Let's get this show on the road!

Jiraiya tapped on the door to Tsunade's office, and let himself in, "Morning, Honey - YEOW!" He yelped ducking underneath a thrown scroll, "What's the big idea!?" Jiriaya snapped, "I just came to ask if - "

"The answer is no, no, and still no!" Tsunade roared, glaring daggers at the man, "I've already told you that letting Naruto into the restricted section of the library is out of the question until he's at least Jonin!"

Jiraiya growled and crossed his arms, "The kid can handle it, Hime, it's not like he's gonna go for the first Triple-S scroll he finds!"

Tsunade scowled at him, "You're lucky we don't have anything that powerful save for my granduncle's reanimation technique," she sighed, frowning, "And why can't you just start out by teaching him some of your techinques? Your chameleon technique would do him a great deal as far as stealth goes?"

Jiraiya shook his head, "It's not that I don't want to teach him anything, it's that I can't, yet." He said, "Aside from the Rasengan and the Toad contract, many of my jutsu call for great chakra control. And he has those new eyes, so he needs a Genjutsu specialist to help him with that." He said, sighing, "he needs something else to keep him going, and the Rasengan, I'm afraid to say, is no longer enough."

"That can wait," Tsunade said, looking at the man, "Tell me, did you receive the info Kakashi and I sent to you on the curse marks?"

Jiraiya nodded, crossing his arms, "I did, and I can tell you that the technique Orochimaru used was likely based off an Uzumaki seal I know something about."

Tsunade looked at him hopefully, "Then you can remove it?" Her hopes fell when he began to shake his head, "What? Why not?!"

"Because the seal I'm thinking about does take an insane amount of chakra, and a fair amount of control" he said, sighing in disappointment, "Fact of the matter is, I don't have near the amount of chakra it takes to get the seal to work for me, let alone to use it."

Tsunade groaned, "Then there's no chance of us removing those damned marks from those three!" She sighed, "This is horrible!"

"I said that I didn't have the right amount of chakra," Jiraiya said, grinning, "But there's a certain young Genin I know of that has insane amounts of chakra, and has an insurmountable chakra battery he can draw on if need be."

Tsunade raiser her brow at him, "You're talking about Naruto?" She asked, "But he doesn't even have any knowledge of Sealing Jutsu, and you expect him to use an advanced technique?"

"He's got his Shadow Clones to help with that," Jiraiya said offhandedly, "What could take ten years could ten days with a lot of clones to help out. If he masters it, then we can use it without risk. Problem solved."

Tsunade sighed massaging her temple, "You're way too flippant about this, you know that? Naruto is not a quick study!"

"I know," Jiraiya grinned, "He's a kinesthetic learner, meaning training is his study. If I show him what to do, then he'll learn it by doing it himself, and keep at it with his Shadow Clones."

Tsunade nodded, "Yes, that could work, but...I don't want you filling his entire days with training," She said, sighing, "Whatever he is, he's still just a thirteen year old boy, even if he's a shinobi."

Jiraiya shrugged, "Hey, I'll do my best with the kid since we're staying in the village," the aging sage smiled, "I already promised him that I'd stay around for him like I should have the day I found out he was alive." His smile turned into a full blown grin, "So you'll have my handsomeness to keep things interesting around here, my little Slug Princess - YIPE!" He ducked under a paperweight. "Now what'd I do?!"

"Do not call me 'Slug Princess'!" Tsunade roared, grabbing a desk chair, "Do you know how nasty that sounds!?"

Jiraiya probably should have kept his mouth shut, but the woman had left herself wide open for it. "Depends on whose slug it is!" He cackled and bolted out the door just as she threw the chair at him, shattering it against the wall of her office.

"Ugh!" Tsunade roared, "That was my favorite chair!"

She growled, and went to the closet, taking out a folding chair and plopped back down. As she fumed over the little encounter, a fond smile, "That old toad always did know how to push my buttons." She sighed, sitting back regarding the small packages by her desk. One was a box containing Naruto's Chunin flak vest, as well as two full sets of the Sarutobi clan's special adamantine kunai and shuriken, and some chakra paper. Everything that Naruto had earned with the promotion.

The other was a small parcel intended for Tayuya. Inside she would find a medium-sized scroll and a smaller scroll containing the Body Flicker techniques. If she was as right as she was hoping, then the girl was just like her father. Being a Genjutsu user, Tayuya naturally had a high amount of Yang chakra, even though her reserves were only on par with Asuma, she was, apparently, just as talented with Genjutsu as Kurenai was. Which was surprising, considering that woman could cast her illusions with single finger, almost as quick as any Uchiha.

But, if her lineage held true, she would also have a Wind nature, and possibly Fire or Lightning, but the clincher would be the Body Flicker. The blood testing hadn't lied, that much was certain, but to actually see if she was anything like him was something she dearly hoped, even if she never developed the Sharingan, which she vehemently hoped she wouldn't.

If she did, Tsunade knew that she would be hard pressed to keep the girl safe. A Kekkei Genkai always had a chance to pass on to a new generation, but the ratio was far greater if the father were the one that had the particular gift, which Tayuya's father had. But seeing as she had taken on the physical traits of the Uzumaki clan, the blonde Kage hoped that the Sharingan remained dormant.

She reached down and picked the items up, leaning on her desk, and smirked, "I guess I could drop in and see how they're doing?" She said, rising from her chair, "I need to pick up Sakura, anyway."

=x=

Tayuya woke up feeling more relaxed than she had in a long time.

For a moment, she couldn't recall where she was until she felt the fuuton mattress beneath her. It was certainly nothing like the cell she slept in back in Oto. And it was much softer than her hospital bed. And the best possible part? She could smell something good cooking, even though she knew the kitchen was a little ways from her chosen room.

She sat up in bed, sighing as she stretched her arms out over head, her stomach growling."Hm, whatever's cooking sure smells good," she sighed happily, "I can't believe I slept so well!"

There was a knock at her door, and none other than her blond host slid it open, a small tray in his hands, "Morning, Tayuya-chan!" He beamed, "Hope you're hungry!"

"Hell yeah," the girl smirked, "Serving me breakfast in bed, Shithead? Wow, you really know how to get on a girl's good side, huh?"

Naruto blushed a bit at the insinuation, but kept grinning, "Hey, when a girl chases you around as much as you chased me, you gotta give her something back, right?"

"Smart ass," Tayuya grinned as he set the tray beside her.

"Better then being a dumb ass," he shot back, "How's your leg?"

Tayuya looked down at her leg, flexing it a little, and smiled at feeling no pain, "Looks like I'm totally good," she said, "Man, I'll give you tree huggers one thing, you sure know how to treat a girl." She grinned and turned to the tray, "Is all that mine?" She asked, noting that it was loaded with scrambled eggs, toast, and a few slices of bacon.

Naruto scratched the back of his head, "Yeah, sorry it's not traditional or anything, but I don't know how to cook all that much...this is about as good as I can do."

Tayuya reached out and grabbed a piece of toast and bit into it, "This is...more than what I usually got under Orochimaru." She said truthfully, "I only ever got real food when I was away from the base." She picked up a piece of bacon, "And no one's ever been nice enough to bring me breakfast in bed...so thanks, Shithead."

Naruto grinned, "You know, I get that you're insulting me, but I'm kinda getting used to being called that," Naruto said, smirking at the girl, "Besides, I can tell you call me that with all your love, Ta-yu-ya-chiiii." He grinned wider as the girl blushed brighter than her hair.

"D-d-d-d-don't say 'chi' like that! It sounds completely wrong coming from a guy! And don't even think of using an affectionate with me, Shithead!" Tayuya roared, causing Naruto to laugh.

"Aw, man, I feel so loved right now!" Naruto laughed loudly whilst holding his sides, "You should see your face!"

Tayuya had half a mind to throw the plate of eggs in his face. Fortunately for him they smelled too good to waist. And it just so happened that someone decided to bang on the front door loudly enough that the blond couldn't help but hear it.

Naruto grimaced, "Who the hell knocks like that this early in the morning?" He grumbled, rising to his feet, "Be right back," he said over his shoulder, smirking, "Hopefully this won't take long, because I wanna start training again!"

Tayuya watched him go, and a plan start forming. Getting to her feet, she followed after him silently, making sure the long shirt she wore covered her lower half enough that no one could the shorts she wore underneath. Thankfully, her hair was messed up enough that she looked the part of a girl that had had a rough night...in a good way, of course!

Naruto hurried toward the front of the house, sighing as he heard a familiar voice that belonged to a certain loud mouthed Inuzuka, along with a few others he knew, one of them being Shikamaru telling Kiba to be quiet. He also heard the unmistakable sound of chips crunching, and figured that Choji was with them, and where there was Choji and Shikamaru..."Oh, no..." Naruto groaned as he slid open the door...and found it to be much worse than he thought.

Kiba, Akamaru perched on his head as usual, was there, along with the rest of his team consisting of Hinata, and Shino with their Jonin sensei, Kurenai Yuhi, who was giving the loud youth a sour look. Team 10 was in attendance, minus their sensei as Ino was talking loudly while Choji was muching away on barbecue chips. And then there was his own team, Sasuke in attendance, giving his teammate and friend an apologetic look as Sakura argued with her blonde rival for the boy's affections. Hinata stood off behind Kurenai, peeking out from behind her as Naruto opened the door. Kakashi gave the boy his customary eyes smile and salute, "Yo, Naruto-kun, we thought we'd come by and - "

"Naruto-kuuuun~," Tayuya's voice called out sleepily, setting Naruto's hair standing on end.

She wouldn't! Naruto gulped.

"Come back to bed already!" Tayuya said as she came into view, and Naruto felt his hopes of a normal morning fly straight out the window. She was barefooted, bare-legged, and her hair was beyond messy...Yes, she would...Naruto slowly, almost mechanically, turned back to his friends, and saw all of them staring at him owlishly, all of the girls blushing with their hands over their cheeks, or in Sakura's case, her jaw hitting the ground, just like most of the guys were doing sans Sasuke and Shino, though Sasuke did look like he'd swallowed a pine cone, and Shino...was being Shino.

Naruto gulped when he looked up at Kakashi and Kurenai, one looked shocked, pleasantly so, and the other looking madder than a wet tiger...guess who that was?

"Uh...this isn't how it looks?" Naruto hazarded, ready to bolt the moment it looked like he was going to get it.

Kakashi gave a small giggle, "My cute little student's finally become a man!"

Kurenai gave the man a dirty look, "Kakashi, I hope you're not encouraging this?" Kurenai admonished, "I know that shinobi are encouraged to marry young, but Naruto is only twelve - "

"Thirteen," Naruto corrected. "I just had a birthday a few weeks ago."

Tayuya just had to make things worse by coming up behind him and throwing her arms around his neck, leaning on him heavily, "Well, happy birthday, Naru-kuuun~!" She all but purred, making him shiver.

That snapped a certain rosette out of her stupor. Sakura growled, tic marks appearing all over her head as she clenched her fists, "Na-ru-to!"

Naruto yelped, "Nyaha, time to go!" He slammed the door shut and stumbled back into the house with Tayuya giggling away like mad as he made his escape...that is until the same rosette blasted the door open with her freakish strength, making the red-head pale. Doors weren't supposed to splinter like that from one punch!

"Aw, come on, Sakura-chan, I just fixed that!" Naruto whined as his teammate chased after them.

Kakashi and Kurenai watched and listened to the chaos unfold with varying expressions while the few Genin and single Chunin laughed, minus Hinata, at the blond's predicament.

"Shouldn't we stop them?" Kurenai wondered, "I know the boy needs to be taught a lesson, but - "

Kakashi chuckled, "I'd like to see you try to get in between Sakur-chan when she's on the war path like that," he said, a small bead of sweat running down his face, "Besides...I doubt that she'll be able to catch Naruto...though I do fear for his home..." As he spoke, there was a resounding crash through the building, and a loud shout from Tayuya.

"WHAT THE HELL, PINKY!"

"SHADDAP! I'LL KNOCK THE HELL OUTTA O' YA FOR CORRUPTING NARU-BAKA!"

"WHY CAN'T EITHER OF YOU CRAZY GIRLS USE MY REAL NAME, DAMMIT!" Naruto roared, "AND STOP WRECKING MY HOUSE, -TTEBAYO!"

=x=

It was sometime later that the situation defused, and Sakura finally wound herself down. Catching two Uzumaki was not an easy feet, especially when one was known to be a ball of boundless energy...

"How do you have so much energy!" Sakura huffed, sagging against the wall of the house while Naruto jogged in place a few paces away. Tayuya, though less winded, was no better than Sakura only having just healed from her broken leg.

"Remind me never to fucking screw with that crazy ass girl again!" Tayuya groaned as she rubbed her leg to ease away a cramp, "She's got more power in that punch than Jirobo!"

Naruto sighed in relief when he saw that the rosette had calmed down. "You really think I'm gonna let myself be hit for something I obviously didn't do?" Naruto asked, jerking his thumb at the red-head, "She just likes to mess with people too much for her own good."

"And proud of it!" Tayuya grinned.

Naruto rolled his eyes, looking toward the rest of his guests, "So, what did you guys come by for?" He asked, "Not that I'm not happy to see you, ut nobody ever visits me apart from Kakashi-sensei and Pervy Sage."

Shikamaru shrugged, "I figured I'd come by and see how everything turned out after you got out of the hospital, but I never expected yo see her again," he said, pointing at Tayuya, "Let alone shacking up with you?"

"You can thank Kakashi for that," Naruto said, smirking, "And it turns out that she's part of my clan, so it all works out in the end for me."

"Clan?"

"That's right," Kakashi said, answering their question, "Naruto is indeed part of a clan, and one of the founding members of the village as well."

"Hang on a minute," Kiba butted in, "How is the dead last of the class part of a clan, I thought he was an orphan?"

Sasuke grunted, "Hey, knock it off, Kiba, don't forget I'm an orphan, too."

"Yeah, but - "

"My dad was the Fourth Hokage," Naruto growled out before Kiba could get started again, "My mom was Kushina Uzumaki, the last full-blooded Uzumaki known." He jerked his thumb at Tayuya again, "She's a half-blood, like me."

"And she's going to be a part of Team 7 starting from today," Kakashi put in, shocking Naruto and Tayuya as well as Sakura and Sasuke, "Since Sakura-chan is going to be training under Tsunade-sama, we were short a teammate, and Tsunade-sama decided it was best that Tayuya be put with us since she requested to be put in the shinobi forces."

"That makes sense," Sasuke said, "It'll also give you a good chance to keep an eye on her."

Ino was looking more stunned than any of them had ever seen her, but that didn't last before she gave the blond a flirty look, "Well, at least we don't have to worry about Naruto getting a girlfriend, seeing as Tayuya-chi already - "

"Aw, hell nah!" Tayuya spat, leaping to her feet, "Shitehead I can put up with, but there is no way I'm letting some blonde bimbo call me by pet names!" No sooner had she said that than she launched herself at the girl.

Ino smirked and brought her hands together, "Mind Trans- "

"STOP!" Naruto roared, and the room went completely black, the blond disappearing and the temperature dropping. Tayuya hit the floor beneath her, but felt as though she were lying on ice, cold as it was. She could even see her breath.

"Wh-what the hell - ?!" Ino yelped, her teeth beginning to chatter as the cold set in.

Hinata shivered and hid herself behind Kurenai further, while the woman crossed her arms, a smirk on her lips, "It's a Genjutsu...I never knew one could be this powerful...Naruto-kun, can you drop it, please?" She called out, her voice echoing.

A moment later, the darkness receded, revealing a tired looking Naruto, sweat beading his brow. "Dammit, that took a lot out of me!" He groaned, "Man, I've got to learn how to control these things!"

Hinata peeked out from behind her sensei and gasped when she saw the blood-red eyes Naruto now possessed. "Y-Your eyes!"

"Yeah, it's a new Doujutsu that I got from my dad's side of the family." Naruto explained, bowing his head apologetically, "Sorry about that."

Kurenai smiled as she saw his eyes, "A Kerryugan user, huh? I've never seen one before now."

"You know about this Doujutsu?" Kakashi asked, surprised.

Kurenai shrugged, "I came across one of the Chinoike clan a few years back." She said, making Naruto raise his head, "She was an old woman that possessed the matured Doujutsu, and even the blood manipulation that came along with it. Even in her age, she was a powerful kunoichi, and taught me a little bit about Genjutsu that I didn't already know." She looked at Naruto, "I'm not sure if any of them are still alive to this day, but you should know that just like the Uzumaki clan, the Chinoike clan were scattered by war."

Naruto nodded, "Yeah, kinda figured that." He said, and rose to his feet, helping Tayuya up as he did, "I'll make some tea, then we can catch up on things...like how come Choji'sso skinny?"

"Hey," Choji smiled, "I'm trying to gain it all back!"

When Tsunade and Jiraiya arrived, it was to find the Uzumaki compound rowdier than usual, the voice of the Godaime's apprentice carrying over the din. "Well, I guess this explains why the Anbu couldn't find her." Jiraiya said, sighing, "This place has seals all around the perimeter!"

Tsunade sighed, "Now I can't chew them out for not completing their task," she grumbled, adjusting the packages she held, "Well, shall we?"

"Let's," Jiraiya smiled, "I can't wait to see the look on Naruto's face!"

When the Godaime knocked on the door, she was met by a loud laugh as Tayuya herself opened the door. A small spike of apprehension shot through her upon seeing her former master's teammates. "Uh...Should I get Sh-er, Naruto?"

"I came here to see you," Tsunade smiled at the girl, easing her worries somewhat, "I have something for you that I think you can make use of if you haven't already, and a summoning contract to replace those horrid ogres." She said, presenting one of the package she held under her arm.

Tayuya took it with a respectful bow, and a small smile on her face. "I...thank you, I - "

"Don't thank me, yet, dear," Tsunade smiled, "I'd like to see how well you can master those techniques." She said, tapping the box with her finger, "Inside you'll find a scroll containing the Body Flicker technique as well as it's follow up move, as well as the Crow contract. They're much more reliable than ogres."

"Thank you!" She said, beaming as she opened up the gift, "I've never used those before, and the Crows are used by one of the Akatsuki...Itachi, I think?"

Tsunade nodded, "That's right, but I think you'll find that these will serve you better than him," she said, "A very famous shinobi made himself a name by using these. Shushin no Shisui, a good man in my opinion, and every bit as fast with the Body Flicker as the Fourth was with his Flying Thunder God."

Jiraya smiled and inched his way around the pair in search of Naruto.

While he was doing that, Tsunade led the girl out into the yard to sign the contract. It was much smaller than a major summoning contract, where the creatures grew to tremendous size, but Tayuya didn't care. As she opened the scroll, she found two names before hers. One faded, signifying that the summoner had passed on, while the other remained as it was when it was first signed.

She bit down on her thumb and wrote her name right next to Itachi Uchiha's, almost forgetting to add Uzumaki to her name, smiling to herself when she did. It felt nice to know who she was.

"Alright," she said, making the necessary hand signs before slamming her bloodied hand to the ground, "Summoning Jutsu!"

A small puff of smoke was all that alerted her to her new summon's arrival. Sitting where her hand had come down was a large black crow cleaning his feathers. Tayuya held out her hand to the bird, and it hopped on, nibbling at her fingers when she reached to pet it.

"I think that means it likes you," Tsunade chuckled as the bird hopped onto her shoulder.

"Of course I do," the bird croaked, shocking the girl. "What? You didn't think I could talk?"

"Sorry," Tayuya said, "I've never had an intelligent summon before."

Tsunade nodded, "Truth be told, my friend, I didn't know that the Crows could talk, either."

The bird shrugged his wings, "We don't normally talk around anyone but our summoners, but I can sense you have the Slug contract, and we're friends with them. And the girl is now one of our summoners, so why wouldn't I talk?"

"That...sorta makes sense," Tayuya giggled like a little girl in a candy shop, "I'm Tayuya, Uzumaki Tayuya."

The bird cocked his head, "An Uzumaki, huh? Never had one of them for a summoner, usually we're given to the Uchiha more often than not, us or those stupid ninja cats." He fluffed his feathers, "I'm glad I got someone different."

She's different alright, Tsunade thought as the girl began to bond with the bird. Now we just have to test out my theory of her being excellent at the Body Flicker.

"Tayuya," Tsunade smiled, gaining the pair's attention, "I'm going to give Team 7 a week to prepare for that rescue mission for the other Uzumaki girl you mentioned, so in that time, I'd like you to work on those techniques I gave you, and bond with your new summons." She reached into her robes, and pulled out a slip of paper, "Here, I trust you know what this is?"

Tayuya nodded, and took hold of it. Tsunade waited with baited breath as the girl chanelled her chakra into it. The paper split in half: Wind. The paper then began to burn around the edges before being engulfed, and turning to ash: Fire.

"So my primary element is Wind?" Tayuya smiled, "And Fire for a second."

Tsunade nodded, "The Fire element is weaker than the Wind element, but you can work on both of them to make them stronger." She said, beaming, "As it happens, one of our best Jonin is also a Wind and Fire user, so you can take lessons from him."

The crow on her shoulder cocked his head, "She's got a Lightning Chakra as well," the bird said, "I can sense it, but it's really weak as it is. She'll really need to work her tail feathers off to actually use it."

Tayuya looked at her new summon, "As long as I don't have to go through what I did with Orochimaru, then I've got no problem," she said, scratching the bird under the chin.

Tsunade smiled and guided the girl back toward the house, the crow still perched on her shoulder. As they passed into the house, she thought she saw someone for a moment. A dark-haired man smiling at the girl from the treeline. And when she looked back, he was gone. Tsunade had never been the superstitious type, but she couldn't help but feel a small smile coming to her face. "She's just like you," she whispered so that the girl couldn't hear her, "It's just a shame you never got to meet her, Shisui."

6:Tayuya Uzumaki

Daughter of Shisui Uchiha

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