The next day, Sai brought Naruto, Sakura, and Kakashi back to the Roots arena. The field was cleared of ninjas and Sai left them to begin training there. Sai came back a few minutes later with Tsukiko beside him.
"Tsukiko," Sai said when the two of them reached his three teammates. "This is Kakashi, Sakura, and Naruto." He turned to his teammates. "Guys, this is one of my closest friends, Tsukiko."
Tsukiko flattered for a moment, thrown off by how Sai had introduced her. But she gained herself quickly and inclined her head slightly.
"I was wondering," Sai continued. "If any of you would mind her training with us today."
Sakura looked quickly at Kakashi. Naruto didn't move, he just continued staring at Tsukiko. There was something different about her that he couldn't place. Kakashi considered it for a moment, then nodded.
"I don't see why no, just as long as she doesn't hurt us too badly." Tsukiko sneered in reply. "Of course, with a fifth person training with us, she can serve as the opposition… if you don't mind, of course."
"It's nothing new," Tsukiko replied.
"Right then, everybody ready?" Kakashi asked.
"Just don't lose yourself," Sai whispered to Tsukiko before joining his team.
The four faced off against Tsukiko, about a yard away. Kakashi ordered that they only use hand to hand, no jutsus, then counted down from five. When he reached one, Sakura bound forward, in front of the others. Naruto bound to the right and Kakashi went to the left. Naruto and Kakashi were a few seconds from impact when Sakura reached Tsukiko. Sai stayed in the back, ready to catch Sakura.
Sakura's fist drew back and shot forward. Tsukiko mirrored the action. Their fists connected and the impact was visible. Right after the first impact, Tsukiko spread her fingers and the palm of her hand served as a second impact. Her fingers wrapped around Sakura's fist, so Tsukiko got non of the impact. Tsukiko released Sakura's fist and blood was visible through the medical nin's glove. Tsukiko hit Sakura in the gut and she flew backwards.
Once Sakura was clear, Naruto was on Tsukiko. She used his momentum to throw him behind her. Kakashi dodged Naruto and leapt forward to attack Tsukiko. She blocked his first string of attacks and managed to lay a punch on his cheek. Kakashi jumped back and sighed to himself. He would have to use that. He raised his forehead protector and opened his sharingan eye. Tsukiko grinned malevolently, this would be fun.
Sakura jumped to her feet to go back into the fight, but Sai held her arm determinedly. "This may be just a practice, but Tsukiko can do a lot of damage without killing. We need you strictly for healing. Like I said, she's the best in the program; better than Danzaou. I could restrain her, but this is just a fist fight. My binding technique can't be used."
Sakura nodded and kneeled to heal herself before moving to make sure Naruto was okay. Sai ran around the field until he was behind Tsukiko. She and Kakashi fell into a steady battle of blocking and hitting. Kakashi's Sharingan was activated, so Tsukiko's speed increased to compensate. Tsukiko gained the advantage when she caught Kakashi off balance and punched him in the eye. Kakashi grimaced and Tsukiko took her chance to swing her leg under Kakashi. He fell to the ground and before he could get up, she gave him a quick kick to the temple. He let out a cry of pain. Tsukiko picked him up and flung him across the room.
"Sakura!" Tsukiko called mockingly. "Fetch!"
Sakura had just finished checking on Naruto, and Kakashi was on the other side of the field. Sai attacked Tsukiko while her back was turned. He laid a punch on her back. She spun to have him and he punched her across the cheek. She moved her head to absorb the impact and hit Sai in the gut at the same time. Sai opened his mouth in shock; he had never been hit by her before. She punched his gut again and he coughed up a bit of blood. Tsukiko backhanded Sai and he flew back.
"You better hurry, Sakura," Tsukiko mocked. "You're falling behind. With so many weak teammates, you're going to have to get faster."
Sakura didn't reply, but Naruto did. He caught her off guard. His punch was stronger than it had been before. Tsukiko turned around and saw twenty Narutos instead of one. She hesitated a moment, not expecting to see so many. They took that moment to attack again. Tsukiko retaliated quickly. Within three minutes, all were gone by one. She laughed mockingly at him when he fell backwards. Naruto sat up and stared across at Tsukiko with rage.
Tsukiko watched in amazement was Naruto's chakra changed. He became more feral. He was changing. Tsukiko's jaw dropped slightly when she realized what was happening. He was a demon. He had the demon fox in him. He was the one. The reason she couldn't go outside.
Naruto rushed Tsukiko, but she didn't react as he had expected. She caught his arm and pushed him to the side. He stumbled slightly. Tsukiko turned her back on him and headed back to her room. Naruto yelled after her. She didn't react. She kept walking. Sai called her name. She ignored him. She left without a word. Nobody followed her. Not even Sai. He knew when was the right time to go after her and when wasn't. She was angry beyond reason. She could very well take off the head of anybody that annoyed her now. Sai would have to send somebody to clean her room in a few hours, after she finished trashing it. But the thing that bothered him the most was what had made her so mad. He never thought meeting Naruto would make her so upset. This would become a problem.