AN: Hey, folks. First, I'd like to answer to some reviews that have been submitted to the story, since I am too damn lazy to do it via PM and want the extra words added to the chapter (hey, at least I'm honest).

First off, I'm glad that so many of you agree with the pairings I suggested.

Dragonheart0000, I'm sorry that I'll probably loose you as a reader, but just as you don't see KibaNaru, I can't see GaaraNaru or NajiNaru. Also, even though I'd hate to lose readers on my very first fanfic, I feel that there will be still plenty of people who will enjoy, or at the very least like my story. My story stats so far have proven it. Once again, I'm sorry, but I'm sticking to one of the three pairings I brought up in the second chapter.

Ddd: ItaNaru? Hmmm...Let me think...No. Self explanatory.

xXKuroTenshiXx : I think, I will send a personal message to you, even though I'm lazy :).

To all the rest of you, a big fat THANK YOU!

I would like to say that originally I intended to skip the whole council meeting thing, but since so many of you were looking forward to it, i decided that I might as well write it.

On with the story.

Foster

Chapter 3

About an hour after Tsunade requested the audience with the council, all of it's members were finally present and seated in their respective places. Unlike what one might think about the council of a ninja village, it mainly consisted of the most influential families in Konoha which by no means were shinobi themselves. Sure, most of them had family members who had taken that path, but the men and women seated before the Godaime were all either merchants, nobles or people who had earned a fortune and knew how to invest it in some other way. The only people present who had been shinobi at some point, were the Sandaime's team mates and even they were merely advisors and not an official part of the group. This was what the council of Konoha really was. A bunch of rich people who were used to have things going their way. As much as the clan heads of the shinobi had tried to at the very least get one of their clansmen onto the council, they never succeeded. It was originally the idea of the First Hokage, to let the villagers have a say in the political doings of the place they lived in. Tsunade would be the first to admit that it was a wise decision... at the time.

However, as times changed and Konoha grew into one of the most powerful hidden villages in the elemental countries, becoming richer and gaining prestige, corruption and power struggles found their way into the formerly perfect council. In the time of the second Great Shinobi War the council seemingly found it's true purpose again and acted solely in the best interests of the village, but as peace once again took place, they promptly reverted to their state of conflict with the Hokage and among themselves. Even now that they were officially at war with Sound the council brought up ridiculous suggestions and overall seemed more concerned about their own wellbeing. Tsunade supposed that their current state could be explained by the way the war was led. Even after the invasion four and a half years ago there had been little to no confrontations with the opposing force. There were several small skirmishes between the Konoha and Sound ninja, closer to the border, but the Godaime could count those on the fingers of one hand.

But all of this would find an end today.

Jiraiya stood at her side as she took her place at the head of the long table that had been summoned from a scroll. As the council members settled down and finally turned their attention to the one who summoned them, Tsunade looked each and every one of them in the eye, promptly pulling the room into very uncomfortable silence (for everyone but herself and Jiraiya, both of whom couldn't care less).

Very slowly she eased herself out of her chair again and made her way to her desk, seemingly shuffling through some random papers.

"I am glad you could all make it here..." She began, her tone rather passive. "I suppose you are all wandering, why I made you come here without any forewarning and jerked you out of whatever important business you were in the middle of at that moment..." She withdrew several folders from a pile on her desk and once again seated herself at the head of the table, silently regarding the rather confused faces before her.

One of the more confused councilmen nodded.

"Yes, as a matter of fact I am wondering about that. Did something important happen on the front lines? I had to cancel a meeting with a very important client which can have a very bad effect on the reputation of my agency, so I hope you will forgive my curiosity..." He trailed off after meeting the amber eyes of the Hokage.

Without saying anything, Tsunade took one of the folders and threw it, so it landed before the man who asked the question.

"Please, take a look at this and tell me what you think." She advised, her voice still not betraying any emotion. The man opened the folder and skimmed over it.

"It seems to be a mission report... But it's already several years old... What does this have to do with today's mee-" He was cut off by the Godaime.

"Read from the very start. And read it out loud, so that the others can hear you."

The addressed council member felt himself beginning to sweat.

"Err...Mission report...Rank S...Assigned shinobi... Uzumaki Naru..." He trailed off, taking a look around the table. The other members began to show first signs of discomfort as well.

"That's enough." Tsunade said, after she was convinced that the council already knew what this was about.

"You know as well as I do that all S-ranked missions have to be assigned by the Hokage personally. How come I was kept in the dark about all of this for more than four years?!" She finally raised her voice a little, showing her overall displeasure with the situation. She was sure that at least some of them would take the bait. As expected, most of the addressed people seemed to stiffen right away, some of them looked genuinely confused, while others seemed to relax. One of the more relaxed ones spoke up. Hook, line and sinker.

"Oh, of course, Hokage-sama. The thing is, this Uzumaki Naru is actually the Kyuubi-" The old woman who was speaking quickly shut up as a thick folder was slammed down right before her by Jiraiya. The force he put behind his hand, was enough to make the table crack audibly under the pressure.

"Read it." Tsunade ordered.

The woman seemed to swallow her fear and began reading, her voice slightly shaky.

"Mission report, rank S. Assigned shinobi: Uzumaki Naru. Team: none. Objectives: infiltrate and destroy the hostile outposts at the following coordinates..." Tsunade tuned out the mission details until the actual report began. "After successfully destroying two of the targets, I was apprehended and incapacitated while engaging two enemy ninja. I was held prisoner for seven months. During that period of time several experiments were conducted on my person, seeing as the enemy had discovered my accelerated healing rate. After a certain period of time (I believe it to be about four months, but I can not be sure) the accelerated healing came to a stop and did not yet return which leads me to believe that something happened to the Kyuubi no Kitsune that was sealed into me at birth. (I suggest investigating the matter with the help of a seal expert.). Details on the mission: The first outpost was-"

"Enough." Tsunade once again interfered and regarded the council warily. By now all of the members were pale and some were sweating profusely. Only the former team mates of the Third seemed unaffected. Tsunade sighed and waved her hand. "Jiraiya, you may take over."

The white haired man made his way back to her side and addressed the council.

"All of you are as of now accused of treason against Konoha." Several shocked gasps resounded around the room but the council members remained seated and silent, obviously understanding that they were caught red handed. "The punishment for treason is either death, or lifelong sentence in one of Konoha's prisons. Either way, I think it is safe to say that most of you, except the ones who can prove their innocence will no longer be members on the council. We will investigate who of you had a part in this and who didn't, however we already have evidence that at the very least two thirds of you have known about this and did nothing to bring it to the Hokage's knowledge. While it isn't considered treason, it is still a crime that will be punished. Alsoall of you have lead me to believe that Uzumaki Naru was dead. Since I am not the Hokage, this can not be considered a crime but it will play a role in the trial.

"I would also like to note that I took the liberty to examine the seal after I learned of what actually happened. My examination has proven that the Kyuubi is dead."

Once again the room was filled with shocked gasps and in some cases even breakdowns, when the ones who were the masterminds behind the whole plot seemed to realize that they were done for. Meanwhile Jiraiya mercilessly continued.

"Uzumaki Naru has never been the Kyuubi however, and thus presented no threat to the village. Her official rank is genin, not to mention that she hasn't even passed the individual test she was supposed to receive from her assigned jounin instructor. All of this combined is more than enough to sentence most of you to death." He concluded and turned to Tsunade, nodding at her.

The room meanwhile had turned into a mess, as the council members broke down one after another. The Godaime waited patiently until the implication of their impending death sunk in.

"However." She said loudly over the sobs of the female council members as well as some of the males. Their heads snapped up to look at her, making her wince. Moving the head as fast as this had to hurt. The hope in their eyes was evident. Tsunade grinned mentally. Now was the time to strike. The truth of the matter was that while she did have evidence on some of them, it wasn't as much as she made them believe it was.

"I am willing to let the punishment be less severe if all of you officially resign from the council, right here, right now. It would look bad if somehow our clients learned that Konoha has sentenced it's own council to death or put them in prison." She opened another folder she brought from her desk and threw it into the middle of the table, making the contents spill out. "These are the resignation forms you need to fill out. If some of you refuse..." She trailed off meaningfully and watched with satisfaction as the council members unwillingly, and in some cases still sobbing took the papers with shaking hands.

Suddenly a voice spoke up. It was Koharu, the old hag (and that meant something if Tsunade was the one to say it) who had been watching all of the procedures in silence until now.

"What are you planning, Tsunade?" Unlike the council members she seemed to have kept her bearings and didn't look in the least worried. Once again, Tsunade had to grin in her mind.

"I am making them a fair deal. I can not offer this deal to you, however, since you are not a part of the council, but were still deeply involved into this mess. I'm afraid you will have to face the trial and the full punishment. Of course that applies to you and your former team mate."

This seemed to get a reaction out of her. She paled considerably and straightened her back in defiance.

"You have nothing on me. You are bluffing, and we both know how terrible you are at gambling."

"Oh, but I have something on you. Or did you forget that all of the reports that are sent to the council go through you? Or are you saying that you just happened to miss those particular fifty seven ones?" Tsunade could almost hear the sound of Koharu's teeth grinding against each other. Before the older woman could say anything else, Homura put his hand on her shoulder and shook his head disapprovingly.

"It was a bad idea to keep it from her. Now we have to face the punishment Tsunade sees fit to put upon us." He turned to look the Godaime in the eyes. "Is there a way to somehow reduce it? I know for sure that you will not sentence us to death, but putting us in prison would result in the same outcome as an execution. You are a smart woman, Tsunade. You must have planned for this. What is it that you want?" He asked, making sure the disturbed council members didn't hear their conversation. The chances of that happening were low, seeing as they were preoccupied with their own problems, but Tsunade appreciated the gesture.

"You are right. As much as I hate to admit it, you two were faithful to Konoha up until this incident. It would also be stupid of me to just let your experience and advise go to waste. I want the two of you to resign as advisors and not to disturb me, or anyone else for that matter. I will personally come to you, if I need your help. I also want you to give me all the information you have on Danzo and his Ne. That is all." Homura nodded and stood up, pulling his slightly dishelved team mate with him.

"You will have all the papers on your desk by tomorrow morning." And with that the two elders departed, leaving the council on their own.

Tsunade let out a sigh and watched as the papers slowly began to stack before her and the number of people in the room decreased. When all the former council members left, the Godaime rubbed her temples. Now she had only one thing bothering her. What role did Sakura, Sasuke and their family play in this whole mess? Right now the two of them were off on a B ranked mission with Kakashi, so she would have to wait until they got back, as she felt uncomfortable asking their parents. In the meantime she would look into Sasuke's folder to see what that note from earlier was about. Tsunade looked at the calender and determined their estimated time of return.

"Two weeks from now, huh?"

Jiraiya looked at her from the corner of his eye, but decided not to question her mumblings.

Just like that Uzumaki Naru's life had taken a turn for the better. A week after her treatment had begun her face was completely void of any scars, but still looked hideous as it had taken on an ugly shade of pink. But from the facial structure alone, Naru felt it was safe to say that she was actually a little attractive, in a girlish kind of way. She was no startling beauty that was sure to turn heads on the streets, but she was definitely not ugly either.

Naru was also relieved to find out that the facial markings she had since she was a kid were gone.

The only thing that disturbed her, was the toad Sannin. He had taken to visiting her... sometimes at the most inappropriate hours. Sure, she felt honored that one of the three legendary ninja was paying her so much attention...at the beginning. After the third visit at five o'clock in the night she chased him out with a kunai in hand. She made sure to thank him for the fruits he brought on the next day however.

Another week passed and Naru's upper body already looked like that of a human being, albeit, once again, an ugly shade of pink. She received a letter from her house manager telling her that the price for her apartment was cut in half and that she would be refunded for the time she had to pay double the normal fee. The blond pretended not to see the small bloodstain on the paper.

Since her face was now more or less normally colored, she felt it safe to tuck the long hair away with the very same hairpin she found two weeks ago.

It also helped that people didn't recognize her on the streets. The vendors in the shopping district were all actually very nice people, as she found out. So nice, in fact, that she found herself unable to hold a grudge against any of them...except that fat asshole at the vegetables store. But he was a bastard by nature.

Naru put down her shopping bags and began storing away their contents. She still had an appointment with Shizune later today. The blond grinned to herself.

Finally, after the seemingly endless four years, she felt that life was worth living once again.

Tsunade patiently listened until Kakashi finished his report and excused himself, promptly vanishing in a cloud of smoke. Sasuke snorted in amusement at the antics of his teacher, while Sakura just rolled her eyes. The two were about to leave the office when they were stopped by the Godaime.

"Sasuke, Sakura, please stay. I have some questions for you." She said, putting her chin on the intertwined fingers of her hands. The two shared a confused look before turning to face her once again. Tsunade contemplated about how she should best approach the subject.

"Take a seat, both of you." She advised and waited until both teenagers were on the same eye level as her. "Now...What can you tell me about Uzumaki Naru?" She asked and watched their reactions.

Sasuke immediately stiffened and fisted his hands, looking to the side. Sakura looked shocked first, before her usually smiling green eyes looked sadly at her adopted brother, who was facing away from her. When it was obvious that Sasuke wasn't going to speak, the pink haired girl drew a deep breath.

"She...She was our-"

"Is. She is our sister." Sasuke cut in, his voice low and sharp. Sakura flinched but continued after correcting herself.

"She is our sister...who..." She took another glance at the raven haired boy beside her before continuing. "...vanished about four years ago. Sasuke and her were adopted together by my parents when we were eight..." She trailed off uncertainly. "Shishou, what exactly do you want to know about her?" Tsunade felt glad that Sakura was obviously emotionally conflicted at the moment and hadn't asked the reason why the Godaime wanted to know about Naru in the first place.

"I want to know about your relationship with her." She specified and once again went silent.

Sakura's eyes drifted all around the room, unfocused, before coming to a stop on the window and staring into nothing. After a long pause, in which Sasuke seemed to recover a little, the pink haired girl continued.

"It's difficult, really. She was always a little strange, but after the adoption she became really withdrawn. I... I suppose it was my fault. At the time I had a huge crush on Sasuke and after learning of his family's death I begged my parents to adopt him. At first they refused flat out. Then they went to talk to Sandaime-sama and when they came back they had Naru and Sasuke already with them. I...said something really stupid to her back then." Sakura trailed off and the room once again lapsed into silence. Tsunade thought that she would have to ask her student to continue, but the young medic seemed remember that she had a story to tell and went on.

"As I said, she became really withdrawn after that. She would only come out of her room to eat or go to the academy... After a while Mom insisted that the three of us spend some time together. She forced us to go to Naru's room and stay there for hours on end. We did nothing at first. Then I suggested we play some table top games and Naru agreed." Sakura chuckled a little, her eyes still not focused on anything. "She literally forced Sasuke to play with us."

Again the medic paused, but returned to her story much faster than the last time.

"I'd like to say that we grew closer... but I'm not sure we did, or rather I'm not sure Naru realized that we did.

Because they now had three kids to feed, my parents had to work more and were really irritable so the atmosphere was tense most of the time except on mornings, when we were all still in good spirits. After about a year or maybe a bit later Sasuke developed some sort of...strange rivalry with her. They would both do their best to annoy each other and sometimes both of them went too far and said some more stupid things to each other. It didn't help that I usually sided with Sasuke. I never got along with her like a sister should. It was more like having a second brother, actually." Again Sakura halted her speech, this time to angrily wipe at her eyes, which were slowly beginning to drop tears.

"She got a lot better after we got Iruka-sensei as our homeroom teacher. He went out to her and helped her a lot. She would drag us together to Ichiraku's sometimes. We were supposed to graduate together, but Naru failed her test. Later we found out that she graduated anyway, because of an ordeal involving a traitor called Mizuki, who worked as an assistant at the academy. I don't know why, but she reverted to withdrawing herself again after that.

"Because she was promoted later, she didn't get to be on a team from our graduation class since otherwise there would have been an uneven number of new genin. She was supposed to get assigned a jounin instructor after the chuunin exams, when the class below us would have graduated but...there was the invasion and everything went straight to hell." Again Sakura stopped and sniffed audibly, pulling out a handkerchief from her pouch to wipe at her eyes.

"After the invasion Naru started disappearing for whole weeks and when she came back she looked like she might drop dead on the spot, even though she was never injured. She told Mom that she was sent on dangerous missions, but Mom didn't believe her. No wonder, really...who would send a genin with no experience on A ranked missions and alone at that? This went on for about two months. Once again, Naru just disappeared but this time so did most of her stuff. Mom got really worried, but wrote it off to Naru entering her rebelling age. When she didn't come back three weeks later, Mom went looking for her and Dad went to ask about her at the Hokage tower. Both of them came back empty handed. The next day they both went to the council..." The pink haired girl once again broke off, wiping at her eyes and sniffing.

"And... and they told them she died..." At this point Sakura completely broke down. Sasuke was grinding his his teeth, but when it became apparent that Sakura wasn't going to continue he turned to face Tsunade.

"They were told that Naru was camping somewhere outside Konoha and was assaulted by some enemy ninja. Her body was supposedly lost because of some exploding tags or fire jutsu. I say the story is full of shit." He stood up and started pacing the room, much like Jiraiya did not too long ago.

"How on earth did enemies come so close to Konoha unnoticed when we had strengthened our lookouts and had overall increased security because of the invasion?! If there really were enemies, then why would they use fire jutsu or exploding tags strong enough to obliterate the body on an untrained genin?! I went out and personally looked all around the village to find the spot the supposed battle found place and all I found were some half-assed craters, not nearly enough to destroy a body completely! And all of that aside, Naru isn't the kind of person to just get offed by some random ninja!" Sasuke was breathing hard and his eyes were blazing. Sakura was still crying and hid her face with her palms.

Tsunade sighed. Once again... the council. She found herself regretting that she merely sentenced most of them to about fifteen years in prison, because now she really wanted to kill some of them. Nevertheless, the two ninja before her seemed to feel a strong connection with the Uzumaki girl. The remaining question was... should she tell them? Tsunade raked her brain for any decent ideas but came up empty. She could always ask Naru, and it seemed like the right thing to do, but she had the feeling that the girl would refuse to get reaquaintanced with her family and it would all spiral into a new mess.

The Godaime sighed, picked up a pen and a clear piece of paper and scribbled something down on it. She then beckoned Sasuke to her, as he seemed to be the only of the two capable of comprehending the situation. She handed the paper to him.

"This is her address." At Sasuke's uncomprehending look she continued. "I would like to keep both of you here and explain things to you, but I think that you won't listen to me once you hear that she's alive and just run out in search for her. So get going."

Slowly, Sasuke turned to look at Sakura who had raised her tear stained face to look disbelievingly at Tsunade. Sasuke took another look at the paper in his hand, before clenching it tightly in his fist. With his other hand he grabbed Sakura and dragged her to the window, which opened from the outside.

The Uchiha's wide, disbelieving eyes slowly turned to look at Jiraiya, who winked at him from his perch underneath the windowsill.

"Say something stupid to her, and I'll kill you." The toad Sannin advised cheerily before jumping past Sasuke and into Tsunade's office.

The raven haired boy turned to look at his pink haired sister who in turn looked at him. After a short pause they both jumped out and began their race over the rooftops of Konoha.

Tsunade watched their backs until they disappeared behind some far off buildings.

"Do you think I shouldn't have told them?" She asked, still staring in the general direction the two young ninja went in.

"Nah, you were right. They're both smart kids. They would have figured it out sooner or later and if it had been later then there would have been casualties. And we don't needthat on top of everything else." Jiraiya chuckled and sat himself across from her.

"Hey, do you still have that sake you keep in the table?"

AN: Whoa, finally done. I know, this chapter is shorter than the previous ones but... well... you gotta live with it. It's not that much shorter anyway. I'm not in the least satisfied with how it came out, especially the council part, but I guess it's up to you to judge, so REVIEW! Thanks.