Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. If I did, I probably wouldn't be doing this.

AN: This one's a bit different than the usual fare.

"Adjust your grip—right hand higher." Naruto barely dodged the stab as Danzou practically danced around him, leaping over his attempt to counter with the flat-tipped tantō, provided courtesy of Root.

Damn he's fast. Naruto ducked back again as the sword passed above his nose, bringing his blade up for another slash. Danzou's blade switched directions without pause to effortlessly flick aside the attack, dodging the kunai that Naruto slipped from his waist pouch in the process. Leaping backwards himself to put some distance between them, Naruto took a moment to catch his breath and observe the far older shinobi.

How does and old man with one good arm and one eye move so freaking quick? He cursed his body, still smaller and more feeble at the age of ten even with all of the extra work he'd put into his physical exercises. Unfortunately, he'd only hit a bit of a growth spurt around a year before he graduated, and it still wasn't much. He was nearly fifteen when he'd finally hit the mark that put him above some of his friends. On the other hand, there was a noticeable difference between how he was now and how he'd been then. These sessions had been almost daily occurrences for several months now, mostly since he didn't actually need any of the practice time—time that academy students were expected to devote to what they'd learned in class—for the skills they were teaching in the academy.

But still…

"You're too slow. I would expect an individual of your…unique stature to be more agile."

Naruto eye twitched, even as he followed the earlier advice and readjusted his grip. So it was cracks at his height now, was it? Screw you, old man. Let me call up Sage Mode once I'm back in shape again and we'll see how slow you think I am.

"Oh yeah? Then try this on for size!" With a single movement a dozen clones began to advance on Danzou, whose only reaction was a slight tilt of the head.

And he's still not freaking surprised! What did it take to get to this guy? He joined the clones in sending another barrage of kunai at the man, followed up by a full-scale charge. They might not have been able to take a hit, but they'd always been effective for simple swarming techniques. Sure, perhaps it hadn't worked on that shinobi from Otogakure who held him back when he'd tried to bring Sasuke home, but that guy was young and a bit of a freak, much like him. Danzou was—

Using some kind of jutsu on his blade. He made a swinging motion, and then the clones were gone and there was a sharp pain as something barreled into him and what in the world just did the old man just do?

"Too slow."

"W-what was that?" It looked almost like Asuma's techniques, the ones he'd shown him during his wind element training, but the wind was more visible and definitely didn't have the same effects. Danzou relaxed, lowering his blade.

"One of many wind enhanced tool techniques. It allows an individual to flow chakra through a weapon, such as a kunai, sword, or shuriken, to enhance its cutting power and range. The effects can vary depending on the user's chakra control, the amount of chakra channeled into the weapon, and the degree to which the user has focused that chakra. What you just witnessed was a significant amount of chakra combined with advanced control, but very little focus." The light clicked on. So that's how he'd used it almost like some sort of whip.

"Ah, I get it. That's why it was so flexible, and why you could move it around so much. Which means that if you focused it more it'd be sharper, but you might lose some of the size and movement." He had to admit, it was a nice move. He rubbed at the soreness in his chest, spreading in a line where it had made contact. Definitely one to remember.

"An impressive analysis. You're learning quickly." With that, the blade moved back into position.

"Now up. There's still much to do."

She should have listened when Sari warned her. She should have listened when everyone told her not to associate with him. Gaara of the Sand was infamous for a number of things, and even if they weren't her actual parents, she still cared for the people who looked after her. She'd even been frightened of him, just like all the others were. But when she thought back on it he'd always just looked so…sad. So when she realized that he'd been watching their group of friends—though friends might have been too strong a word for some of them—much more often lately, she'd ignored that fear and all the warnings that seemed to justify it and spoken with him.

And now Sari was shaking in terror a few feet away, pretty much all of her other "friends" had run off—though she liked to think a few had gone to find help, rather than leave her behind altogether—and she was being shoved against the ground by the living sand. That swirling, grainy earth was nearly as feared as the one controlling it. Some of the villagers even said that it acted on its own, without its alleged master doing a single thing to control it. But together, they were known for only one thing: Once you were trapped within, you were never seen again. Not in any identifiable way, at least.

"P-please." How could Sari be pleading? She couldn't even take her eyes off of the redheaded boy, could barely form a coherent thought aside from the short and easy What was I thinking oh god I don't want to die.

"We didn't—w-we didn't mean to—"

"You…wish to become a kunoichi." For a moment the words didn't make any sense. No, it was more the fact that he was even bothering to speak that was wrong. No one told stories about this, about any kind of questions or mind games or anything like that. Now, it seemed that her friend was the speechless one. What would happen if she answered him? If she didn't answer him? Did he really want an answer, or was he just thinking out loud?

"Yes." The word escaped her lips before she could try to reason it out. It was true, at least. She did want to become a kunoichi. But to do that she needed to use weapons, and after her parents…

"But you fear the weapons you must wield." Her eyes widened at the statement. Was he…could he read her thoughts somehow? Almost as if to prove her theory while denying it at the same time, he continued.

"I've been…observing you. Your peers. All of you. Why does the thought of wielding a weapon give you these feelings." That…could have been good or bad. Did this mean he was interested in them? Or was he simply looking for weaknesses, finding the best way to break them?

"My—" She swallowed, clearing the lump that formed in her throat at the thought. She wasn't the only orphan out there, she couldn't just fall apart whenever her past came up. "My parents were…"

"I see." He was silent again. He stared into her eyes. She stared back. Neither gave any particular attention to the girl watching silently from the side, somewhere between awe and gut-clenching terror…but also curiosity. Eventually the boy nodded, presumably coming to a decision of some sort. She actually found herself interested, fascinated even, in what he wanted to say.

"…This sand?" She felt it tighten, but much to her surprise it wasn't painful. It was almost like the way her foster father would squeeze her shoulder in those moments when she needed comfort. In some twisted, paradoxical way, it felt safe. "This is a weapon, no different than any kunai or shuriken. So why do you still live?"

That's what she'd been trying to figure out, wasn't it? Why she was still alive, why the center of so many horror stories in their village was more interested in discussing her career than in crushing her into dust? But really, the answer was quite simple.

"Because you're not trying to kill me." It didn't show in his expression, but she couldn't miss the way his eyes seemed to lighten, smile almost.

"Yes. A weapon may end life, but it does not take life. That is the choice of those who wield them. I command the sand, and you live because I have not killed you. Do you understand?"

"I…I think so." Sort of. Maybe.

"A weapon, in of itself, is nothing to fear. This sand can tear through skin, rend muscle from bone, and crush that bone to dust. But now it surrounds you, and you remain completely unharmed. A weapon does not need to kill, only to incapacitate, and more importantly…to protect. What is your name?"

"Matsuri."

"Well then…Matsuri…I may know of a few weapons more suited to your character." What was that supposed to mean? Was he suggesting he had something like his sand? No, that would be impossible. Maybe some kind of net, or sleep gas—she'd heard some puppet wielders were known to use gasses like that. "How would you feel about an unofficial tutor?"

"You really mean that?" Tutored by Gaara of the Sand? The evil monster that plagued Sunagakure?

"I do." The boy with those sad eyes, watching them from the distance, offering to help someone in need.

"Yes, please."

He allowed himself a small smile at her acceptance. She had been his first student, the first to trust him as a teacher. Gaara had no intention of allowing her to be anything less than great.

When Naruto arrived, Danzou sat at a small table no doubt meant for two, untouched tea set out before him. Was this some kind of etiquette lesson? He wasn't big on the assassination gig, but the man had insisted on teaching him at least something about it. That lesson had included various details on proper behavior in settings where working undercover would be unavoidable.

Ugh. I hope not. Those were always so boring. Fortunately, something caught his notice. In place of the sword the older shinobi normally held was a simple, practical wooden cane.

"Wow, so you finally gave in and figured out you were old enough to need a real cane. About time, old ma—ow!" Naruto yelped as he grabbed at his stinging shin. Even sitting, the man could still hit him with speed that was just disturbing. "What'd you do that for?"

"A cane is still a moderately heavy length of wood. You should not lower your guard simply because I lack a blade at this particular moment."

"Yeah, message received." Naruto grumbled at his teacher as he took a seat.

"Good. I was about to have some tea. Would you care to join me, Uzumaki?" Was he being serious? They were actually doing something relaxing for once and he expected a refusal?

"Yeah, sounds pretty good actually." Naruto reached out to grab the cup. His fingers had just brushed the edge when—

"Agh!" And how the stinging sensation was in his wrist. "Seriously? The hell is wrong with you?"

"I thought you were going to join me for tea?"

"I was," He made sure to put some extra menace into the glare, unaware of how utterly non-menacing it was on a boy just barely into eleven years "But then you went all cane-psycho on me."

"You should be more sensible than that." Ah. So it was probably a manners thing, then. Danzou did seem like the type who might put a lot of value on etiquette. Danzou leaned the cane against the table and placed his hand on a knee.

"Would you be so kind as to pour the tea?"

"Oh, right. No problem." He leaned over to pick up the—

"Dammit! Mother f—" Danzou watched on as Naruto broke into a stream of curses, nursing a new lump atop his head courtesy of the cane that once again rested firmly in the older shinobi's hand.

"I swear old man, you're really pushing it here!"

"Are we going to have a drink, or aren't we?"

"Oh, you…you…you're teaching me a lesson here, aren't you?"

"Now why would you think that?"

"Maybe because you keep hitting me with that stupid stick like a—" Naruto cut off, visibly forcing himself to relax. "Okay, I get it. Lesson. Time to teach, teach."

"What is one of the simplest ways to poison any individual in a non-combat situation?" Naruto felt compelled to slam his head into the table. Really? It was that simple? Of course he knew not to just eat or drink anything and everything he was offered, but this wasn't an enemy nation or a hostile village. This was Danzou's own underground bunker, possibly the safest place in the entire freaking village.

Which is exactly the point he's making.

"You're telling me that even in Konoha I should be on guard for things like this." Danzou nodded, though whether or not he was pleased was impossible to tell. In all honesty, Naruto had never really considered the idea before. He knew that plenty of villagers didn't like him, but they weren't usually the type he'd think of as clever enough to do anything but yell and maybe chase him around if he did something especially annoying. And he'd never really had anything in the way of dealings with the powerful clans, where that kind of political or social infighting was more likely. Then again, couldn't one of the shinobi or a clan member have just as easily shown a civilian how to do it? Convinced them, even? He knew there were those like Mizuki, who definitely wouldn't mind getting rid of him in a more permanent way…

Ugh. This man's going to turn me into a paranoid psycho.

"Great, I get it. I probably should've let you pour the tea, or try it first, or politely refused, or something like that. That's nice and all, but you totally didn't need to smack me with the cane every two seconds just for that."

He couldn't see it through that unchanging, passive expression, but oh could he feel the smirk coming from his temporary teacher. This man was out to get him.

Yep. Paranoid.

"I'm impressed. You've actually managed to recover from that little upset in your grand scheme."

"There may be only one destination, but there are many paths. If one is obstructed, a true shinobi can find his way to the next and continue towards the objective."

"A nice philosophy, but you invested so much in dear little Itachi. And after all the work I went to just to help you with your little Uchiha situation." Kabuto gave a mocking, cheerful tut as Danzou stared back with indifference.

"You can't honestly believe that I would place all my bets on a single card, in but a single hand. The threat of the Uchiha Clan has been dealt with for the time being, Root remains active, Uchiha Itachi has been integrated into Madara's circle, and the Jinchuuriki has begun to progress even further towards becoming a powerful weapon for this village. Perhaps this new hand is not as great as it could have been, but all in all I'd say it's quite impressive."

"My, my, so opportunistic and manipulative. I can see why Orochimaru-sama liked you so much."

"And yourself?"

"Me? I like you well enough. By the way, since we're on the subject of Orochimaru…"

"Crap!" Naruto panted out, sweat trailing down his back as he let the chakra fade from around the shuriken.

"Hm?"

"This is ridiculous!" Danzou's finger tapped against the cup in his hand, cane resting beside him.

"I didn't take you for the type to give up so easily."

"Give up? You kidding me? The challenge is half the fun! One day I'll be Hokage and there's nothing you can throw in my way to stop me, dattebayo!" Ah hell. Did he really just say that? He'd outgrown that habit so long ago, but every now and then it just seemed to slip out. It must've been a curse.

"Hmph." Naruto did a double take. That grunt sounded suspiciously like a snicker, at least in comparison to his typical responses.

"What? What's so funny?" Danzou waved it off, returning to his drink.

"It's nothing."

"Come on, you never crack that dull expression for anything. You can't just leave me hanging like this." He must have been spending too much time with the man, because a few weeks earlier he would have completely missed all the telltale signs that the older man was considering a real answer instead of just dismissing the subject.

"You…sounded like your mother, for a moment." And not for the first time, Danzou had something to say that Naruto couldn't have predicted.

"My mother?" Naruto's curiosity was piqued. The man almost never spoke of his parents, save for a few tidbits about one or two low-ranking missions. Danzou gave him a stiff nod and began to elaborate.

"As I understand it, whenever Kushina was frustrated or excited, she often ended her speeches with nonsense words as well. One of the few things about her I've learned that doesn't revolve around her career. Some of those quirks made her quite famous among her peers."

Naruto flushed at that, pleased to hear that he had something in common with her. His attempts to envision what she must have looked like going on a rant, sounded like when saying his childish catchphrase, was interrupted swiftly.

"Now, back to work. I want that jutsu completed before you leave here."

And with the thought of his mother in mind, Naruto leapt back into work with a renewed vigor.

"Why are you so determined to keep Orochimaru alive?"

"Everyone must play the parts they were meant to play. Orochimaru is one of the most important pieces I have."

"And yet he has nothing that you do not already possess. Edo Tensei? I am evidence enough that you have mastered that. His Ninjutsu? I have watched as your skills improved day after day, and you are at least his equal in that regard. His summoning contract? I have seen that…thing…that you've created, that monster. What is it that gives him such value?"

"Being him is what gives him value."

"How so?"

"Pawns are often underestimated. They're the weakest pieces, after all. Many are willing to sacrifice them without thought because they forget that a mere pawn, when played correctly, can be the most deadly weapon of all."

"That does little to answer the question."

"It will all be clear in due time, my dear Sasori. But until then, I was wondering: How are you adjusting to that new body of yours?"

AN: Just a few scenes as the years pass by. I'm not fond of plain and simple cutoff time skips. Sometimes they work, sometimes they don't, and I don't feel like it would have worked here. So I decided to give a few glimpses into some of the things going on without getting too bogged down in details. Also, a few hints for future plans here and there, some obvious and others…less so.