A/N: Holy CRAP! Has it really been that long? *looks at a calendar* Damn! Life just totally got in the way. That and my muse went on vacation. She just recently got back. And she STILL doesn't want to sit still.

*Glances over at Muse tied up in the corner* I'm not letting her get away from me that easily this time.

Anyway - Standard warnings apply. Not mine... Adult stuff... Blah blah blah...

Previously:

"So we do it quietly."

Myra rubbed her puffy eyes, causing them to become puffier. "Naruto, you and I can't do ANYTHING quietly."

He jumped on the bed next to her. "See you're cracking jokes. You must be feeling better. But seriously though, can you just sniff her out and be done with it?"

"That isn't how Spirit Tracking works. I can't locate her if I haven't met her. I have to get a feel for her before I can track her down." She snuggled closer to him. "Emotions come from the soul. Just like a chakra signature, emotions are unique to an individual. It's how I know where people are and with a little guess work I can tell you what they are doing."

Naruto pulled her closer to him. "Okay, so I understand why you have to meet her first. I still don't like it."

Myra sighed. "I don't like it as much as I thought I did either. But we're here. If we do this right, we will be back in Konoha in time for lunch tomorrow. I'll nap all you want me too then, I promise."

Chapter 84: Something Strange is afoot in Circle Konoha

Four Days Earlier - Somewhere outside the borders of Waterfall

"Should we help?"

"No."

"But there are five of them."

Trace shook his head. "Nakamiko will be fine."

Deuce didn't look convinced. "But they are actually ninja… Not the pathetic prisoners we've been using as target practice, those villagers or even livestock. We're talking real ninja."

Trace let out a deep sigh of frustration. "Deuce, the only problem I see here is that she is going to have all the fun… Again."

"But that's what I mean… Nakamiko is going to have all the fun while we sit here and watch."

"She told us to stay put." Trace snapped at his older brother.

Deuce grumbled and crossed his arms. "Are you sure Nakamiko wants to have fun, or see if she can attract the attention of a certain Jinchuriki?"

"I want to face the Jinchuriki eventually, yes. I want to see if it is true his eyes change color when his demon takes control of his actions. I want to see how the death of his radiant creature has affected him." Her voice echoed in the shadows before Nakamiko came into the light of the pale moon. "I also want to remove the last thing keeping the Master's chosen heir from him."

Deuce jumped slightly and almost lost his balance in the tree.

Trace rolled his eyes. "Must you be so over dramatic with your entrances, sister dear?"

Nakamiko tilted her head to the side, not understanding Trace's question. "I entered the area the best way possible as to not give away your location or mine. I allowed one of the ninja to live to take a message back to the Hokage. I did not want him to decide at the last minute to avenge his compatriots."

"Oh, and what message was that?" Deuce snorted. "Let me guess, you want them line up so we can kill them faster."

"Do not be silly Little Brother." Nakamiko chided. "As tempting as that may be, mentioning in my message that an unconditional surrender to Lord Madara would greatly increase their chances of survival, is not part of the Master's vision. Konoha will have its spirit broken first then the village will be destroyed. Once Konoha is little more than burning embers, the other villages will tumble like dominos. To break Konoha's spirit, I will kill the Jinchuriki."

Trace looked at Nakamiko as if bored. "So kill the Jinchuriki and be done with it."

Deuce and Trace took a step back as Nakamiko leveled a playfully evil smirk at them. "I will kill him. But I want to play with him first. I will return the Master's heir and then I will kill the Kyuubi host."

Deuce composed himself to not look as intimidated by his sister. "Does that mean we can get out of here now?"

Nakamiko turned on her heels and walked back into the shadows. "We leave at dawn for Konoha."

0 – 0 – 0

Four days later

Tsunade's face was etched with worry and distress. There was a team sent to assess the situation at the Waterfall borders and only one had returned alive. Now, Waterfall had sent another distressing message to inform Konoha that Sound had reached the borders of Waterfall. The attacks had become more brutal. The small farming communities were being laid to waste and nothing was being left alive. No man, woman, child, or beast was being spared the atrocities of the attack. "My Lady, we have evacuated the last remaining villages, but our resources cannot cope with the numbers of refugees." The messenger informed the Hokage.

The blonde woman sighed. "We will extend what help we can. How soon do you need to return with a response?"

The messenger visibly relaxed, but only slightly. "As soon as possibly Ma'am, Waterfall has issued orders that every available ninja to assist should Sound try to push their borders any further. They seemed to have stopped at the river boundary of Waterfall and the Unclaimed Territory, but that has not stopped them from decimating the villages that naturally existed along the river."

Tsunade thought for a moment. "I understand. However, it will take us several days to put together the people and collect the necessary supplies. For the moment, I would suggest following Shizune to the hospital where your wounds will be treated and take the opportunity to rest."

"Yes Ma'am." The messenger followed Shizune out the door.

Tsunade leaned back in her chair, reading over the scroll again. People were being slaughtered, but for what purpose? It didn't make sense to Tsunade. What could Kabuto think he gains by killing innocent people? Tsunade tossed the scroll on her cluttered desk sending a few other scrolls and books to the floor. There was a faint knock on Tsunade's door.

"Enter!"

Shikamaru walked in looking the worse for wear. "He's alive, but weak. He told me what he could before he was unconscious again."

Tsunade rubbed at her eyes. It was getting late. She was tired and there was still so much to do. "How bad is it?"

"According to the scout, Sound is employing a Scotched Earth policy. They are seemingly leaving nothing behind."

"You don't look convinced." The corners of Tsunade's lip twitch into a smile.

Shikamaru shifted uncomfortably in his spot. "There is something extremely odd about the burned out villages. The scout team was able to investigate a few of the villages before the team was attacked. The villages attacked were small or medium farming villages, and the Sound ninja were making it look like they were killing everything. I do not think this is the case. If Sound was actually killing everything, there would be large numbers of dead animal carcasses in the vicinity. But there aren't, the remaining scout says there are only a few scattered around the villages, next to barns or stables. Also, store houses were empty when they were burned. So it leads me to believe that the weaker animals were slaughtered to give the appearance of total decimation, but the younger, healthier animals were loaded up with usable resources and taken back to Sound. Then the villages are burned to cover the tracks."

Tsunade nodded. "Kabuto is stealing the resources of other people. It is an old tactic, but an effective one. Is there anything else?"

"Yes." The tactics genius answered.

The Hokage lifted an impatient eyebrow. "Well? What is it?"

"There was a message carved into the scout's back." Shikamaru stepped forward and handed Tsunade a small piece of paper.

Tsunade took the paper and read the message:

"Send the Kyuubi Jinchuriki and Waterfall will be spared."

Her eyes narrowed, before she stood abruptly from her chair. "Naruto is not to hear of this."

"But why? Shouldn't someone…"

"Shikamaru, think for a moment. Kabuto and Madara WANT us to tell Naruto. This makes sense now. Kabuto is having his forces cause mass chaos and destruction to pull at Naruto's sense of protection. He will happily sacrifice himself to make sure no further action is taken against Waterfall. So for now, we wait to tell him. In the meantime, we finalize the plans for invading Sound. We send a small force to assist in the evacuation of Waterfall. But we keep Naruto here." She sat back in her chair with a thump. She really was getting tired.

Shikamaru blinked and put his chin in his hand. "They want us to over react. They want us to leave Konoha without its best ninja."

Tsunade smiled. "Exactly. It is another obvious tactic. They are trying to divide our forces. We cannot allow it. The main bulk of our forces will stay in Konoha to thwart a strike from Sound. But in case there are eyes watching Konoha's movements, and I am sure there are, we will make it LOOK as if we are gearing up to send a large first string force to Waterfall. We will make it just as obvious that we are taking the bait. I need Naruto, Sasuke, Sai, and Myra in my office tomorrow."

"Yes Ma'am."

0 – 0 – 0

The next afternoon

Myra was deep in thought. Something had been nagging her since the moment she exited the interrogation room with Karin. Something just didn't fit, but for the life of her, she couldn't figure out what. Myra had walked from the prison towards the house contemplating every word spilled out of Karin's mouth. It was too easy. Karin was either extremely weak minded, or a pawn in the web Madara had been weaving. The prisoner had spilled her guts too easily. Regardless of Karin not saying much about Kabuto's cloning experiments, the woman had answers to every question.

Tsunade allowed Karin to stew for two weeks in a prison cell, hopefully to weaken any resolve Karin may have had. The time had allowed Myra to rest, which Myra had done almost obediently. There had been the late night excursions to the dojo to train alone when she thought no one would be watching. Myra had managed to bring her chakra back to a level that she felt confident with, but it was nowhere near what it needed to be. She still had a long way to go, but at least she could defend herself until help arrived. But as Myra walked down the street, she couldn't help shake the feeling that the red head's confession came too quickly.

[A FEW HOURS BEFORE]

"I don't know anything about what you're talking about." Karin yelled at her interrogator.

"You're lying through your pearly whites." Myra flipped a map of Sound on the floor. "Just point to the places on the map Karin, that's all you have to do. As soon as you do that, you can go back to your cell. And if you tell me what you know about Kabuto's crazy cloning experiments, I may even arrange for you to be moved to a nicer cell. Tell me everything you know without having to resort to more," Myra smirked deviously, "Painful methods, and I might even arrange for you to see Sasuke."

"I don't believe Sasuke is here." Karin hissed. "Why would he be in Konoha? He hate's this place. I don't believe he would be captured by you morons." Karin kept her face guarded.

Myra laughed. "When did I say Sasuke was captured? I hate to burst your bubble Sweet Cheeks, but use that talent of yours. Search him out." Myra got up and walked behind the bound Karin. She put her hands on the back of the chair, jerking it to face a camera on the wall. "He's watching right now. Listening to everything you have to say. You wouldn't want to disappoint him now, would you?"

Karin spat in Myra's face. "Fuck you bitch!"

Myra stood up and whipped the saliva from her face with a sigh. "Fine then. I tried the easy way. But I forget how stubborn you ninja are." Myra started to walk out of light circle. "Have fun with Ibiki."

Karin contemplated the idea of being questioned by the infamous Ibiki. Kabuto said once a long time ago that getting captured by Konoha was a bad thing. They had ways of extracting information out of a person living or dead, which meant Karin didn't have to be alive to get whatever information they truly needed. The prisoner's eyes widened and her fear spiked to extremely high levels. Myra smirked as she reached for the door and hesitated for another split second.

"What exactly do you want to know?" It was a few moments before Karin could see any movement in the shadows.

The prisoner heard a clink of the lock on her restraints and then Myra appeared in front of her holding out the map of Sound in one hand and a pen in the other. "Mark the locations of every base, hideout, prison, shithole and pissing pot you can think of. After that, we'll talk about Kabuto and his crazy science projects."

Karin licked her suddenly dry lips as if contemplating something. Nervously, she took the pen and map from Myra and started to scribble marks on the map.

[Back to the present]

It wasn't long after Karin had finished the map to every location she could think of that Myra found out that Karin didn't believe she knew about Kabuto's resurrection of the dead cloning science. The prisoner mentioned the same answer over and over again.

"I never saw him doing anything I considered out of the ordinary. His purpose was to tend to Orochimaru-sama's health. I didn't associate with Kabuto all that often. I was Orochimaru-sama's clerical assistant and occasional lab assistant, not Kabuto's."

It was the third time Karin used the exact same wording and tone of voice that Myra took notice of this issue. The Ravenheart changed interrogation tactics and asked about Orochimaru's experiments. Karin was a wealth of information there as well. But the moment the questioning came back to Kabuto, the same answer would spew from Karin's mouth. It had to be a programmed response. But who put the programming there? Myra thought. She turned the corner down the street and her stomach grumbled. Yes, she was very hungry and she needed to think. She looked up and saw the restaurant. Myra didn't think they would let her in the kitchen. Sure, she could very well go home and cook to her heart's content, but at home there would be other things that would distract her. Here, she could cook and not be distracted by the mundane trappings of domestic life.

0 – 0 – 0

There was a flurry of activity. The restaurant owner looked on with mild amusement, but several cooks continued to voice protests over the presence of Myra in the main kitchen.

"She can't be here!"

"She is ruining the rice!"

"MY DANGO!" Screamed another cook.

The owner held up his hand to silence the others. "Ravenheart-san assured me that you would have your kitchen back in the same order she found it in later this evening. She also said this was a way that we could help our village."

The cooks exchanged glances. One young apprentice cook pointed at the invading woman in the kitchen. "But isn't she that dem…"

The young apprentice cook that attempt to mention the word found a hand over his mouth and he was put in his place by a harsh stare from the owner. "I will not have that kind of talk in my restaurant. I am ashamed to know my neighbors and the civilian community that know who Naruto Uzumaki is, will publically praise him for saving their miserable hides, but privately condemn him or the people he associates with because of old fears. The boy has grown in to a fine young man despite the treatment he has received. Even I," said the owner, the admission choking his throat, "… am guilty of treating Uzumaki-san with disdain and prejudice, but no more. By helping that woman, I can attempt to tell him 'thank you' for saving my miserable hide, because he will not hear it or accept it in any other way."

The owner received nods of agreement from the other cooks and he released the apprentice. as he stood in silent contemplation, the apprentice found the floor a more interesting sight to gaze at. The apprentice seemed to make a decision after a long moment or two. The tall, slender boy lifted his chin and walked into the kitchen. Myra was balancing a few pots and pans, beginning to lay them out on a prep table. The stack tumbled and there was a symphony of metallic drums. Myra huffed and started to pick up the pans. One pan was being held out to her. She looked up to see the apprentice cook holding the pan, and the other cooks standing behind him. "Can we help?"

Myra smiled. She heard the conversation, but chose to ignore it and go about her musing. Some people meditate when they are deep in thought, other people paint. Myra headed for a kitchen and cooked up a storm. "I may need a hand or two here and there, but to be honest…" The cooks seemed a bit crestfallen as they realized she was going to refuse their help. She quickly changed her mind. "If you see something that I'm doing that can be done better, let me know. I'm a hands-on student. I may be shinobi, but cooking clears my mind and helps me think."

The cooks exchanged glances again. The head cook stepped forward. "What is on your menu, Ravenheart-san?"

Myra bounced up, looking at the expectant faces of the cooks around her. "Pie… Definitely pie, but I'm open to suggestions and possibly some tips on fusing my Southern home cooking with Japanese cuisine."

The owner beamed. "I am sure we can help. The kitchen is your playground Ravenheart-san. Just tell us what you need, and we will do the rest."

Myra nodded. "Good. Obitsu-san, I will need the main room of the restaurant when we are all done. Also, I may need someone to run news of my impromptu dinner party to a few friends and family, if you have no one to spare, I am sure..."

The portly restaurant owner waived his hand. "I have someone perfect for the job. He can also get any ingredients you may need that we are not currently carrying." He bowed politely. "Please, my restaurant is yours for the evening." Obitsu straightened. "Before he leaves, I would suggest a look at the pantries and the refrigerator to see what you might need."

Myra smiled. "Thank you. Let's get to work."

0 – 0 – 0

Naruto stood in Tsunade's office, next to Sasuke and Sai. Course, Naruto was between the grumpy Uchiha and the falsely chipper Sai. Things had never really been resolved between Sasuke and Sai, but they had come to an agreement. If Sai didn't say anything to Sasuke, life was good. The hard part of this little arrangement came when Sai was made ANBU liaison officer to the Konoha MP. Naruto honestly believed there were people in the village that intentionally enjoyed pissing off the easily angered Uchiha. And he would be right.

"Where is Myra?" Tsunade asked.

Sasuke rolled his eyes.

Naruto shrugged.

Sai stared blankly.

Tsunade looked sternly at the three she would have to deal with Myra later. "We have a situation. It seems Sound has declared war on Waterfall."

Sasuke's lip wanted to twitch into a smirk, but he contained it. He hadn't really seen any action since the recon mission to Mist. Six months was a long time to be sitting behind a desk, not that he didn't enjoy spending time with his new family, because he did but Sasuke needed to get out and kill something before he went crazy. "Then I would assume we are going to render assistance."

Naruto punched his fists in the air. "YES! I need to get out for a while."

Sai stayed silent, much to Sasuke's delight.

Tsunade frowned. "We are going to assist, yes. But Naruto will not be going."

"WHAT?!"

"You heard me. The village is your main concern. If this attack is a means to divide our forces I cannot have my best ninja on the same front. If Sasuke goes, than Naruto stays. If Naruto goes, Sasuke stays."

"I hate to interrupt, but where is Kakashi-senpai, and ANBU going to be heading?" Sai asked nonchalantly.

"Kakashi is going to lead the team to help evacuate the non-combatants with assistance from RI. ANBU is going to prepare for the invasion of Sound. We can't wait any longer. As soon as plans for Sound are finalized, Myra is going to take lead of the invasion force. Naruto is staying here to prepare for a possible assault by Sound."

"I said it once and I'll say it again. WHAT?!" Naruto boomed.

Sai smiled. "You heard her Dickless, ANBU is going to squash Sound, Sasuke-kun is going with Kakashi-senpai, and you get to stay and baby-sit."

Naruto pointed angrily at Sasuke. "Why does he get to go kick ass?" He pointed to himself, "Why do I have to stay here and do nothing?" He pointed at Sai. "And why does Pasty get to go off to blow shit up?"

"Because I kick ass better." Sasuke smirked.

"How do you blow shit up?"

Naruto smacked himself in the forehead.

Sasuke raised a curious eyebrow.

Tsunade shook her head.

Naruto narrowed his eyes at Sai. "You attach a paper bomb to shit and it goes BOOM!" The blonde accentuated the last word and threw his hands up in exasperation.

Sai blinked for a precious second. "I do not think I like this assignment. It seems a bit messy. I would be happy to exchange places with Naruto since he seems to be better versed in the childish antics of "blowing shit up"."

Naruto grinned. "I could do that."

Sai raised an eyebrow. "How does Myra-san put up with you?"

"He's whipped." Sasuke mumbled as if bored.

Sai blinked again in surprise. "I did not know Myra-san and Anko-chan had the same tastes in controlling their men. No wonder you two wake the entire village."

"Sai!" Tsunade looked horrified.

Naruto hit the floor.

Sasuke rolled his eyes. He REALLY didn't need to know that kind of information, nor did he want to know how Sai knew about Anko's perversion.

Tsunade rubbed the bridge of her nose. "Sai, you and Myra will lead the team to destroy Sound. The use of paper bombs and other explosives will be required."

Sai's mouth made an 'o' shape as he realized he had taken Naruto's 'blowing shit up' comment literally and immediately felt stupid.

"Naruto and a few others will be staying in the village to prevent a possible invasion. Kakashi and Sasuke will head for Waterfall and render aid." Tsunade finished.

"I still don't see why I can't go with Sasuke or Myra." Naruto grumbled.

Sai smiled innocently. "I find it interesting that you wish to accompany Sasuke-kun first and your significant other second. Myra-san would be disappointed."

"What the Hell is that supposed to mean?" Naruto barked at Sai.

Sai's eyebrows lifted. "Well, there are rumors..."

"Rumors are just that... Rumors. I don't listen to the rumors." Sasuke shook his head.

"Really?" the artist ninja turned to Sasuke curiously. "So you and Myra aren't sleeping together behind Naruto's back? The Kyuubi isn't Minato's father, and you and Naruto aren't having an even more secret tryst with each other while Sakura and Myra watch?"

Naruto let out a sigh, shrugging his shoulders and gesturing with his hands. "You kiss a guy accidentally once and it never leaves you."

"You aren't worried about Myra sleeping with me behind your back?" Sasuke asked jovially.

"Wouldn't happen." Naruto shook his head, his tone conveying absolute confidence.

"And why not?" Sasuke feigned being insulated.

"Because Teme, she thinks of you like a brother and I would have to kill you." Naruto said matter of fact.

"Yes, like the threat of you killing me is something I would need to worry about." Sasuke snorted.

Naruto smirked. "Sakura would castrate you."

"Good point. I will consider myself warned." Sasuke nodded. Yes, they both had heard the rumors and both were secretly laughing at the absurdity of the rumors.

"If you gentlemen are quite finished," Tsunade asked rather annoyed. "There are important things to discuss, like the impending war!"

The three snapped to attention. "Yes Ma'am!"

0 - 0 - 0

Myra was in the middle of taking her aggression out on a slab of raw meat on the counter in front of her. The large tenderizing mallet slammed with a squelching thud as she pounded the tenderloin to paper-thin. The incessant buzzing in her back pocket was beginning to annoy her. She seriously considered turning the damn thing off completely, but she needed to pick up if it truly buzzed with dire urgency. For the last hour, her phone had been buzzing on and off with mild concern.

She sighed and pulled the offending clamshell device from her back pocket and looked at the caller ID. A playful smirk danced on her lips as she answered the phone. "You had better be calling to talk dirty to me."

There was silence on the other side of the line for a brief moment. "Don't I always give you a thrill when I call?"

"Oh yes baby." Myra said flatly. "Give it to me good."

"Where are you?"

Myra glanced up and looked around. "I'm in a kitchen pounding meat."

"You had better be cooking." Naruto said gruffly. "Though, I am not happy about you cooking in someone else's kitchen."

"No offense Love, I wanted to actually cook." Myra giggled.

"I can't help it. You're so sexy when you're cooking. It smells SO good and then I just can't help myself."

Myra rolled her eyes. "And when I do laundry?"

"All that bending over presents an easy target." He chuckled.

"KAMI, Naruto! No wonder she didn't go home. Can't you keep your hands off the poor women?" Sakura's muffled shriek came through the phone easily.

Myra laughed. It wasn't as bad as they were making it sound. Okay, it was that bad, but they had a year of making up for lost time and with the war path a head of them, they were making the time they had count for something. "Seriously though, why call me on Sakura's phone?"

"Because you were ignoring everyone else, even me." Naruto's voice sounded a little hurt.

Myra put the mallet down. "I'm sorry Love. I've been extremely deep in thought. Cooking helps with my thought process, and if I had gone home and started cooking I wouldn't have been cooking for very long. Besides, I don't like to take work home with me."

"And if you had told me that, I would have left you alone."

Myra smiled. "I know and I appreciate it. But it takes two to tango, just because you would have left me alone, doesn't mean I would have left YOU alone. There is about thirty to forty minutes while pie is in the oven."

"You made pie?" Myra could hear him drooling.

"I experimented with Lychee and of course I made Blueberry. Tell Susuke since I know he's lurking somewhere, I made Lasagna. I was pounding a nice cut of tenderloin to make Beef pinwheels."

"Hey Teme! She's making that tomato noodle layer thing you like! And PIE!"

Myra shook her head. "Dinner is at eight. Sakura should have the directions."

Things got quiet on Naruto's side of the phone for a moment. "Rabbit, Ba-chan is looking for you."

"I know. How's Minato?"

"He's fine. He's here with me and he's trying to play with Yuki. She's having none of it. She isn't as active as he is yet. She can't even crawl yet. Sakura-chan was saying that Kit seems to be extremely developed for his age."He said proudly, but then got quiet again. "Your Dad is looking for you too."

Myra laughed. "I know… I have about a million missed calls. You would think there was a war on or something."

There was a pregnant pause that hung in the air. Even though there was a distance of three miles, Myra could tune into his sudden mood change. Myra let out a sigh. "I guess there is. I'll get the details later. See you at eight. Love you."

0 – 0 – 0

Myra stood in the kitchen next to a small table that was decorated with a white table cloth, a small vase with a single purple orchid, flat ware, an elegant water glass and a long stem wine glass setting for two. She was waiting for two early guests to arrive. In fact, she could hear the shouts from the other side of the kitchen doors as she set down the napkins on the table. "Okay, I'm ready for them." Myra nodded to the waiter standing next to the large double doors.

A moment later, the large doors flew open. "Myra Ravenheart! What in the seven hells have you been doing all day?"

Myra smiled. "Nice to see you as well Lady Tsunade."

Myra's father glowered at her and said nothing. As much as Rai disliked his daughter disappearing act, the fact that she was in a kitchen and there was a host of smells meant that Myra had been planning and plotting all day.

"That didn't answer the question." Tsunade glared.

Myra bowed her head slightly in apology. "I am sorry. You are not exactly used to my methods. I have been analyzing the information I have access too, and I think I have come up with a viable solution to Sound. Also, I have it on good authority that the plans have to be moved up. Not that I blame you, but the situation has taken a turn in a direction no one could have foreseen. Please, sit at the table. Eat the fruits of my methodical thinking and I will explain."

Tsunade was seated on one side of the table and Rai sat on the other. Myra walked over and picked up two plates.

Tsunade picked up a fork. "So, you know what's going on?"

Myra smirked. "I don't know exactly what's going on. However, about three hours ago, the general mood of the village began to shift. The village is gearing up for war."

Rai beamed. "I take it your empathy hasn't been affected."

She set a plate in front of her father. "If anything, it's gotten stronger. I can focus on an individual as before, but I have a new sense of the village as a whole. You taught me to block out the emotions so I wouldn't be overwhelmed, and I appreciate that. But since I didn't have the extra chakra to build the barriers to defend against it, I had to do something. So I spent several days slowly letting the barriers fall. I became accustomed to the steady heart beat of the village. It's very calming once I could tap into it. Most days, there is a general sense of contentment. But a few hours ago that contentment shifted to a sense of foreboding with a twinge of fear."

Tsunade nodded. "We are sending a small force to Waterfall and an even smaller team to Sound. The bulk of our forces will stay here."

"Where am I going?" Myra stood back from the table.

Rai looked grim. "That depends on how much training you can get done in a week's time, because that's how long it is going to take to get the supplies and people together to leave for Waterfall."

Myra sighed. "My chakra control is better, but not at one hundred percent. I'd say it's at about high eighties, low nineties. I've been working on a way to tap into the Ethereal to give me a chakra boost if needed."

Rai scowled at her. "You aren't…"

Myra put up her hands to placate her father. "I've done it once, I can do it again."

Tsunade watched father and daughter intently. "What are you doing?"

Myra let out a sigh and crossed her arms over her chest. "Basically, without going into a huge explanation, I am trying to perfect a jutsu that will allow my Ethereal image to be present on the Physical plane."

Tsunade looked stunned. "Is that even possible?"

"Yes it is. But it is extremely dangerous." Rai bit out furiously.

Myra rolled her eyes. "He's just worried I'm going to do something extremely reckless and get myself killed… again."

"Ahem." One of the waiters interrupted before Rai could say anything further. Myra looked up and the waiter motioned with his head that other guests were arriving.

Myra nodded to the waiter and stood strait again. "Well I hate to cut this short, but I have other guests that are clamoring for my attention." She sighed. "I will be in your office first thing in the morning Lady Tsunade. Dad, I am going to need a new tactical suit if I'm going anywhere, and a new set of sticks. Now please, no more talk of war. This is a family event. Enjoy the meal and enjoy the calm before the storm."

0 - 0 - 0

Next time:

Chapter 85: A Crash Course in Training

A kunai 'thunked' into the tree not a hair's breath from his head. Naruto didn't flinch, but his eyes moved to look at the kunai still wobbling from the impact. "Perfect aim there Rabbit!"

Myra narrowed her eyes at the casual looking blonde. "What are you talking about? I missed."

Naruto stood tall from his causal leaning position against the tree. He turned a charming smile in Myra's direction. DAMN did she look glorious when she was mad.

Myra stomped towards him and stood toe to toe with Naruto. She tilted her head slightly to glare at him. An idle thought broke through her anger, When did he get taller? She growled in frustration at her errant thought. "You said you wouldn't hold back." She poked him in the chest with one of her eskrima sticks for emphasis.

Naruto rubbed his chest. Her face was flushed with anger and she was breathing heavily from her exertion. He couldn't help himself. Naruto reached out to pull her into a mind numbing kiss.

Quicker than lightening, Myra rapped his knuckles none to gently. Completely pulling his mind out of the gutter, Naruto retracted his hands, shaking away the pain. "Ow!" That hurt a lot more than he thought it would.

She poked his chest a little harder this time. "Don't hold back or you will be sleeping with the Kyuubi in the garden."