lack of fluids over the past few days.
"About a week, don't worry about that right now though, you still need to rest and rehydrate." Jiraiya replied with a warm smile on his face at seeing the girl on her way to recovery.
"She will be okay right baa-chan?" Natsuko asked.
The slug Sanin continued staring at the girl for a moment, before snapping out of her daze and giving the Genin a comforting smile.
"Of course she will, as long as she stays hydrated and gets plenty of rest I would say you should be recovered in a week at most. I will be back in a bit to check on you but I need to talk to the Hokage and my teammate about a few things first okay?"
The blonde Uzumaki nodded toward the older woman, before returning her attention to the bedridden girl.
***SooP***
"So which one of you wants to explain to me why that girl has the same look in her eyes as someone from Nanking?" Tsunade growled out, after the four older Ninja had relocated to an empty room in the hospital.
Hiruzen lowered his head at the question, unable to meet the woman's gaze, while the other three stared in confusion.
"Lady Tsunade what is Nanking?" Shizune questioned, a glance towards the silver haired man provided no answer, as the man shrugged in response
Jiraiya himself had taken on a questioning expression, trying to recall where he had heard that name before, when the facts came back to his mind, and the room flooded with killing intent.
A second later The Third found himself slammed into a wall, cracking it in the process.
"WHAT THE HELL DID YOU LET THEM DO TO MY GODDAUGHTER!?" The man shouted in rage.
"Whatever happened it was both of our faults Jiraiya… I was supposed to look after them but I was sent on a mission and…"
"I DON'T GIVE TWO SHITS ABOUT YOUR EXCUSES KAKASHI" The toad Sanin interrupted in a roar.
"Lady Tsunade, what happened in Nanking?" Shizune whispered out in a confused and terrified voice.
The woman just shook her head though, not trusting herself to answer her own student.
Moments later Jiraiya dropped the older man to the floor, before turning to leave the room.
As he reached the door though he glanced back, "You know, for the first time in my life… I am glad that Minato and Kushina are dead."
The others in the room gasped at the man's declaration, save for Shizune who was even more confused than before.
"If they were alive to see what you had let their children go through… they would have burnt the village to the ground." The white haired man finished, before storming out of the room.
***SooP***
Over the next few days the tension felt in Konoha began to dissipate as more information began coming in, through spy networks and direct communications.
Apparently the true Kazekage had been murdered by the Snake Sanin, who later impersonated the man in order to manipulate Suna into a war.
Suna was currently under lockdown until the situation resolved itself and the village could be stabilized.
There was no threat of war from that direction.
Orochimaru had fled back to his own small nation to attempt to replenish the forces that had been utterly decimated during the attack.
With that threat diminished the council was able to address the minor issues that had been brought up during the exam. Thus it had summoned all the Jonin Sensei, and their Genin teams to discuss the results of the exams and give awards where needed.
The only two not present were the Uzumaki sisters, since Akane was still in recovery and Natsuko refused to leave her alone, especially with everyone she trusted unavailable.
"Now then, we have read over all of the recommendations for promotions that were submitted both by the proctors and the Sensei themselves. As such we will now make our decisions on the Genin to be promoted to Chunin." Shikaku called out to those assembled before the clan heads, civilian council, and the Hokage's personal group.
"First up is Shikamaru Nara, who displayed tactical ability during every stage, calm presence of mind, and combat abilities. He was also seen taking on a leadership role during the invasion itself, helping to prevent any loss of life among our Genin. For these reasons he has been chosen for promotion." Choza finished, smiling at the Genin who had muttered about how troublesome this would now make his life.
"Next up is Shino Aburame, who also displayed impressive tactical ability during his battle and a calm mind for analyzing the situation. His promotion has also been approved." Inoichi Yamanaka stated, creating further applause among those assembled.
At this point Asuma was grinning from ear to ear, he knew that Choji and Ino weren't ready quite yet but the fact that two of his students were promoted was a serious ego boost.
"For his determination and skill in combat this council has approved the promotion of Neji Hyuga to the rank of Chunin." Tsume growled out. She had personally been opposed to the promotion, but the Hyuga clan head still had quite a large amount of political power and thus was able to push his son through the debate.
Neji nodded slightly in thanks, though he wasn't sure what part of his match had qualified him for the honor.
"Next up, my son Sasuke Uchiha has been approved for promotion due to his tactical and combat abilities." Mikoto praised, ignoring the quiet murmurs of disagreement from a few of the other council members.
***SooP***
Itachi shook his head in disgust. This was just another sign of the problems involving the village, for a Ninja to be promoted simply because of their clan, rather than whether they deserved it or not, was ridiculous and irresponsible.
***SooP***
Sasuke smirked, soaking in the praise of his fellow classmates. Though what Orochimaru had told him during the second phase of the tournament was still weighing heavily on his mind, before clutching the brand on his neck.
***Flashback***
"They will betray you eventually Sasuke-kun, one way or another, just as they betrayed your clan. They will force Kakashi to focus on your weaker teammates instead of you. They will put you as a lower priority to Itachi just like they always have. You cannot truly surpass him, you cannot truly become recognized for your own genius as long as you stay in that village, under their rule." The snake Sanin taunted as they fought.
***End Flashback***
Time would only tell whether the man spoke the truth or not, so far though everything seemed to be going as it should for the boy.
Sasuke's smirk grew.
"That will be all for the promotions, now on to other matters, for his award in bravery…" Danzo spoke up, before opening a small box filled with ribbons and medals.
'This can't be right, they promoted Genin who showed no skill beyond what their clans taught them and yet Hinata, Akane, and Natsuko were all overlooked? This is outrageous!' Kurenai fumed, as she clasped her hands onto the Hyuga Kunoichi's shoulders, showing her support for the girl.
"I believe you are forgetting a handful of Kunoichi Danzo…" Hiruzen called out from his seat.
"Unfortunately Hokage-Sama that is not the case right now, with the threat of war gone the promotions to Genin through the exams are voted on by the council. You were the one who helped set this system up if you recall, to ensure that the Hokage was not accused of favoritism." The heavily bandaged man reminded his former teammate.
The village leader growled quietly, knowing that the other man was right.
Hinata just glanced up and gave her a slight smile, before returning her attention to the speech.
***SooP***
Most of the Jonin who had been present in the stadium had received some form of award, along with Jiraiya and several of the Genin.
Nothing had been given to any of Kurenai's students, despite their contributions, and finally Anko had put up with it long enough.
"Excuse me Hokage-Sama, but what about the three Genin from Kurenai's team?" the Jonin called out, putting emphasis where she felt the largest mistake had been made.
"What about them Anko-San?" Koharu inquired, a slight smirk forming on her damned face.
"I mean shouldn't they be receiving awards as well, Akane is one of the reasons that the Hokage is still alive, and Natsuko single handedly stopped the enemy Jinchuriki. Hinata was later seen helping many of the civilians and Genin reach shelter and defeated several opponents despite her exhaustion." The purple haired woman pointed out.
"Don't you worry about them Anko-San, we have… plans… for the de- I mean Uzumaki brats."
Kurenai growled at the hidden meaning, there was no way in hell she was going to let anyone hurt them again.
"This brings us to our next topic though, the fact that Natsuko Uzumaki displayed the use of Mokuton during the invasion." Danzo called out, bringing attention back to himself, "The fact of the matter is that this should not even be possible, unless of course the two sisters are related to the Senju…"
"Danzo…" The Third growled out in warning.
"Regardless of how they have access to it, this is the exact kind of situation that we created the CRA for, I would like to call a vote to place both sisters into the act immediately, and I wish to nominate my two sons for potential donors." The Uchiha clan head called out, earning nods from various members of the council.
"I swear if any of you try to put my Goddaughters into that glorified rape act I will tear you to pieces." Jiraiya called out in rage.
"It is not up to you Jiraiya, nor is it up to the Hokage now. Clan matters such as this are voted on by the council, you know that." The Hyuga head reminded the Sanin.
Hinata could only watch on in horror as they began preparing to vote on the fate of her two teammates, before her own anger got the better of her.
"HOW COULD YOU DO THAT TO THEM, HAVEN'T THEY SUFFERED ENOUGH? YOU SHOULD BE CALLING THEM HEROES!"
Kurenai nodded in agreement.
"Bah those two demons are nothing more than clan less orphans..." one of the civilian members spat.
"THEY ARE THE DAUGHTERS OF MINATO NAMIKAZE AND KUSHINA UZUMAKI YOU PIECE OF TRASH!" Anko roared out, earning silence from the various Ninja and civilians gathered.
Hiruzen's fingers dug into the desk in front of him, his anger boiling to the surface. This was not how that information was supposed to be released.
"Th-they are…" Neji muttered out, completely losing his Hyuga composure.
Kurenai just let out a sigh, she had a feeling something like this would happen eventually, glancing down though she saw a horrified look on her student's face.
"Hinata what is… oh no…"
Slowly the various members of the room turned to where the two Kunoichi were staring, to the entrance of the room.
Where Akane and Natsuko stood, wide eyed.
***A/N***
Whoops! Well the secrets out now. I wonder how the two sisters will take the idea that so many people knew and didn't tell them…
Lots of angsty goodness planned for next chapter, along with secrets that will be shared and history lessons galore!
I know some people will probably be annoyed at the whole "Council" idea being used in yet another story, but the fact of the matter is that an entire village is way too large for a single person to completely control. Even the most malevolent dictators did not control every single action that occurred in their country, they had groups of loyal followers who they dictated these responsibilities to.
For those of your that might have be a bit confused, the "color of the day" reference is for undercover cops to be able to be identified. I figured with Ninja having so many disguises and such it would be natural that they create ways to identify friendlies or not.
Hope everyone enjoyed reading the last part took a long time for me to get to a point where it didn't sound completely wrong to me.
