Uzumaki Nari

Team Gathering

Nari faced off against Sasuke who stood with a confident smirk on his face. He had nothing on Nari as of yet. She, however, had lots on Sasuke. Naruto had given her everything he knew about his fellow teammate and rival. She couldn't wait to use all that to her advantage. Once she showed that she was stronger than she looked, Sasuke would have no choice but to respect her for her abilities. But knowing his cocky attitude, she likely guessed she'd get more respect from a rock than this guy. She already didn't like him due to his cockiness, thinking that he was the best.

She took a defensive stance that could easily switch to offensive.

If Sasuke thinks he can easily defeat her, he's got another thing coming. With Ryuna by her side, Nari was sure to have an advantage. She didn't want to rely on Ryuna too much. She knew that most things she would have to achieve herself if she were to ever get somewhere. Ryuna was there to provide backup and to help her gain her strength, abilities, control and jutsus at a quicker rate should she need it. But if she were anything like her brother, she should be able to pick it up pretty quickly due to her determination and stubborn will to never give up.

'Don't think I'll go easy on you,' she stated to him.

'Hm, I don't expect a weakling like you to do much damage.' He pointed to his headband. 'In fact, I bet you can't even put a scratch on my forehead protector.'

In the matter of one smirk, Nari had disappeared and reappeared behind him. She wasn't sure how she done it, but after following her instincts, she managed to move faster than the others could track. A scratch appeared, more like a cut as it cut his forehead protector from his head, along with a long gash on his shoulder as if a wolf had pounced on him and struck with its claws.

Putting a hand across the three claw marks on his shoulder, he turned to face Nari with a pained but pissed off expression. 'I don't know how you managed to do that. But if you think that this fight's over, you've got another thing coming.'

Nari turned to face him. 'Uchiha Sasuke, you may be from a top notch clan with a Kekkei Genkai, but that doesn't make you the top dog around here.' She frowned. 'I may be new to being a ninja, unsure if this really is the right path for me, but I know I must do this. Whoever gets in my way or insults my abilities will have to answer to them. I refuse to back down and I refuse to give up. What's more is that I refuse to go back on my word. That's my nindo, my ninja way, do you understand?'

Sasuke smirked. 'You're definitely Naruto's sister. You think along the same lines.' He dropped his hand from his shoulder. 'I admit you've got speed and the attitude of a true shinobi, but are you able to do the unthinkable if asked of you? Are you able to kill, Uzumaki Nari?'

Somewhere in Konoha

Nari sank into the seat at Ichiraku Ramen. It had been a long day of training and proving herself that she was ready to become a ninja. She had bested Sasuke, not so surprising, but it was definitely surprising to the rest of the team. Sasuke finally admitted that he had underestimated her and believed that since she was Naruto's sister she wouldn't have been of any use to the team. She showed him and she was proud to have done it. Now Naruto was more determined to get stronger so he could be on the same level as Nari, although she was thinking along the same lines. The only difference was that she thought she needed to catch up to them.

Tomorrow Kakashi-sensei was going to train her to do the Clone Jutsu. It was one of the things necessary for her to pass the genin exam. She was going to do it and she was going to give it her all. Naruto even said that he would teach her the Shadow Clone Jutsu that enabled him to become a genin and participate in the Chunin exams. It was also the jutsu he was the best at. She already couldn't wait to get started with the ability to manipulate her chakra into various jutsu types.

For now she had to focus on gaining control over her current chakra. If she didn't she couldn't be called a kunoichi or even be able to learn the different jutsus needed in order to pass the exam. She would have to be patient. That was one of the things a shinobi has to do. In order to achieve the best results possible, a shinobi has to learn to be patient. She's been in a coma for seven years, she should be an expert on waiting even though she wasn't here or there or anywhere when she was in that stasis.

'Nari-chan, make sure you eat up,' the owner of Ichiraku Ramen said with a gentle smile.

'That's right,' his daughter agreed. 'This must be your first time coming here. And besides, you need to regain all your strength from the lack of use.'

She smiled happily at them, grateful that they were there when Naruto had been down and all alone all those years. 'Arigatou!' she said and filled her face with multiples upon multiples of bowls of ramen.

Hokage's Office

Sandaime Hokage has been worried about Nari ever since she woke from her seven year coma. It wasn't normal for her to be in such top health after being still for so long. She should have had some kind of damage to her body for such a long lack of use. Unless it was all due to this Ryuna inside of her for her perfect health, he wasn't too sure. But Ryuna herself worried him. Where did she come from? Why does she inhabit Nari's body? And how did she get in Nari's body in the first place?

It was all confusing, but sooner or later the answers were going to reveal themselves, all he had to do was be patient as they reveal themselves. But how long would he have to wait before those very answers decide to surface? Would it be soon? All in one go? Or would they all come slowly, revealing bits at a time? It was very infuriating to think about. Too much so that he was starting to get a headache from thinking about it too much.

Nari had promised to tell him should she find out about anything.

But he was concerned. He really was. With her change in her physical appearance – the ears and tail – she was going to be scorned and treated a lot differently from before. They would probably see her as more of a demon. But wasn't that why she decided to learn how to hide her ears and tail? Of course it was. Should the village discover that she gained ears and tail from the coma, they would panic and would not react kindly to the difference. The medical ninjas at the hospital hadn't acted kindly from the discovery. They wanted something doing about her. They still insist on it but he was refusing to do anything that would damage or hurt Nari any further.

'Hokage-sama is there anything else that you require us to do?' the Anbu in front of him asked.

He wore a wolf's mask over his face. He was probably one of the only people that he could trust the information with. He now knows all about Nari and her changes. He knows about her demon, its name, and that Nari was training to become a ninja. He was part of the Inuzuka clan and would most likely relate to Nari more than anyone else due to their connection with dogs.

The Anbu's wolf companion sat on his hunches at his side. He was a black wolf with blue eyes. He could talk when spoken to but otherwise he would act like any other wolf, or dog if mistaken for one, as not many people know that he can talk. He was strong and powerful and very deeply connected with his Anbu companion. It was due to their connection with each other that the Hokage trusted the two of them with the special mission. He even assigned the Anbu to interact with her, to get to know her and become close. He wanted the girl protected and to report should anything out of the ordinary happen.

'No, that's all.' He looked at the man closely. Not one part of his face showed. 'You should understand her situation slightly.'

'Hai,' he replied. 'I also know that it's due to my connection with Fang that you entrust me with this mission specifically.'

The Sandaime Hokage nodded. 'Do what you can to ensure that she remains safe and that her demon doesn't do any damage to Nari or the village. We don't want the villagers to know that there is another amongst them.'

The Anbu nodded. 'I will do all asked of me, Hokage-sama.' He bowed and then disappeared as if he were never there.