Demonic Princess: Uprising- Chapter 7: Expect the Unexpected

"What exactly happened?" The busty medic demanded.

Kana stared up into her hazel eyes, contemplating on whether to trust her or not. Her expression was neither disrespectful or angry, but calm and almost emotionless.

Tsunade's eyebrow twitched in annoyance, her patience warring thin, "You either tell me, or your friend dies. That's how bad his condition is."

Looking away from Tsunade, she finally nodded, "Fine. He is the container of the nine-tailed demon Kyuubi. He released a large amount of its chakra. The chakra then consumed him, eating away at his body."

The medic nodded, "His organs are in critical condition, and his tissue has been eaten away. How much chakra did he release?"

"Two tails."

Everyone, except Gaara, looked at Kana confusingly. Sighing, she explained slowly, "One tail of demonic chakra is equal to all the chakra in the human body, every last drop of it." She then nodded towards Tsunade, "Sense you are a medic you are familiar with the amount of chakra that's in the human body, yes?"

"Yes, but the amount varies. Naruto himself has quite a lot of chakra."

Kana frowned, "Okay, take the amount of Naruto's normal chakra, let's give it a number say 10. Now add two 10's to his original 10, giving you 30. Imagine all that chakra. That's three times the normal amount of chakra he should have, but remember its not normal chakra. It's demonic chakra. It can be poisonous to those whose body isn't trained to accommodate that caliber of chakra."

Tsunade sat down, thinking hard, "So, Naruto had three times the amount of chakra he should have had being forced into his body all at once, making it eat away at his insides?"

She nodded, "Yes. Do you know how to heal him now?"

The woman suddenly stood up and walked into a room that looked like a library.

"Shizune, prepare Naruto for the operation." She called and then walked out with three scrolls.

"I'm going to brief you on all his injuries. His liver, left lung, and parts of his intestines are severely damaged from the chakra. His brain has slipped into a mild coma, due to the overload of chakra. And lastly, his appendix ruptured inside due to the pressure and amount of chakra his body was trying to sustain. I will have to make an incision and remove the organ. His injuries are serious, and are not to be taken lightly, but he will live. Taking his appendix out will not harm him in any way, it will just leave him with a scar."

Kakashi sighed in relief, "How long will his recovery take?"

"It depends on how well the surgery goes, but I would say a week. Make yourself comfortable, oh and you will have to fend for yourselves for dinner. I won't be available for a couple of hours." She then walked into the operating room shutting the door behind her.

Kana sat comfortably on a couch that Tsunade had moved into Naruto's recovery room. It was pushed up against the East side of the room where the windows were.

She sat cross legged with her eyes closed, as if meditating, and breathed in and out slowly. A frown crossed her face as she began to analyze the battle with Haku and the bridge incident.

'Why wasn't I able to control it…?'

'You aren't strong enough to control my power yet.' Suzaku simply stated, 'You have to train your mind and body. My powers are much different than those of the other demons. You need an extremely good amount of willpower to either control my powers or resist against it. It's all about who is strong in the mind because once you take the mind of the enemy, you take everything.'

'Well then how do I train my mind?' She asked, opening her eyes and looking out of the open window. The trees swayed from the wind bringing a leaf up into the room. It danced around the room before finally settling on the coffee table in front of her.

'Remember Naruto's training, how he had to cut the leaf with his chakra?' Suzaku asked, and when Kana nodded indicating she remember Suzaku continued, 'Good, I want you to make the leaf on the table come to you.'

'What? How do I do that?' She asked completely confused.

'Will the left to be in your hands. Feel its texture and imagine it in you palm. Think of it as if your mind has a string attached to the leaf, then slowly reel it in like a fish.'

Kana nodded, and breathed in out slowly then stared at the leaf. Imagining the string, she slowly pulled it closer inch by inch. At first it didn't move, but as she concentrated harder the leaf began to twitch and move slightly.

"It moved!" She cried, jumping up in triumph, then she quickly sat down remembering she was next to Naruto, who was still in a comma.

'Yes, Kana it did move. But that's isn't nearly as good enough. Try again.'

Kana continued the exercise, but continued to get the same results. Beads of sweat began to form and roll down the side of her face. Slowly but surely, the leaf began to edge closer to the end of the table. It teetered, half of it on the table half hanging freely.

'Come here!' She mentally commanded and in an instant the leaf was in her palm instead of on the table.

'Yes!' She silently danced, happy with her success.

'Again, Kana; make it so the leaf comes to you in one fluid motion instead of choppy, and also make it come to you faster.'

The sun rose up slowly, bathing Naruto's room in light.

Tsunade slid the door open and smiled at the scene. Kana sat on a chair next to Naruto's bed with the upper portion of her body slumped over onto the bed near his feet with her head resting on her crossed arms. Gaara leaned back against a chair on the other side of the blonde with his hands comfortably placed behind his head and his feet propped on the bed. Kimimaro lay curled up on the couch.

Walking carefully over to Naruto, she checked his vitals then quietly walked to the door. Taking one last look at the scene she smiled then slid the door shut behind her.

-Naruto's Mind-

Thick slimy pipes lined the tall walls that rose above Naruto, and as he walked a pulse of energy thumped rhythmically to Naruto's heart beats making the walls glowed red with each beat.

He slowly trekked through the knee-deep water until he came to a huge golden gate that rose up to kiss the crumbling and decaying ceiling.

A piece of paper with the kanji 'Seal' written on it was in the center of the gate. Naruto stared curiously at the gate. He had been here before. He remembered he had been almost five years. The water had been up to his chest then. Images of being cornered by the villagers invaded his mind. The memory of that night, cut deep into his soul as he watched himself being tortured, and beaten by the guards that were supposedly there to protect him.

Tears reached his eyes as he watched the memory. But it became too much for him to bear and he forcefully pushed the memory away. He fell to his knees but caught himself from fully falling over by putting his hands out against the wall.

"It's been awhile Naruto…" A deep voice, murmured from behind the cage, "I was afraid you had forgotten about me, until a couple weeks ago."

Naruto's eyes widened and he looked up, expecting to find an enormous orange fox but instead he saw a full grown man standing in front of him. He stood at about 6ft 2 inches with long black hair with orange streaks that started at the roots then slowly faded into black. The man wore traditional samurai clothes of black Hakama pants, dark gray almost black shirt, a red sleeveless vest, and close toed ninja shoes.

"Do you know why you are here, Naruto?" His once booming voice was quieter but the stern tone of authority was still evident.

"Does it have to do with the amount of chakra I took from you?"

The man nodded, "Yes, it does. I told you to stop, but you chose to ignore me. You became drunk and crazed with my power. Now look at the damage your body has sustained because you chose to not heed my warnings."

Naruto looked away but remained silent as the man continued to reprimand him.

"Your body and mind are not yet capable to handle my power. You need proper training to be able to harness and control it; and as my vessel I will not have my container seen as weak by the other demons. So, after much consideration, I have decided that it's time I personally trained you in the way of the warrior. I will teach you how to control my powers and also help you create new jutsu's. But I have only one condition. If you break it, I will no longer teach you."

The blonde's eyes lit up and nodded vigorously, "Anything, I'll do anything!"

The Kyuubi in human form narrowed his eyes and warily stared at the eager boy in front of him, "You will do anything and everything I tell you to do."

Naruto's smile instantly transformed into a frown and looked at the man carefully, "You mean your going to control me." It was more of a statement than a question.

The man shook his head, "No, not like that Naruto. As your Sensei, when I order you to do something you do it. Do not take this as me taking advantage of you, because it is nothing like that. Everything I tell you to do will always have a purpose and meaning behind it. I am your closest ally. Don't ever forget that."

He slowly nodded his head agreeing, "Okay."

Smiling the Kyuubi gestured for him to come closer, "First I want to tell you my human form name. Demons have three names because they have three forms. One is their demon forms, and their most known name. The second are their human forms, and their human names. And the third and final form is their weapon form, but this one only the sealed demons have; I'll explain more about that one when the times comes. I am mostly known as 'Kyuubi' for my nine tails in my demon form. My human form name is Izanagi, and when you have four tails you will inherit me as a weapon. The shape of the weapon varies from each container but the higher numbered tails tend to use the same weapon. Also as you gain tails you are slowly absorbing me so when you have gained all nine tails, the Kyuubi no Yoko will be no more. You will become the new Kyuubi."

Naruto stared at the man, his eyes slightly widened in surprise, and his mouth twitched into a frown, "Will this happen to all of the Jinchuriki?"

"Yes, when they gain all the tails then they fully consume their demon; all their powers, knowledge and memories."

"Okay. Well Izanagi-sensei, what do I get to learn first?"

"When do you think he will wake up?" Kana asked looking up at the wooden house. She stood on the ground next to the river training with Gaara and Kimimaro.

They each nodded at one another, and then ran towards Kana. Her mind was off thinking about Naruto, and she didn't even notice them.

"Pay attention!" Kimimaro yelled as a bone began to protrude out of his rib cage. He pulled it out effortlessly and smacked her in the abdomen with it, then followed the attack up with an uppercut to her jaw. Using his sand, Gaara then flung Kana into the river.

"What the hell was that for? I wasn't ready!" She shouted angrily. Using her chakra to propel herself, she rose up out of the water until she stood on top of it. Seeing the look in their eyes Kana understood why they wanted to fight.

Sliding into a fighting stance she yelled, "Fine, you want to fight then let's fight!"

Kakashi watched them from inside the house.

"So you finally got them to go outside." Tsunade noticed, nodding her head to the scene below them.

"Ya, Kimimaro and Gaara were the easier ones. But Kana…she wouldn't leave his side; not even to eat, or get exercise." Kakashi chuckled, "I had to almost drag her out of that room. But now, the boys have baited her to fight them; probably to help her get her mind off of Naruto."

"Eh, I don't think the fight is just about getting Naruto off Kana's mind. I think they are fighting to keep him off their minds as well. " A calm, motherly expression flashed onto her face, "They are so strong for their age." She breathed, "Have they made their first kill yet?"

Kakashi frowned, "That's what worries me. I don't think any of them have. Kana acts like she has but I doubt it. Kimimaro has injured people severely to get away but I don't think he has killed anyone. And the other two, I'm positive they both haven't; and in a couple of months are the Chunin exams. They have to make their first kill before then, or they will be too green to take the exams."

Tsunade nodded, then an idea came to her. Pulling out a map from a bookcase, she opened it and pointed to three locations.

"When Naruto fully recovers, take them to these locations. They are all bandit camps; they've been raiding villages for a while now; they take the women and children and sell them as slaves, and burn down the villages to a crisp. I'm sure they will be easy kills for you students."

The Jounin pondered the idea for a moment then nodded, "Alright, I'll take them there. Would you mind going with me? I want to put them on smaller teams. Kana and Naruto will be with me while Gaara and Kimimaro are with you. You said there was three?"

When Tsunade nodded he continued, "Well, what I was thinking was each team gets one camp and then the last camp they destroy together. Hopefully this will form a stronger bond between the four of them, preparing them a bit for the Chunin Exams."

"That's not a bad plan, Kakashi. We will leave in a week." She then left to check on Naruto.

"Kakashi!" Tsunade yelled suddenly from Naruto's room. Running into the room expecting to find some kind of enemy, he held a kunai in his hand.

The busty medic peeled away the bandages on Naruto's stomach where there was suppose to be a dark bluish purple bruise but instead was smooth, lightly tanned skin that showed no signs of a scar.

"There was a bruise there yesterday!" She yelled, confused as to what happened.

Kakashi then pointed at the small one-inch scar that was slightly above his right pelvic bone, "Look at the scar."

The medic turned her attention to the scar and her eyes widened at what she saw. The scar glowed red and there was a hissing sound as the scar became smaller and smaller before there was nothing left but smooth tan skin.

"What the…"

"Jinchuriki have extremely fast healing rates." Naruto muttered, sitting up slowly. The six whisker marks on his cheeks were also gone.

Tsunade almost screamed, "You shouldn't be awake yet! Why are you awake? You were in a comma! What the hell is going on?" Confused and extremely frustrated she began pacing back and fourth, muttering to herself.

Naruto moved to the side of the bed and stood up slowly, as if to test his body, then walked over to Tsunade. He gently guided the distraught woman into a chair next to the bed.

"I don't understand…How could…?"

The blonde smiled at her, and knelt down so they were eye to eye then cupped her hands in his own, "Obaa-chan, relax. You healed the wound's the Kyuubi couldn't. And now he just finished the rest of the healing."

"Obaa-chan? How dare you call me that!" She yelled angrily, shaking him wildly, "I'm not an old woman!"

Naruto chuckled to himself then muttered, sarcastically "Ya, sure of course your not."

Turning to Kakashi he said, "Where's the others?"

When Kakashi nodded towards the window, Naruto stood up and opened the dresser where his clothes lay neatly folded. Choosing his normal attire instead of his ninja clothes he pulled out some black cargo pants, and a white t-shirt.

Walking into the bathroom and shutting the door behind him, he shrugged off the hospital looking gown. Putting on the clothes he had selected from the dresser, Naruto then opened the door and began walking out of the room towards the front door.

"And where do you think your going?" Tsunade demanded, "You're still healing!"

Naruto shook his head, "No, Obaa-chan, I'm not. I have healed completely; I'm as good as new. So if you'll excuse me…" He brushed passed her, slipped on his shoes, and opened the door only to find that it was a straight drop down into the water.

"See. You can either go back and rest willingly or I'll make you." She threatened, cracking her knuckles evilly.

"Tsunade-sama, maybe you should just let him go stretch his legs for awhile…" Kakashi said carefully, not wanting her to turn her anger on him.

"Fine!" She yelled, pushing Naruto out of the house and slamming the down behind him.

The blonde flipped in the air, and concentrating chakra to his feet, he landed on top of the water, and then immediately turned left running towards his teammates.

Kana was trying her best to fend off both boys, but it seemed as the fight dragged on their teamwork and timing became better and better.

Kimimaro would come in with a Taijutsu attack, then Gaara would hit her with his sand or a earth jutsu. So she was constantly playing defense, trying to block Kimimaro's attacks and dodging Gaara's.

She growled in frustration. Tired of running away from their attacks, Kana jumped back a couple of feet and quickly ran through hand seals. Once the first Genjutsu was complete she continued to layer other Genjutsu's on top of it until she was sure that they couldn't get out.

Kimimaro and Gaara stood motionless as the intricate web of illusions entrapped their minds. Taking this opportunity, she ran up behind Gaara first then brought up her hand to knock him out but she was stopped by his sand barrier.

Confused as to why it wasn't yielding to her, she willed the defense to fall. At first the wall of sand stood firmly but it eventually crumbled to the ground. Smiling in satisfaction, she then hit Gaara in the back of the neck making his body go limp.

She turned to Kimimaro, only to see him break through the final layer of Genjutsu's.

"Shit!" She yelled as she ducked under a punch. Quickly taking a kunai out, Kana was able to block the bone sword just in time before it hit her shoulder. Ducking under his next strike and stepping forward she used the momentum to then grabbed the bone sword and ripped it out of his right hand.

But Kana didn't see the second bone sword that appeared in Kimimaro's left hand. He thrust it forwards, and slashing into her thigh. The wound wasn't deep but it wasn't just a scratch either. It was just deep enough to produce a mild sting and a good amount of blood flow.

Jumping back, she looked at him sharply, "Fine, if that's the way you want to play it."

Running through hand seals, she exhaled a fairly large amount of ash-smoke into the clearing, "Katon: Haisekishō! (Fire Release: Ash Pile Burning)"

Kimimaro tried to get out of the smoke but each time he reached the edge of the smoke Kana would cut him with a kunai.

Then suddenly a gust of wind blew away Kana's smoke jutsu, freeing Kimimaro from it.

"What the…?" Kana muttered searching for the perpetrator.

Then she spotted someone standing at the edge of the water smiling at them.

"Naruto?" She wondered aloud not sure if it was him, "Naruto!" Running towards him she embraced him, "Are you okay? Why are you out of bed?"

He stepped back from her and stretched his sore muscles, "Ya I'm fine. Once Obaa-chan healed all the initial damage, Izan- Kyuubi was able to heal the rest of it." Naruto rubbed the back of his head, mentally slapping himself for almost slipping up on using Izanagi instead of Kyuubi.

'Izanagi?' Suzaku perked up at hearing the name, 'How does he know that name? Has Kyu really started teaching him?'

'Izanagi?' Kana asked Suzaku while helping Gaara up from the ground.

'That's Kyuubi's human form name. Remember when I told you all of the demons names? Those were their human names, because that's what they used in the Spirit world. Only Izanagi refused to use his human name in the spirit world so everyone just called him Kyuubi.'

'Why would he do that?'

The demon sighed, 'He is a complicated demon.' She didn't say anymore as she retreated deeper into her cage.

So Kana left it at that, but she couldn't help but feel like there was more to the story than what she was telling her. But she left it alone like Suzaku had and she turned her attention more to the living world.

"Kana," Naruto said, slipping into a fighting stance, "Fight me."

Something was slightly different about him. As she stared at him, she couldn't place it. It could have been the look of determination mixed with excitement in his eyes or the fact that the whisker marks were…gone. That was it. Mentally making a note to talk to him later, Kana slid into an offensive stance then ran at him with a kunai drawn.

"Is training all they ever do?" Tsunade asked, still annoyed about loosing her patient.

Kakashi smiled, "You do know we were doing the exact same thing they are doing."

She shook her head, "No. They do it because they want to. We trained 24/7 because we had to. We grew up living through war after war." Tsunade turned to face Kakashi, "We were forced to grow up. They- she gestured towards the young ninja's fighting outside,-don't have to grow up as fast as we did."

Remembering his talk with Kana on top of Tazuna's house, the Jounin disagreed, "Just because they didn't grow up during a war doesn't mean that they weren't forced to grow up. I think they all train so hard because each one has a goal they wish to complete. An objective that means everything to them." He turned away from the window, "All I can do is help them reach that goal."

"Take out the sentries, Kana." Kakashi whispered, pointing at four men standing guard at the entrance of the camp.

Creating a sleeping Genjutsu, the four men silently dropped to the ground unconscious. Quickly and quietly, Kakashi, Naruto, and Kana, crept into the camp.

For the most part the camp was silent. There was the occasional guard or late nightwalker but other than that the only sound was the crackling of the large fire at the center of the camp.

The camp itself had small tents that held around three bandits per tent, with only ten or so tents, that were set up in a circle around the fire.

"I'm going to take out the guards at the far end of the camp and any stragglers that come your way. You each begin to kill the bandits sleeping in the tents."

The three then split up, Kana going into a tent and Naruto going into the one next to hers.

Her first kill was easier than she thought it would be. They had observed their targets the day before. They had seen them burn village after village, taking whatever they wanted; killing who ever they wanted. Thinking about those memories made it easier for Kana to silently plunge her kunai into their chests directly hitting their heart. Once she finished, she met up with Naruto and they entered the next tent together. Then they continued until they met up with Kakashi.

They met up with Tsunade, Gaara, and Kimimaro a kilometer away from the main bandit camp.

"How did it go?" Kakashi asked Tsunade from their tree perch above the others.

"Very well actually. I think knowing what these people did helped them. We ran into some guards on our way here; sense they won't be reporting back we might have alerted the camp. I think you and I should check it out before we let them loose in there."

"I agree. Lets have them stay in groups of two then. I don't want anything going wrong. There are a lot of bandits in this camp, enough to overpower us."

She nodded then jumped down from the tree.

"Naruto behind you!" Kimimaro yelled, throwing a bone Senbon at a bandit that had been running towards him from behind.

"Fūton: Renkūdan! ( Wind Release: Drilling Air Bullet) A blast of cutting wind from Naruto hit a group of bandits that had tried to run at them, effectively slicing them and throwing them back a couple feet.

"Where's Kana?" Naruto yelled, running over to the other boys.

"They took her. The leader of the bandits had her taken to the slave jails to be sold off." Gaara said dangerously, his jaw clenched tightly as he maneuvered his sand around the enemies until it was close enough to choke and drown them in sand.

"What! Where's Sensei and Obaa-chan?" The blonde asked, throwing a kunai at another bandit.

"I have no idea. But we need to find them."

Things had gone terribly wrong from the moment the group stepped into the camp. The bandits had been waiting for them. Once they were in the camp, they were immediately surrounded then overwhelmed, the perfect ambush.

"Let me go asshole!" Kana yelled, squirming viciously as a very large fat man swung her over his shoulder like a sake of potatoes.

"I said, let me go NOW." The threat was then followed by a swift strike to his ear delivered by her knee. Howling in pain, he instinctively reached up to clutch his head, letting Kana go in the process.

She quickly jumped back putting distance between her and the large man. He stood at about 6 ft 11inches; weighing 400+ pounds of pure fat and muscle. Once he recovered, he ran at Kana. Like a raging bull, he swung wildly. Kana dodged his obvious punches and easily countered them. Sidestep, jump, roundhouse kick to his jaw, duck under another punch, then followed up with a hard front kick to his ribs.

He slide back, but other than that he held his ground against Kana.

"Come…here…you little…bitch." He wheezed, hunching over tiredly. Sweat dripped down from ever part of his body, and his fists hung weary at his side.

"Hey Goru maybe you should lay off the food for awhile. Then you won't get your ass kicked by a pipsqueak girl half your age!" Taunted a man who appeared behind the fat man. Unlike the other bandit, the new enemy was short and skinny, with long hunter green hair and slanted brown eyes.

Goru's nostril's flared and his face became red with anger. Then with speed he hadn't shown before he assaulted Kana with a barrage of punches she was neither ready for nor able to dodge.

His fists slammed into her stomach and shoulders, breaking numerous ribs, dislocating her left shoulder, and shattering her right collarbone. His last and strongest punch connected with her jaw, effectively making her fly back into a wall as well as fracturing her jaw.

Coughing up a good amount of blood, Kana slowly stood up clutching her shoulder tightly. Then in one swift movement, she snapped it back into place. Biting her lip until the pain subdued, Kana eyed Goru dangerously.

'Suzaku, I need you to heal me. Now.'

'Way ahead of you. Ribs are repaired, just working on your collar bone and jaw.'

She continued to watch him as he slowly made his way towards her.

'I have no choice Suzaku. I'm releasing one tail.'

Not waiting for a response, Kana closed her eyes and began to draw out her demonic chakra.

At first nothing happened, but then dark orange chakra began to form around her body until the chakra formed a long slender curved tail, similar to a birds tail.

When she opened her eyes, they were no longer blue but a bright yellow gold. Then in an instant she was gone, then she reappeared in front of Goru; and with a kunai, she swiftly cut his throat in one fluid arced motion. She didn't wait for his body to hit the floor before she began her assault on the other man.

The green haired man proved to be much more of a challenge than Goru. His short slender body made him agile, and his attacks swift.

"Now this is what I call a fight." He laughed, as they exchanged blow after blow. His movements were not that of a bandit, but of a full trained shinobi.

He moved on pare with Kana effortlessly, then countered every move she made. This man was definitely on a whole different level then the enormously fat man, Goru.

"Shit." Kana cursed as he danced out of the way of another one of her punches, "One tail isn't enough to beat him." Blinking away the blood that was trickling down from her face, she glared at him angrily, "I need more power."

"Before I kill you, it's only right that you know who killed you. My name is Unaha Ichirou, sorry for ending your life at such a young age." He apologized, it almost sounded sincere, but it was his closed eyed smile that gave him away. The smile that looked forced and unnatural on his face.

Closing her eyes she began to draw out more and more demonic chakra. She imagined a pool of chakra. Then picking up a goblet and filling it with the chakra, she began to slowly drink it. Letting the power fill her body, enhance her sense, and sharpen her instincts.

'That's enough.' Suzaku warned, as a giant iron curtain cut her off from the pool of chakra.

Kana turned and glared at the demon with a what-the –hell look. But she turned away swiftly, replying, 'Fine, that should be enough anyways.'

When Kana opened her eyes three orange chakra tails were flowing behind her. She took a deep breath, savoring the power that coursed through her veins. Her golden eyes rested upon her opponent, who looked at her dully as if unimpressed with the large amounts of chakra emitting from her body. As she glared at him a feeling of bloodlust and excitement took control of her body, and with each breath the desire to rip him apart became stronger and stronger. The power of the Phoenix sung to her, seduced her, and excited her.

This was the exact thing Kana had always tried to avoid. By keeping distant, and almost afraid she had never fully allowed herself to enjoy the power she had locked within her. This made the seduction even harder to deny. The sweet caress of it's warmth was unknown and foreign to Kana, but she knew one thing. She liked it, and wanted more out if. The controlling and playing it safe method she always had was being thrown out the window as Kana climbed into the passenger seat and finally letting the power move into the driver seat; letting instincts alone guide her in the fight. She let herself sit back and enjoy the ride of the thrill and pleasure of the kill.

She became one with the beast, and the beast became one with her.

And together they fought.

A pulse of energy hit Naruto like a brick wall making his vision blur, and his body shake.

'What the hell…' He thought, looking around. Everyone else seemed unaffected, or unaware of the energy pulse.

The blonde nudged Gaara, "Did you feel that?"

"Feel what?" Gaara asked, stopping and looking at Naruto confusingly.

"I didn't feel anything either." Kimimaro added, "Must be your imagination. We are all on edge right now. "

But another wave came this time that was twice as strong and twice as fast, knocking both Gaara and Naruto off their feet and onto the ground. The demonic chakra surge felt almost as if they had felt it before, the power, the chakra scent, the emotions within the energy, everything. It was so familiar to them yet so different and strange. It sung to their beastality, it sung to their souls. Making them want to be near the energy.

In one swift movement both of the boys were on their feet and staring at the center of the camp.

"Kana." Was all they said before sprinting off towards the chakra.

"Lets go." Kakashi ordered from atop his perch. Quickly jumping down, he ran towards the center of camp with Tsunade and Kimimaro following closely behind him.

He himself had felt the chakra, but it seemed there was much more to it than what he was sensing. On the bridge, Kakashi had felt Kana's demonic chakra, felt the ten-tailed Phoenix's power. But it was controlled, the chakra still felt like Kana. But this…this chakra was entirely different. It no longer held any remnants of who or what Kana was. The chakra felt entirely unnatural and evil, much like the Kyuubi's chakra had felt on that night it attacked Konoha. Something was wrong.

When the smell of burnt flesh entered his nostrils, Kakashi immediately prepared himself for the worst but even that didn't help him for the gruesome sight. Bellowing flames surrounded the small makeshift buildings, engulfing anything and everything until it was nothing but ash.

Mass amounts of bodies lay on the ground. Mutilated or burnt to a crisp it didn't matter which punishment these bandits endured, they all were beyond recognition.

As Naruto looked around at the sight, he was surprised to find that the scene did not disturb him; it was the fact that deep inside of him he wished he had been the one to dish out the punishment to them. The fact that, only a few months ago he couldn't finish off the demon brothers but now he wasn't afraid to take a life. He wasn't afraid to let someone feel the cold edge of his kunai against their throat, or watch their life fade from their eyes.

'Welcome to the world of shinobi kid. You have now officially become my student. Don't be afraid of who or what you are. Embrace it. Use it. And conquer it.' Izanagi advised.

"What the hell happened here?" Tsunade gasped, memories of the third elemental war entered her mind. Then a thought occurred to her, 'If this is what her raw, untrained, power is just how strong will she be when she harnesses and controls this power? Tsunade shook the thought away and approached Kakashi.

"So this is the strength of your student, Kakashi. You better train her well, or find someone to, or she will destroy anything and everything she wants to." She warned, looking him in the eyes she added sternly, "Teach her the way of the warrior."

He nodded dully; for once unable to find the words he wished to say. The outburst of power had surprised him but this…this scared him. To know he was in charge of three young Jinchuriki with unimaginable power made him uneasy. He tried to shake the feeling and regain his composure, but the feeling still remained. Deciding to do what he could for the children, Kakashi mentally made a note to find Naruto the perfect teacher to teach him the way of the warrior; Kana on the other hand…he already knew the perfect teacher for her.

"We need to find Kana, then get out of here. I'm sure everyone within a 50-mile radius will see this fire. Spread out!"

It was Gaara who found her. She was watching the fire devour the rest of the camp. As if in a trance, she lifted her hand into the air, then as if grasping the fire, she moved her hand slightly to the left. The bellowing flames followed her hand as she continued to do this with an almost childish grin on her face. Kana couldn't hold her amusement in as her smile grew larger and larger.

Gaara stared at her in amazement. She was controlling the fire much like he did with his sand.

"Kana?"

As if his presence had ended her childish amusement, she suddenly made a fist and the flames shrieked and squirmed under her choking grasp till they were nothing but ash.

"I killed them Gaara, all of them. They did terrible things, and they deserved to be punished. They deserved to die."

Gaara slowly walked toward her, careful to make his movements as clear as possible. Despite the fact that her tails were already gone, she was still very close to the killing edge.

*Which was when a Jinchuriki becomes very agitated, aggressive, hostile, and very dangerous because of a situation or because of their emotions. This is the closest to being one with their demon, besides gaining all their tails. Those who have a tight leash on their emotions, rarely ever get close to the killing edge, but that also means that they can control their demons power very well. Jinchuriki who cannot control their emotions are seen as being far more dangerous only because their demons will be able to take control of them more easily making the person become unpredictable, rash, unstoppable and unable to tell friend from foe .One wrong move around them in this state and they could go on a bloody rampage. *

So Gaara chose his words and movements very carefully. Once he was beside her, he gently put his hand on her shoulder and slowly pulled her into a hug.

"Yes," He sighed, "They did deserve to die. You did well. Now lets go home."

"I'm already aware of what she is, Kakashi, and the power that is sealed within her. What I wasn't expecting was that it would be this soon…I thought that maybe the demons powers wouldn't manifest until she was at least 12. But it seems they are developing quite rapidly. She needs proper guidance," Sarutobi informed him, stroking his white bearded chin.

"I agree. She is Uchiha Itachi's pupil is she not?" When Sarutobi nodded, Kakashi continued, "He is the perfect Genjutsu teacher for her as well as other things, but she needs a strict code to live by. She needs to learn the way of the warrior."

The aged Hokage leaned back in his chair, silently thinking for a moment. A plain brown tobacco pipe was resting on the corner of his mouth with one hand supporting it, and the other hand stroked his beard slowly. The combination of the two calmed his mind and helped him think.

"And who, Kakashi, do you propose should teach her? Konoha isn't exactly known for its Kenjutsu. There isn't even anyone here who lives by the warriors code anymore."

"Well, Hokage-sama, when we were in Nami, I remembered an old childhood friend that lives in Kiri…"

"You don't mean…?" He gasped, almost making the pipe fall out of his mouth.

Kakashi nodded, "Yes, I do."

The third Hokage immediately frowned and shook his head, "Absolutely not. I will not send her to Kiri, and have her trained by them. She won't be a child when she returns!"

But the Jounin shook his head, "Her hands are already bloodied and her innocence as a child was never there. She reminds me of an Anbu trainee; a shinobi desperate to learn and become stronger, yet still clinging so desperately onto their humility and emotions so that once they look in the mirror they don't see a monster."

"That's absurd Kakashi!" He grunted, puffing at the pipe, "She can't possibly think of herself as a monster."

"With all due respect, I know Kana better than you. I know how she thinks. If we don't give her this training, someone else will and they will ensnare her with lies and twist her mind until she is completely corrupted. Then they will use her as they wish, raining havoc all over the shinobi nations. I see no other options Hokage-sama. I would not propose this if there were other ways. Believe me, this is the last thing I would want for her."

Sarutobi stared at the silver haired man intently; his mind however, was in a very different place. Being a seasoned Hokage, he knew how to make the tuff decisions. He knew which ones had better out comes than others. But his experience did not help him here. It was an obvious choice. He just didn't like it.

"We will wait a year. Then on April 1, you may send the message. If they accept her, then she may go. Now on to the matter of the boy you brought back... "

Sarutobi stood on the roof of the Hokage building, staring down at the village.

'I can't send her there now. She isn't ready. She's too young. But Kakashi is right. I can't ignore his logic.' Closing his eyes he sighed, 'A year should be plenty of time to prepare her for the upcoming years. No. Nothing can compare or beat their training regiment. But I will do my best to help her.'

"Itachi." He said, and then waited for the Uchiha prodigy to appear wearing his full Anbu attire before continuing, "How is Kana's training going?"

"Fine, it seems she can control fire without saying a word. Her mind capabilities have grown three-fold sense I last saw her before the mission, giving her quite the unique ability. She said she learned it from Suzaku, the demon sealed within her." He paused, waiting to see if Sarutobi wanted him to go on.

"Continue." He ordered, Itachi then picked up where he left off.

"She is able to pick up objects with her mind. Kana had also said this is the first step and that she would soon be able to force her way into someone's mind and control them. For now she can only pick up small objects, but each time I see her the objects become heavier and heavier. As for her other skills, Genjutsu is coming along nicely. With her new mind techniques and genjutsu's she could easily kill someone without lifting a finger. But if a fight did get physical, she could hold her own in a Taijutsu match. It's not her strongest point but it isn't her weakest either."

Sarutobi wondered aloud, "Then what is her weakest point?"

"Ninjutsu. She mostly has fire jutsu's with the exception of a very select few medical techniques. The speed of her hand seals with Ninjutsu is also very slow."

"What about emotionally? She is still sane right?"

"Yes. Her emotions have never gotten out of control. She shows the normal six emotions, anger, annoyance, frustration, happiness, joy, and triumph. From what I can tell she is perfectly sane, and besides being very strong for her age, she will make an excellent shinobi." He deduced, finishing his report.

"Good, then Itachi I want you to keep a close eye on her. She is to become your full time student. You will share some days with Kakashi, but for the most part you will train her. When you think she is ready, I want her accompany you on your Anbu missions giving her first hand experience. Because in exactly one year from today, the Shinsengumi of Kiri will accept her into their ranks and train her. And Itachi, you need to prepare her for it."

"Yes sir." Itachi bowed, "I understand." and then began to leave but Sarutobi stopped him.

"Oh and one more thing Itachi, open up a little bit. I think having an older brother figure would be good for her, and who knows you might enjoy having a little sister. Just give her a chance, she might surprise you." Smiling at Itachi he turned his head back towards the setting sun.

- Many months later -

Kana sighed heavily as she fell back onto a green grassy hill. Her clothes were moist with sweat and as the warm summer breeze blew against her face it cooled down her body. She shut her eyes and enjoyed the warmth of the sun as she relaxed. Relaxation was hard to come by these days. After she had returned from her mission in Nami, things had changed drastically for everyone. She no longer spent the whole day with Naruto, and Gaara. She only saw them at night or on days where they had training with Kakashi. Kana's days were filled with training, training and basically more training. But as she reflected on the past few months, Kana realized she didn't mind it all that much.

At least once a week, she would tag along with Itachi and his Anbu squad on a mission. Those were her favorite days. She got along quite well with the others on the team, but she didn't know their actual names, only their codenames. Itachi was the only other person that knew who they really were. No matter how hard she tried, no one had ever told her their real names; and Kana didn't dare try to invade the minds of a well-seasoned Anbu. She had just started to learn the basic's of her mind techniques and wasn't even near ready to enter someone's mind. And even if she did somehow manage to, every member of the squad never trust her again. And that was something Kana would never risk.

On an average day, which was mostly every day, Kana would wake up early. Approximately five o'clock in the morning early thanks to her internal alarm clock, A.K.A Suzaku. Kana would mentally train with Suzaku; which meant learning how to control her demonic chakra, and the abilities she gained from her tails. Then, she would meet Itachi for a morning workout session, which was really stamina and physical training; the serious training was saved for later on in the day. So from six to eight in the morning she was with Itachi. After that the two would go their separate ways. For Kana that meant going home and eating a well-deserved breakfast with Gaara and Naruto and sometimes with Takatsu, whenever he was actually home and awake.

Gaara was always awake when she returned home, and when he started noticing a pattern in her routine he would wait for her to come home and have a fresh batch of hot tea waiting for her on the table. This became part of Kana's daily life, and she found herself enjoying her time with Gaara. The house was silent that early in the morning. The sun was just beginning to peek over the mountains, bathing the house in a warm, soft hue of yellow-orange, making the atmosphere calming and serene. So her and Gaara would talk until Naruto stumbled into the kitchen asking for breakfast. To Kana, that was when her day really began; when her family gathered around the table and ate breakfast together. It was a time where you didn't have to be constantly pushing yourself, or forcing yourself onward. But of a time where you could just relax and enjoy each other's company.

After breakfast, Naruto and Gaara would go off and start their own training, while Kana would usually have a couple hours to herself. And that was currently were she was in her training schedule. The young ten year old shut her eyes and let the warm July breeze sway her hair back and fourth across her face. She savored these moments of bliss and tranquility. But her eyes hadn't even been shut for more than two minutes before Itachi walked into the clearing.

"Taking a break I see." He chuckled, holding out his hand to help her up off the ground. She gratefully took it, and groaned at her sore muscles protests.

"If you are going to rest, at least do some meditation. You shouldn't waste time just lying there. It won't do you any good." Itachi advised, smiling at the expression on Kana's face.

"Two minutes! That's was the amount of time I was laying on the ground. Two minutes! Don't get all preachy on me Itachi. My body hurts all over from our spar yesterday. It needed a break!" She puffed out her lip, crossed her hands over her chest and stared at him angrily, "So don't give me that crap. I'm tired!"

The Anbu captain stood looking at her amusingly, waiting patiently for her rant to end, "Are you finished now?" He asked, the tone of voice was more serious than it was playful.

Hearing this, she immediately dropped her childish fun and spoke to him in a more formal voice that protocol demanded. She spoke to him as a superior and as a captain not as sensei, friend or brother.

"Yes, sir."

He nodded in approval at the change in her behavior then addressed the reason as to why he was there, "We have a mission tonight. It's to deliver a message to an informant. We will leave tonight at six. Be well rested. We travel all night. Oh and pack warm clothes. We are going to Yuki no Kuni (Land of Snow)" And then he disappeared in a cloud of smoke.

'He sent a clone? That's unlike him…' Kana sighed but shrugged it off. 'That either means he isn't in a position to come and tell me himself, or he's too busy to.' She then began walking back home.

Naruto was sitting cross-legged in the living room with a cloth in one hand and a kunai in the other, cleaning and sharpening his weapons.

"Your back early. Are you leaving for a mission?" He asked, picking up the last unpolished, dull kunai.

"Ya, I leave in a few hours. I have some time to kill before I need to start preparing, wanna play some shoji?" Kana offered, pulling the board out of a cabinet and onto the kitchen table.

Naruto smiled mischievously, "You know it!" Then hurriedly put his polished weapons away before sitting down on the opposite side of Kana.

"So how's your training going with Koga-san?" She asked, moving a piece on the board.

"Pretty good. He say's it takes years of dedication and practice to be given the privilege to wear a sword. So I'm stuck carrying around this dumb wooden one." He grimaced and pointed over his shoulder at the medium length wooden katana leaning up against the chair, "Sensei says that once I polish and perfect the basics then the real training begins." Naruto then moved his own piece in accordance to what Kana had done.

Kana smiled at his move and continued the conversation, "That's good. What does Izanagi think of you becoming a swordsman? I know Suzaku keeps bugging me to train with you and Koga-san."

He scratched his head, puzzled as to why she would move one of her Generals when it was in no apparent danger, "Izanagi was delighted to say the least, actually I haven't ever seen him that happy. But I think you should take up the sword. You would do well with it. Besides you haven't chosen a weapon yet have you?"

She shook her head, "No I haven't. Everyone keeps telling me I need to choose one soon, even Itachi and he doesn't even specialize in weapons!"

"Well, Koga-sensei told me it was better to start sooner than later. That way you become more comfortable with handling the weapon and get more experience with it."

"I suppose that does make sense. You know Kakashi-sensei only uses kunai's too thought right?" She stared at the board for a moment then made her move, "I have only met Koga-san a few times. What's he like?"

"He's a lot like me I guess. I mean, I get along with him. He's not the arrogant, jackass, type of guy that pisses me off. He's got a laid back personality, but he's a stickler when it comes to Kenjutsu. He jokes around quite a bit, and is a smartass. But the funny thing is, the other day when we were playing a round of shoji, and I found out he's a genius! I think he could give you a run for your money- hey! Dammit!"

"Checkmate." She laughed, leaning back in her chair, "Hmm, if you say so. Have him come over for dinner sometime, Kay? He sounds like an okay guy. But hey, I gotta run and get ready for my mission. I'll be back in a few days probably." Kana then stood up, and hurried into her room to get packed.

Dressed fully in Anbu attire and a plain white porcelain mask, Kana ran out of the house. She arrived with a few minutes to spare and noticed everyone else was already there. Nodding to each of her teammates, she took her designated place on Itachi's right hand side. No one spoke as they waited for the command to leave.

When Itachi lifted his hand, everyone tensed, he spoke quietly to the group his voice barely louder than a whisper, and "Our informant is waiting at the Danuki Bridge, in Tomoku. We run full speed the whole way. The spy only has a short amount of time to wait and tonight was the only time he could meet us. We go in silently and cautiously. Stay alert."

Then he brought down his hand and everyone disappeared. With Itachi leading the way, the group ran in a Z formation with Kana in the center. As they ran Itachi analyzed through the events of only hours before.

"Itachi you serve as our pipeline to the village. You're the backbone that connects this family to the village. You have to be a useful connection in order for us to know where to strike the Hokage; we need to know where his forces are weakest so we can stage our coup de tat." He ordered, pacing back and fourth. The small dark room under the house was poorly lit but you could clearly see his annoyance.

"I need more time. The council does not fully trust me yet." Itachi replied, calmly. He sat in the center of the room with all Uchiha Council members staring at him angrily.

"You have been a captain for nine months! How does that not prove your loyalty to them?" Fugaku snarled.

But Itachi shook his head, "That means nothing to them. You will need to be patient. I can't force them to give me information or to trust me. All I can do is do my job as best of my ability. Speaking of which, I need to prepare for my mission. So if you would excuse me." He then stood up and began talking towards the stairs.

"Itachi!" His father yelled, grabbing his arm. "I am the Clan leader, and you will listen to what I tell you to do. This meeting is not over so sit down. Now."

The young Uchiha frowned and gazes at his arm as if there was something wrong with the picture.

"Let go." He ordered, his voice icy and emotionless. Fugaku's eyes widened, and for once he was at a loss as to what to say. The only thing he could do was to release his son's arm and let him go. As he let Itachi pass, Fugaku was still stunned with the image of his son's fully matured Sharingan staring angrily back into his own black eyes.

"Captain?" Kana said, increasing her speed so she was next to him, "Are you okay?"

Itachi turned his head slightly towards her, "Yes, I'm fine." He then increased his own speed, so that he was a couple feet in front of his team.

"Was it just me or did he seem to be spacing out?" Kana breathed falling back into her position behind Yu.

Behind Kana, Moji nodded in agreement, "He was, but for now just let him be. Taizen wouldn't let anything personal get in the way of the mission. So just let him sort whatever he is dealing with himself."

Kana frowned, not liking the idea, but decided that that was the best thing to do right now. It was neither the time nor the place to pester Itachi about his family issues.

It was close to 12 in the morning when they finally reached the border of Yuki no Kuni. Dressed in long sleeved shirts, and black Anbu jackets that covered them from head to toe, the squad approached the village, Tomoku, quietly. Using hand signals Itachi told his team that the bridge was just past this village. So the group of five swiftly jumped from roof to roof, covering the three-kilometer village in less than ten minutes.

From the tops of the large Alpine trees to the first layer of dirt, a thick 12-inch coat of fresh snow lay on the ground. The captain scowled under his mask at the untouched snow, then turned to his team.

"Find a tree with a view of the bridge. Stay alert and keep hidden. Raikou your with me. We are going to talk to our informant."

Doing as they were told, Yu, Moji, and Kana, jumped up into the trees while Raikou and Itachi approached the bridge. As they walked closer, a figure was leaning up against the side of the bridge. When the figure noticed the leaf Anbu, they turned around to face them. They were clothed in a solid white cloak type hooded jacket that covered their entire body, and white boots. With their face completely concealed by shadows, the figure stepped forward cautiously.

"Identify yourself."

"We are Anbu from Konohagakure no Sato. My name is Taizen and this is Raikou. Are you Fujiwara Emi?" Itachi asked, addressing the figure on the bridge.

The figure nodded and slowly pulled the hood back revealing her pale blonde hair and dark green eyes, "I am."

Yay! This chapter took me forever to do! Things have been crazy lately sorry!