4: Team 7 Remade?

Tsunade's brow twitched violently as she took in the empty room of the hospital that had housed the injured Sound Kunoichi, and her favorite blond Genin. The beds were bare and unmade, meaning that the pair had been gone only a few hours. "Those...little...BRATS!" She snapped, crushing the clipboard in her hands.

"Tsunade-hime," an old woman said, coming down the hall toward the woman, "I heard that you had spoken to Sasuke Uchiha earlier today."

Tsunade sighed as Koharu Utatane came toward her, and a groan escaped her throat. "Yes, I had a word with him this morning." She said, keeping the irritation out of her voice. "Was there something you needed, Councilwoman Utatane?"

"I was made aware of his suspension from the shinobi corps," the elder woman said, "Was that wise? The boy may be unstable, but he is still an Uchiha, and the last loyal one to the village."

Pinching the bridge of her nose, Tsunade sighed in irritation, "I told him that if he was deemed unfit for the life of a shinobi by Inoichi, then his career as a shinobi of this village was over," she said without hesitation, "Honestly, it took all I had not to throw the brat in prison for what he's done. Not only did he desert, but he nearly killed one of my most promising Genin, and led two others to be severely injured in their pursuit of him."

Koharu nodded, "Ah, the young Akimichi heir, and the promising Branch member of the Hyuuga clan," she said, sighing, "And I take it the third you speak of is the young Jinchuuriki, Uzumaki Naruto?"

Tsuande glared at her, "Don't refer to him by that title." She growled, "He is a proud shinobi of this village, and he is as loyal as we could ever hope, even after all of the abuse you and the others have put him through."

"I've done nothing to the boy," Koharu snapped.

"And you've done nothing for him either," the blonde said, glaring at her angrily, "Nothing could make me more ashamed than what that boy has had to go through his entire life even after he became a shinobi." She turned down the hall and began walking, "He's going to be one of our best soldiers when he matures...and he's earned my respect twice over because of his sheer tenacity and strength of will."

"An asset such as him should be nurtured and protected," Koharu said, trying to placate the woman, "But if we'd showed any favoritism toward him, the civilians would have never let us alone, and the boy would have been through even more trials than he already has."

"Or he would have at least grown up without having to live on the streets until Sensei found him and put him in that atrocious apartment." Tsunade sneered over her shoulder at the woman, turning about, "Let me make one thing perfectly clear," she said, her hands on her hips, "As you elected me Hokage, what I do with my shinobi is up to me, and me alone, and while I will respect you and Homura as my advisers, do not attempt to sway me when it comes to Naruto...he is my one remaining family member that I know of inside the Uzumaki clan."

Koharu sighed, "While I understand that, the boy is still the village's best chance should one of the other villages decide to attack," she said, "Such as the attack from Suna and Oto only a few weeks ago. If it weren't for Sasuke and Naruto's efforts, the Ichibi's container - "

"His name is Gaara," Tsunade snapped, bowing up to the woman, "And if you hadn't heard, he is the next Kazekage in all but title." She said, looking her in the eyes, "We will be dealing with him in terms of political alliances, and he and Naruto are on very good terms, given that his life was saved from the Ichibi by our supposed weapon...don't ever underestimate Naruto...you'll end up losing every time."

"Tsunade-shishou," Shizune called as she neared the two from the end of the hall, "I have the results from the blood tests on Tayuya-san that you wanted."

Tsunade sighed, "Finally, some good news."

Koharu looked at the younger woman, "Were you testing her for some sort of Bloodline?"

"Hardly," the blond sighed as Shizune reached the with the paperwork, "Naruto brought up a fairly good point with her yesterday, and I wanted to see if he was right," she said, and started thumbing through the files, "See, Naruto now knows of his Uzumaki heritage, and, if Jiraiya finds him, he'll soon know about his father as well, but he pointed out that Tayuya...has..." Tsunade began to pale as she found and read the page she had been looking for, and looked at her apprentice, "Shizune, does anyone else know what's on this?"

"No," Shizune shook her head, "I did the blood work myself, and I can assure you I triple checked it before I brought it to you!"

Tsunade growled, "This explains a few things, such as the feel of her chakra when I was around her," she said, "And why she was so talented as a Genjutsu user."

Koharu looked between the two women curiously, "Whatever is the matter, Tsunade-hime? You're acting like you've seen a ghost?"

Tsunade pinched the bridge of her nose, sighing, "I have...that girl is indeed part Uzumaki," she said, making the elder smile, "But...she's also part Uchiha."

Koharu squawked, "How is that possible?! There were no outside relations documented by the clan!"

Tsunade looked at the woman tiredly, "That would be true if the subject intended to sire a child, or if the mother was willing." Tsunade said, sighing, "By the gods, this is going to be a mess!"

"How much Uchiha blood does she have?" Koharu asked, "If Danzo catches wind of this, he'll - "

Tsunade glared at the woman, "I'm not letting that old buzzard touch a single hair on her head!" She snapped, sighing, "But you're right, Danzo can't know about her lineage...she's an Uzumaki/Uchiha half-blood, just like Naruto is a half-blood between his father's clan and his mother's."

Shizune nodded, "And it would seem that she's taken after the Uzumaki clan more than the Uchiha, thank goodness," she said, "if it had been the other way around, she may have developed a Sharingan at this point."

"I agree," Koharu sighed, "If another Sharingan surfaced, and a female no less, it would cause an uproar not only to marry her off, but to keep her from being violated!"

"Right," Tsunade said, placing her hands on both of their shoulders, "I'm dubbing this an SSS-rank secret, no one outside the three of us will know, not even Tayuya unless she does, somehow, awaken a Sharingan. Is that clear?"

"My lips are sealed," Koharu nodded, "Danzo will not get his hands on this poor girl."

Shizune nodded, "You know I won't say anything...but the girl's father..."

Tsunade smiled, "That's probably the only good thing about this whole...the poor man left behind quite a daughter."

=x=

Tayuya sneezed violently, nearly spilling the bowl of ramen she had started to enjoy, "Damn, this village sure as hell plays with your sinuses!" She complained before going back to her fifth bowl of shrimp ramen.

Jiraiya looked at the girls for a moment, "I'd imagine that Orochimaru keeps all forms of pollen, and other allergies out of the compound he kept you at, right?"

Tayuya nodded, her mouth full. Abrasive she may have been, but she at least had table manners. After swallowing down another mouthful, she said, "Aside from the scent of blood and medications, the place was kept squeaky clean."

"Yes, Orochimaru wouldn't want any of his subjects getting sick," Jiraiya growled, "And I suppose he placed one of those marks on you?"

Tayuya nodded, and moved her hair out of the way, showing off the nape of her neck, "Mine was the Curse of Hell," she said, letting her hair fall back into place, "The Uchiha's was the Curse of Heaven." She went on, "His is more powerful than most of the one's he put on my old teammates. That Sasuke brat was something special to him, just like Kimimaro was. The only reason he didn't take him was because the guy had some kind of deadly illness that would've passed right on to the bastard the minute he took him over."

Naruto shivered, "Why the hell would anyone let him do that to them?"

Tayuya shrugged, "Hell if I know," she said, "The mark gives you one hell of a power boost, even if you don't use it at all, but it also makes you a lot more aggressive in the first few months of getting it."

"So you just got yours, right?" Naruto grinned.

"The fuck does that mean, Shithead?!" Tayuya sneered.

"Now, now," Jiraiya smiled as a fight started brewing, "Let's not fight, besides, Naruto, she's going to help us find Orochimaru once everything settles down, remember?"

Naruto just grinned, and placed his arms behind his head, "Aw, I'm just fooling with her."

Tayuya huffed and finished off her ramen, "Look, Shithead, I'm hoping that Tsunade-sama finds out I'm really part of your clan and all, but don't get too chumy with me, or you'll end up in your own personal, Genjutsu induced hell."

"Really?" Naruto deadpanned, "I'm a shinobi, and I have an enormous, angry ball of chakra inside me that likes my misery...how else can you make my life any worse?"

"Does getting rear-ended by Orochimaru tell you anything about my skills as a Genjutsu mistress?"

Jiraiya shivered, "Oh, gods, I just imagined that, and now it's stuck in my head!" He then started banging his head on the counter, "EVIL. THOUGHTS. BEGONE!"

Naruto grimaced while Tayuya smirked, "Now see what you've done?" Naruto jerked his thumb over at the man, "He's gonna be like that the rest of the day!"

Tayuya just kept smirking as the Sannin banged his head into the wooden counter while Teuchi tried to stop him for the sake of his ramen stand. "You kidding? This is what I call premo entertainment!"

"No, what's entertaining is seeing his ass get beaten whenever he gets caught peeping in the women's hot spring," Naruto grinned, remembering quite a few incidents the old Sage had gotten himself into because he couldn't contain himself, and even more that Naruto himself had caused during some of their stints outside the village that he threatened to let slip to Tsunade in order to get his way with his sensei sometimes. Pure gold in his opinion.

As Tayuya snickered at that, something caught her attention. A pair of somethings, actually. "Uh, Shithead?" She said, getting Naruto's attention, "You and that pal of yours were on good terms, right?"

"Well, he tried to help me if that's anything to go on," Naruto said, placing another empty bowl in his pile, "Why?" He asked, and noticed Tayuya pointing over his left shoulder. He turned around, and sure enough, said 'pal' was slowly making his way toward them while lagging behind a cheerful Sakura. Just like Naruto, the older boy was covered in bandages.

Though, Naruto did notice that he seemed to hang back more than he usually did.

As usual, Sakura was bubbly and cheerful when she came up to him, "Hey, Naruto-kun, still alive, huh?"

Naruto grinned at her, "Hell, yeah, why wouldn't I be?"

Sakura giggled and pointed toward Tayuya, who was glaring at the girl, "Because the last time I saw you this girl was zooming after you about to murder you...or at least hurt you a lot more than you were this morning."

Naruto looked at her in confusion, "Hurt me?" He asked, "I'm totally fine, Sakura-chan!" He grinned, flexing his arms proudly, only to receive a smack on the head from Tayuya, "Ow, hey, what the hell, Tayuya-chan!"

"First of all, don't fucking call me that!" Tayuya snapped, poking him in the forehead, "Second, the only reason you ain't fucked up is because you paid for my meal," she jerked her thumb at the smallest stack of ramen bowls, "And third, you're covered in bandages, so of course she's gonna think you're still fucked up!"

Sakura's brows nearly shot off the top of her head at the girl's crass language as Sasuke finally stood behind her, and looked surprised, "Aren't you...one of the Sound Four?" Sasuke asked. "What are you doing here?"

Tayuya looked at the boy and sneered, "Wouldn't you like to know, Emo-boy?"

Sasuke's eye twitched. Naruto snickered, "She's got ya there, Sasuke!"

Sasuke growled, "And here I was worried about you, Dead Last," he grunted, "You know you died on us for a little while, right?"

Naruto felt himself deflate at that, "Yeah...my new eyes showed me what happened while I was out..." he looked at his teammate, "Thanks, Teme."

Sasuke grunted for moment before extending his hand, "I'm sorry, Naruto."

Naruto looked at the Uchiha and sighed, "Sasuke," he slapped his hand away, "I already told you, we're good."

"How can you say that so easily?" Sasuke asked in wonder, pointing, "Because of me, you had two holes put in your chest, and pretty much died on me and Kakashi...so why?"

Tayuya crossed her arms, "I gotta agree with the Emo-brat," Sasuke scowled at her, "If it were me, I'd be kickin' his ass six ways to Sunday."

Naruto shrugged, "Turning my back on him now would be the same as abandoning him." Naruto explained, looking at the girl, "And the first day we became a team, Kakashi made it clear that people who break rules are scrum - "

"Trash is more like it," Tayuya put in.

"But people that leave their own teammates behind are worse than scum," Naruto went on, and jerked his thumb at Sasuke, "We're teammates, so there's no way I'd turn my back on him, unless he hurt one of my precious people, so even if we hurt each other pretty bad, I'd always help him when I know he needed it."

Sakura looked between her two teammates and sighed with relief, "I'm glad you two can put all of this behind you." She said, smiling, before looking over at her blond teammate, "What did you mean when you said 'my new eyes'?"

"He's a Kerryugan carrier," Jiraiya said, a large lump forming on his head, "It's an extremely rare Doujutsu, which can only be achieved through coming dangerously close to death, which Naruto did after Sasuke tried to bring him back to the village." He said, "It's essentially a Genjutsu based Doujutsu that creates an illusion so powerful that it rivals that of the Sharingan, or it could be even more powerful considering Naruto was able to augment his voice louder than if he was channeling chakra into his vocal cords."

"How is that a Genjutsu?" Naruto asked, scratching the back of his head.

Tayuya scoffed, "You really don't know much about Genjutsu, do ya, Shithead?" She smirked when the blond stuck his tongue out at her, "Genjustu plays with more than your eyesight, dumb ass, it goes for all of your sense, including taste if you're as good as I am." She sound so cocky that even Sasuke had to scowl at that, being a Genjutsu user himself. "My specialty was sound based Genjutsu I cast with my flute when I still had the thing, I could even make people suffocate by making them think they were buried or something, or have heart attacks if I cast something frightening enough, or traumatizing enough."

Naruto nodded, somewhat understanding, "Okay, so if I used my Doujutsu, I could..."

"Right now, you wouldn't be able to do much without practice," Jiraiya said, tapping the side of his head, "Most jutsu is limited by only what the user is capable of in his mind. If he or she can picture a way to do it, then it's possible, but with Genjutsu, even the impossible is possible because it all happens right inside the user and target's minds."

"Okay," Naruto nodded, "I think I get it, but how did I show Granny and Tayuya my battle with Sasuke?"

"You did what?" Sasuke grunted.

Tayuya shrugged, "Doujutsu, when activated for the first time, are a little wild when not in the heat of battle," she explained, drawing looks of confusion from the other Genin, "Okay, fucktards, I'll put it a different way," she said, "Think of the Sharingan like a parasite," she said, holding up on of her hands, "Now most parasites don't really care about the host they feed off of, but some actually provide aid to their host to keep it alive," she said, holding up her other hand, "Now the Sharingan is mostly activated by high levels of adrenaline combined with an upped heart rate, signifying that the host body is in danger, prompting the Doujutsu to activate in order to keep the host alive from whatever threat there is." She said, clasping her hands together.

"Sort of like a symbiotic relationship," Sakura nodded, "I get that. But what about Naruto's?"

"Well, like I was saying, most Doujutsu come alive during battle, but the Kerryugan is something that only comes alive when the host is close to death, but the rub is that the awakening process does nothing to keep the host alive," She explained, "If someone was close enough and managed to keep him from dying, then the Doujutsu would activate later in a wild manner, such as when Shithead here was thinking about his battle with Emo-brat - "

"Oi!/Shut up!" Naruto and Sasuke growled respectively.

"Anyway," Tayuya glared at the pair, "When he was thinking about it, his chakra unconsciously flowed into his eyes, activating his eyes' special abilities, which allowed him to project the memories he was filtering through to me and Tsunade-sama."

Naruto growled, "How come you give her respect, but diss me?"

Tayuya gave him a pointed looked right along with Sakura. "Really, Shithead?"

"She's got a point, Naruto-kun," Sakura sighed, crossing her arms, "Tsunade-sama is one of the most powerful shinobi in the world, as well as the strongest kunoichi in the entire history of the shinobi world, she's the world's best medical ninja, and she's the Fifth Hokage." She said, taking off the woman's achievements, "What more does she need to earn your respect?"

"Hey, when I call her 'Granny', it's said with love and affection," the blond grinned, "Besides that, she's nowhere near as young as she - " BONG "GAH!"

"What was that you were about to say, you little rat?!" Tsunade growled angrily as she stood over the blond with a smoking fist raised threateningly. "Because I'm sure my ears were burning with a load of bull shit that was being sent my way from a certain blond's mouth?"

Naruto sweated visibly as he nursed the lump on his head, "Oh, uh, I was just listening to Sakura-chan saying how incredibly awesome you are!" Naruto grinned, hoping to avoid another smack.

"Tch, kiss ass," Tayuya smirked.

Naruto growled at her, "Pot, meet my dear friend, Kettle," he grumbled, gesturing to Tayuya.

"You got somethin' to say, Dumb ass?!" Tayuya snapped, raring for a fight, "Even if my legs are banged up, I can kick you skinny ass from here to Suna and back!"

"I'd like to see you try, Red!" Naruto growled, ready for a brawl. That is before Tsunade bonked both of them on the head. "Ouch!"

"What the hell?!" Tayuya yelped, "He started it!"

"Did not!"

"Did too!"

Bonk/Bang

"Ouch!" Both youngsters yelped as she smacked them again.

"That's enough out of both of you!" Tsunade roared, turning her attention to Tayuya, "And I did warn you not to bait him!"

"But I - "

"Stuff it!" Tsunade snapped, making both of them jump, Tayuya actually clearing off of her stool and hopping into Naruto's arms in fear. "Now, you two have some explaining to do. Why weren't you in your room this morning?!"

"Uh..."

"Well..." Both teens looked at each other.

"I'm waiting." Tsunade growled.

Jiraiya sighed and placed his hand on her shoulder, "You can blame me for that, Hime. I took them out for some ramen since I wanted to talk to Naruto, and Tayuya wanted to come along."

Tsunade glared at the man, "They're both injured, you old goat!" She snapped, "Tayuya can't even walk! And you took them out of the hospital for that!?"

"Naruto needed to know about his father," Jiraiya said, unrepentant, crossing his arms, "And you just missed him and Sasuke reconciling. You wanna get mad at me, then fine, but I'm not sorry for any of this."

Tsunade glowered at the man for a moment before relenting, "Fine, but all three of you are going back to the hospital, pronto!"

"Three?" Jiraiya asked.

"Sasuke needs to meet with Inoichi for a psych evaluation," she said, "If he fails, bye-bye career."

"What!?"

Tsunade nearly sighed as the loudest member of Team 7 let his displeasure out, "Naruto - "

"Don't even start!" Naruto roared angrily, shocking the Hokage, and present company, "You wanna punish the guy, fine, but don't even try breaking up our team!" He said, hopping down and placing Tayuya in her chair, "I didn't go after him so you could take him away from Team 7, I went after him because he's a comrade, and he needed help!"

"Now see here, Uzumaki!" Tsunade growled.

"Uh-uh, not happening!" Naruto snapped, gesturing wildly with his arms, "Take him out of the game, and you take me out, too!" He snatched his head band off and held it out to her, "Go on! Take it!"

"Don't tempt me!" She roared, "do you even know what the penalty is for what he's done?! By laws set forth by my grandfather, he should be dead and buried right now! But here he is, alive and well, thanks to my good graces, and that's not good enough for you?!"

"Are you kidding me?!" Naruto roared, "You wanna go there, fine, let's! You ran away from the village, for who knows how long, and now, after I had to drag your wrinkled ass back here, you wanna start preaching about desertion?!"

"That's not - "

"Don't say it's not fucking fair!" Naruto snapped, glaring up at the woman, both of which, by now, had drawn quite the crowd. "Oh, boo-hoo, I lost my boyfriend, and my little baby brother!" Naruto sneered, imitating a high, girly voice before getting right up in her face, "Sasuke lost his entire clan, and guess what? His own brother did it, and made him watch!" He roared, making Tayuya, Sakura and Sasuke wince, "Face it, Granny, when it comes down to it, how the hell are you two any different?"

"I didn't try to kill anyone, that's how!" Tsunade roared, "And how dare you bring that all up?! You realize that I could have you jailed, right?!"

"Go right ahead," Naruto crossed his arms, "Demons like myself oughtta be locked up, ain't that right?!"

"Naruto, that is not what I mean!" Tsunade gasped, "You know I'd never - " She stopped when she looked over at Jiraiya for support, but the man only shook his head.

"Leave me outta this, Hime," Jiraiya said, "You got yourself into this mess, you deal with it, 'cause I would have done the same for Orochimaru if I could have, but he was already too far gone. Fact of the matter is, the kid's right. Sasuke more than likely would've been a second Orochimaru given enough time, and probably twice as dangerous."

"So I should just let him go?" Tsunade huffed, "Just like that?!"

"No, I'm saying let me get that damned seal off of both Tayuya and Sasuke, then you can evaluate both of them," he said, scratching the back of his head, "Face it, Hime, putting Sasuke's career as a shinobi on ice right now is foolish, considering how many we lost in the invasion, and if you did that, not only would you have the civilians' hate, which is a headache anyway you slice it, but you'd have Danzo breathing down your neck to get the boy to impregnate as many girls as possible to start up the Uchiha clan again."

"Anything but that!" Sasuke shuddered, "I would very much like to be a one woman man!"

"Shut up!" Tsunade snapped at the boy, "This doesn't concern you!"

Sasuke resisted the urge to point out that it really did, but he liked living too much to do that.

"Giving him a psych evaluation right now wouldn't be a good idea anyway," Tayuya put in, leaning on her hands, "Orochimaru's curse marks always mess with your mind a little bit, even if he doesn't intend to use you as a vessel."

"There, now, you see?" Jiraiya said, "Once I get that thing off, I'm sure things will go back to normal, and you can rule this as a simple attempt of kidnapping."

Tsunade growled and crossed her arms, an angry blush on her cheeks, "What is this!? Gang up on the Hokage Day?!" She snapped, "Argh, you're all gonna be the death of me! The only one here that hasn't raised my blood pressure is Sakura, and she's hiding behind Teuchi!"

Sakura popped her head out from behind the man in question, "Ehehe, I thought I'd just stay out of this one?"

"Smart girl," Teuchi smiled.

"But, Hokage-sama?" Sakura said, as she hopped over the counter, "I would like to make a small request?"

Tsunade looked down at her, "What? You want me to let him off the hook, too?"

"No," Sakura said a little too quickly, then blushed, "W-well, that too, but there's something else!"

"Then out with it," Tsunade sighed, "it's bad enough that I just lost an argument with a bunch of kids, and an old - "

"Novelist!" Jiraiya hurriedly put in.

"Right," the blonde's brow twitched, "Now what do you want?"

Sakura gulped, and bowed low, "Please, Tsunade-sama, please make me your apprentice!"

Tsunade actually looked surprised, as did Jiraiya, Naruto and Tayuya for that matter. "And...why should I?" Tsunade asked, "I've read your reports from Academy, and while you placed as the top kunoichi, your field performance report from Kakashi, whenever he turns them in on time, are below average."

Sakura nodded sadly, "That's why I'd like to be your apprentice." She said, "I'm tired of being the useless one on our team. I know I have a resistance to Genjutsu built up because of Kakashi, but if I trained in the medical field like you, I could be of more use to Sasuke and Naruto, and not just be in the way!"

"You do this for them?"

"And myself," she said, "I...I don't want to be weak anymore!"

Sasuke watched the Hokage and his teammate nervously for a moment, thinking that the elder would refuse for a moment, but then he saw he beginning to smile. "Alright, I guess I could use an apprentice...but you realize that the training I'm going to put you through is nothing compared to what Naruto gets from Jiraiya, and I heard that the old perv threw him off of a cliff."

"I..." Sakura looked up at her with slight fear, but steeled herself, "I don't care, do your worst!"

Jiraiya grimaced, "Oooh, wrong choice of words..."

"Good answer," she said, and grabbed the girl by the back of her dress, "Come along, training starts immediately, and boy do I need to blow off some steam!"

Naruto clapped his hands together, "Rest in peace, Sakura-chan."

"She was a really good teammate," Sasuke put in.

"She'd have been a real looker in a few more years," Jiraiya lamented.

Tayuya just grinned, waving, "Sayonara, Pinky!"

"Eh?" Sakura watched as her friends began to wave at her while she was dragged off, "Eeeeeeh!?"

"Naruto, Tayuya," Tsunade yelled, "I want you two back at the hospital as soon as you're done eating, else I'll put you through the ringer!"

That got the pair moving. Tayuya wheeled herself around right as Naruto took off like a shuriken. "RACE YA BACK!"

"NO FAIR!" Tayuya roared, "YOU GOTTA HEAD START!"

~Fwing~

Kakashi sighed as he stood in front of the Hokage some time later, "You're really trying to steal my team from me, aren't you, Tsunade-sama?" He asked as he saw the apprenticeship form in front of her. "You know I have a few good reasons not to sign her over to you, right?"

"All of which can be solved with a few days and some red tape," Tsunade smirked, "In only a few hours, I've seen exactly what she can and can't do...she has so much raw potential that it's frightening...and there are a few others I'd like to take in as well, seeing as one Tenten Higurashi is one of last year's finest kunoichi, and the only one to keep herself alive during that year."

"I'm not going to operate a four man cell without another member," Kakashi sighed, "And Sasuke, as you said, is unstable at the moment because of that mark on his neck, which you said can be removed, but will take at least a week or two...so what am I supposed to do?"

Tsunade sighed, "For now? I want you taking up your old Anbu mask again for a while." She said, "Tayuya is an Uzumaki, just like Naruto, what's more, Naruto has a rare Doujutsu that could get some unhealthy attention for him from too many people inside and outside this village. Not only are they both in danger of being kidnapped for their heritage, but Naruto for his eyes as well, and both have the potential to be repeatedly violated by outside forces should they come under attack." She sat back with a sigh, thinking back on the conversation she had had with Shizune and Koharu earlier that morning, "Our inside threats are more subdued because both are of Uzumaki heritage, meaning those that would use them would wish to strengthen that bloodline by having them engage each other instead of hand-selected subjects willing to go through such a thing. And being a Jinchuuriki, Naruto is more than capable of defending himself now that he's a seasoned Genin...and soon-to-be Chunin."

"You're promoting him?" Kakashi asked.

"He's earned it," Tsunade nodded, "The girl, however, I'd like to have evaluated in the field after Jiraiya removes both hers and Sasuke's marks. She's already made a deal with me, and given us valuable information...such as the possible location of another, full-blooded Uzumaki."

At this, the man looked shocked, "Are you serious? I thought - "

"Yes, I know," Tsunade smiled, "It's almost too good to be true, but the girl seems to be telling the truth. Either way, she can and will lead us to more of Orochimaru's bases, and, possibly, Orochimaru himself. Which means you will have to be prepared to fight with him...all of you."

"Are you telling me that Team 7 is to be made into a hunting squad?" Kakashi asked. "I thought that Jiraiya wanted to take Naruto out of the village for training? What happened to that idea?"

"He had to rethink it because of Naruto's Doujutsu," Tsunade sighed, "And the boy is looking more and more like his father each and every day, what's more, he knows about both his parents now, so it's doubly dangerous for him to leave for any extended amount of time baring missions to keep his income flowing."

Kakashi sighed, "Sheltering him like that is a bad idea," he said, "If he finds out that we're trying to keep him within bounds, he'll - "

"I have no intention of doing such a thing," she said, smiling, "The boy's too much like his mother for that. As much as I dislike the idea of him being put in the spot light so soon, he will take any mission I deem him ready to take."

Kakashi nodded, "I see...so Sasuke is to be put on watch until all is said and done, and I'm still down a team member?"

Tsunade glared, "Is that all you can think about?" She asked, "Fine, but you brought this on yourself."

"What do you -?"

"From this point on," she snapped, "Tayuya Uzumaki is to be an extended member of Team 7, even when Sakura is allowed time for missions outside of Konoha. As such, Team 7 is now, officially, by order of the Hokage, a five body cell!"

Kakashi looked at her in horror, "You're putting her on my team? With Naruto?! Are you out of your mind?!"

"Not yet," Tsunade smirked, "But I think you soon will be...they're quite the hand full together."

=x=

As Naruto laid in bed that night, he found himself drifting off to a familiar place as he heard the dripping of water around him, and the sound of something large breathing around him. He opened his eyes and found himself back inside the seal, staring at the iron door where two enormous red eyes were staring down at him.

"So," Kurama said to the boy, "What do you think of my gift, Runt?"

Naruto glared at the Biju, "The only thing you did was save your own hide," he said, "Even if you'd let me die, I know that you'd die with me thanks to the seal."

A deep chuckle shook the water at his feet, "So you believe that it was pure chance that the Kerryugan awakened? I think not, Runt. You saw for yourself, did you not? I kept that shinigami away from you just long enough that I knew the eyes would change." He laughed, "As always, you are nothing without me."

Naruto growled, "You can't fool me, Kurama," the fox sneered angrily at the use of his name by the boy, "you did this only to save yourself." He jerked his thumb up at his eyes, these eyes were from my dad, not you, and not anyone else!"

"Your father was nothing but a fool that failed to save the woman he loved," Kurama smirked from behind the bars showing off his teeth, "Did you know that she was still alive just before he sealed me into you? Uzumaki are known to survive my kind from being taken from them as well as living abnormally long lives. That fool of a Kage let his guard down and turned his back on me just as he prepared to seal me away into you, and Kushina jumped in front of my claws just as would have killed you both!"

Naruto felt his eyes widen, his vision bordering red, "You...you killed my mother..."

"With a smile on my face, Runt, with a smile on my face!"

Naruto ground his teeth, looking down at his feet, his form shaking. Kurama felt his laughter rumbling through him, and grinned, "Why such a long face, Runt? If they had not given their lives for you, would that not mean that they did not love you?" He grinned, "Poor, poor Naruto, bereft of his loving family, knowing only that they loved him so much that they sealed their murderer inside you! HAHAHAHAHAAA!"

"Screw you!" Naruto roared, glaring at the fox, his eyes blood-red, "I don't care what it takes, no matter how long I have to live, you are never getting out of here! Even if I die, I'll find away to seal you into something other than another human body!"

"Ha! Good luck trying, Runt! Many have tried such a thing, and all have failed miserably!" Kurama roared, "Just think, in the next century or so of your life, I will be sealed away into your grandchild! And then they can suffer as you have suffered! Isn't it wonderful? HAHAHAHA!"

Naruto sat up in bed with a shout, his eyes still glowing red, and covered in sweat. "D-Damn that stupid fox!"

"Hey," Tayuya's voice drifted to him, and he found the girl sitting up in bed, looking at him with a sad look on her face. "You okay, Shithead?"

Taking a deep breath, the blond nodded, "Yeah, the Kyuubi was - "

"I know," Tayuya nodded, pointing at her eyes, "I saw everything after you said it...killed your mom...sorry."

Naruto groaned a laid back in bed, "Dammit, these stupid eyes are more trouble than they're worth!" He groaned, "Sorry...I need to learnt to control them better."

Tayuya sighed, not knowing what to say as the blond covered his face with his arms. Then she huffed and swung her legs over the side of her bed, and shakily rose to her feet. Thanks to an earlier healing session, she was at least able to walk short distances, given she stayed off of her broken leg, allowing her to limp/hop over to him, and crawl into bed with him.

"Wha-?" Naruto started, and yelped when he felt Tayuya's arms going around him, "What the hell are you doing?!"

"Shut up, or someone's gonna fucking hear you!" Tayuya hissed, glaring at him with a massive blush across her face, "And don't get any fucking ideas, Shithead, this is a one time deal...after seeing something like that, you...probably need something to take your mind off of it..."

Naruto had to admit that she had certainly succeeded. "But what if someone comes in here and sees us?"

"I'll tell the fuckers I was sleep walking," Tayuya smirked, her eyes closing, "They'll believe that."

He wasn't so sure about that, but it was plain enough to see that she really didn't care one way or the other because she was already drifting off to sleep. It was comforting, however, having the girl sleeping against him as she was. So he sighed and wrapped his arms around her, settling down once more to try and sleep. "Thanks, Tayuya-chan."

And done! Not much I can say about this chapter except there was a lot of yelling, and a few bonding moments, but I hope you all enjoyed it, and drop a review if you did, if not..meh.