Authors note:

Once again, special thanks to my beta Sakiku Torakak for her AMAZING job. All reviews/criticism is welcomed. Without further ado, I give you chapter two of Naruto: Shadows of the Mind.

'THOUGHTS'

LINE BREAKS=CHANGE OF SCENE/POV

CHAPTER TWO

Two Weeks Later

It was only luck that allowed Sarutobi to find Tsunade so soon, let alone so close to the village. He'd expected to have to wait months to find her, which was longer than he was willing to wait to get Naruto examined. The situation back in Konoha had not improved much when it came to the medical establishment, and the doctors and Medic-nin were still being run ragged to try and see to all of the wounded, and they were still failing to do so. It was times like these that Sarutobi dearly wished he'd been able to implement Tsunade's Medic-nin policy. The extra Medic-nin would have been a welcome addition right now, only slightly less welcome than Tsunade herself returning free of her hemophobia.

So, with the situation in Konoha still too volatile and emotionally charged, and unwilling to take the risk of sending Tsunade a letter only to have her run, Sarutobi took Naruto and a small security contingent of Anbu to the nearby gambling town where Tsunade was currently wallowing in her sorrows.

Sarutobi smiled as he thought of the fond memories involving his only female student. He chuckled sadly as he remembered how vibrant and full of life she had once been. It truly pained him to read Jiraiya's reports of what had become of his most caring and dedicated student. Heartbroken by the loss of first her younger brother, and then later her lover, who died in her arms, she simply wandered from gambling town to gambling town, drinking herself into a stupor whenever she wasn't gambling and losing horribly. On her worst days she did both.

Putting aside his guilt, Sarutobi signaled to his Anbu to disperse and entered the small hotel where Tsunade and her apprentice were staying.

Once he had entered his former student's room undetected -a simple task for a Hokage- he cradled Naruto in one arm while removing a storage scroll from his robes. Biting his thumb to draw a small amount of blood, he unrolled the scroll with a simple flourish, and a crib and baby bag, complete with a prepared bottle, appeared in a puff of smoke.

Sarutobi smiled as Naruto gave a chirping gurgle sound that might have been a laugh at the display, before placing him in the crib and putting an old stuffed monkey that once belonged to his son next to him.

As he watched Naruto cling to the monkey's tail while he fell asleep, Sarutobi began thinking about his former student. While he would be overjoyed to have her return to the village, if for nothing else than to have someone he could trust implicitly with Naruto's heritage, safety, and health, he highly doubted he could convince her to come back. 'Perhaps I've been too lenient with her...I suppose I could try asking or simply ordering her...but on the other hand, she always was stubborn...and with a temper to match...'

Before he could further debate with himself about trying to talk Tsunade into returning, he picked up the sound of angry footsteps marching through the hall towards the room. These particular angry footsteps were ones he'd recognize anywhere. Moments later Tsunade marched in through the door, slamming it open in the process. This of course woke Naruto with a start, causing him to cry.

Tsunade wasn't surprised in the least when she saw her old teacher standing in her room. She'd seen the Anbu-who must have grown quite arrogant since she left Konoha if they actually thought they could hide from her- outside after all, and while there were far too few of them for this to be some kind of ambush, there were enough of them to be escorting someone like the Sandaime Hokage. So finding Sarutobi in her room wasn't surprising.

Finding him with a baby that was currently wailing as loud as his little lungs could however, was not something she'd expected.

She opened her mouth to demand what was going on, when Sarutobi-sensei actually scolded her in a reprimanding tone. "Tsunade-hime, you woke the baby." He caught her off guard for a moment as he reached down to pick up the still wailing infant. She'd always envisioned an encounter with her old sensei going a bit...differently than this.

'Good lord, how can something that small be so loud?' She thought before narrowing her eyes suspiciously at Sarutobi.

"I thought I spotted an Anbu outside," Tsunade growled, moving to sit on the couch while motioning for Shizune to close the door. "So have you come to force me back to that God forsaken village?" she asked her old sensei with a sneer. She'd always expected that someday, Konoha would try to call her back into its service in some manner or another. And Tsunade always knew that if it came down to force, only Sarutobi and Jiraiya would have a chance of actually succeeding, regardless of her crippling fear of blood. She could also admit -even if only to herself- that Sarutobi was the only one that would have a chance of actually convincing her to come back. Not that she'd make it easy for the old geezer of course.

To her surprise though, the old man just snorted ruefully. "Come now Tsunade, do you really think so little of me? I don't intend to force you to do anything." Chuckling he added, "After all, you always were my most stubborn student."

Tsunade scowled at that, before giving a reluctant snort of amusement while Sarutobi worked to calm the brat down. "I don't think the man who convinced Biwako "I don't need a man" Sarutobi to marry him gets to comment on anyone's stubbornness." Much to her worry, the old man only smiled sadly rather than give the bark of laughter Tsunade was used to whenever her sensei's nigh legendary courtship was mentioned. Frowning, Tsunade studied Sarutobi intently as he continued to rock the brat, sad smile locked in place but his eyes blank, distant. And that's all it really took for Tsunade to realize the woman was dead, undoubtedly one of many victims of the Kyuubi Attack.

In another life, Tsunade might have offered condolences or some other form of comfort to the man who was practically a second father to her. Sadly, that life ended with Medic-nin career the night Dan died.

Shifting her focus to the now quiet child, Tsunade was surprised to see that instead of dropping back off to sleep, the brat shifted until it was looking over at her, curiosity apparent in its eyes for the split second they were open. Then the kid apparently decided nothing important was going on and he'd rather sleep after all.

More than a little curious herself, and wanting to break the nearly awkward silence, Tsunade finally had to ask. "What's with the brat anyway, Sensei?"

Sarutobi looked up from the kid to stare at her with what she could have sworn was anger in his eyes -except for the fact that there wasn't any reason for him to be angry- then cryptically explained, "His name is Naruto, Tsunade, and he is why I've come to see you."

Tsunade cocked an eyebrow at that before scoffing at the cryptic answer. "What do you mean? What does he have to do with anything?"

She watched closely as something akin to a mixture of guilt and frustration passed through his eyes before he calmed his face and answered her, "Well Tsunade, I would like for you to run a checkup on little Naruto for me. It really is vital that you do so."

'He came all the way here just weeks after the village was almost destroyed for a baby's check-up?' Tsunade wondered incredulously before narrowing her eyes. 'No… there's something more to this than what he's telling me.' "And why, exactly, would you need me to do that?" Tsunade asked suspiciously. "What's wrong with the village's doctors?" She watched as the guilt and anger passed through his eyes once again.

She didn't have a chance to ponder that as he stiffly answered. "They cannot be trusted with him at this time. Although I have every confidence the situation will improve as things calm down, I'm afraid Naruto here couldn't wait."

To say Tsunade was shocked by that was an understatement. She had practically built the hospital and the medical practice in Konoha herself, one of the few things she could call her legacy, and to hear that, for some reason, the staff there couldn't be trusted with a simple checkup for an infant was like a slap in the face. "Just who is this kid that you can't trust him with the doctors there?" Tsunade gritted out from clenched teeth. "I mean, I can imagine how hectic things must be for them if the damage from the Kyuubi attack was even half what the rumors say, but that shouldn't be enough to say they can't be trusted." She paused for a moment as a thought struck her. "For that matter, why do you need another checkup so soon after birth anyway?"

There it was again, that same look on his face for a fraction of a second. "That is because Naruto has yet to have a single checkup."

"That doesn't make any sense. Any newborn would have had multiple checkups before he was even released from the hospital." Tsunade protested in disbelief. 'What aren't you telling me sensei?' Tsunade narrowed her eyes once more as she asked, "Why not? Just who is this brat that he's so important that you'd come all the way out here just so he could have a standard exam?"

Her old sensei glanced at Shizune for an instant before meeting her eyes. "Perhaps we should speak in private." He suggested in a way that she knew wasn't a suggestion at all.

'Shit...village secrets? I wonder what could be so important about this kid?' She wondered to herself with a frown. 'Well, looks like I'm about to find out either way. Whether I want to or not.' She nodded in understanding, despite her distaste for anything to do with that wretched village that had stolen everything from her. "Shizune!"

Said girl jumped in surprise at suddenly being spoken to, "Ye-yes Tsunade-sama?"

Tsunade stood up from the couch, still watching the Old Man warily. "Watch the kid." Getting a nod from Sarutobi-sensei, the Slug Sannin walked towards the bedroom while the old man carefully handed the brat to a visibly nervous Shizune.

Once they entered the bedroom, Sarutobi closed the door, and went through the process of placing a series of Fuuinjutsu tags on the walls, just before the walls glowed slightly as what could simplistically be called a "privacy jutsu" took effect. 'Whatever this is about, he's not taking any chances of anyone else hearing about it. What could be so important about this kid? And why do I get the feeling that I'm not going to like the answer?' Sitting in the room's only chair, she fixed the old man with a stern stare. "Alright, talk."

Shizune bit her lip worriedly as the bedroom door closed behind the Hokage. Tsunade-sama's general mood could often be described as "irritable", and considering she was both sober and had just lost an enormous amount of money gambling... A very bad mood would be a serious understatement for the woman's current temper. Shizune also knew that Tsunade-sama had a habit of breaking things – or people – when she was in such a mood.

On the other hand, the Sandaime was her old sensei. Surely he knew about Tsunade-sama's temper and could handle himself… right?

'Although… I'm not sure if I want him to be able to handle Tsunade-sama. What if he wants something from her? Surely the Sandaime wouldn't leave the village just for an infant's checkup? After all, Konoha is renowned for its medical facilities in comparison to the other Hidden Villages, so why would the Hokage say they couldn't be trusted?'

Of course, Shizune knew full well some of the...darker possibilities. Possibilities that had nothing to do with the capability of Konoha's medical establishment.

Shizune had been born during the early days of the Second Great Shinobi War, and her uncle had been a powerful and influential Jounin during that time. It was impossible for her not to have learned the darker side of Konoha politics as the various clans and factions within Konoha attempted to recruit and manipulate her uncle. Beyond that, she'd become a Genin and then rose to Chuunin during the Third Great Shinobi War, arguably one of the most destructive and chaotic of the Great Wars, and was the apprentice of one of the Sannin.

She knew the role Jiraiya had played in Kagerougakure's fall, the truth behind the disappearance of the Rinha clan, even the existence of the shadow war between the Anbu of Konoha and those of the Hannyashu. Oh yes, she could well imagine the kinds things that could lead to a Hokage keeping a child hidden from all but the most trusted of shinobi.

Before she could ponder this further, Shizune blinked as she felt something gripping the front of her kimono. Looking down with a start, she saw the child with a tiny fistful of her kimono. "Oh! I can't believe I forgot about you!" Flustered she put the infant -Naruto, the Sandaime called him?- in the crib. However, the moment she put him down, he began fidgeting and blindly reaching up for her while making distressed sounds.

Picking him back up and grabbing the stuffed monkey from the crib at the same time, she took a seat on the couch as she examined him curiously. He had a fuzzy mop of tiny blond hairs, a quick peek revealed sapphire blue eyes with slit pupils -almost like an Inuzuka if the child's hair and eye color weren't completely different from what she remembered of the clan- and six strange birthmarks, three on each cheek, which seemed almost like whiskers. Smiling she couldn't resist giggling, "You know, you're pretty cute little Naru-chan." He let out what might have been a laugh as she danced the monkey up and down his legs. As she continued, the bedroom door slammed open and out stomped an enraged Tsunade.

As Shizune tried to comfort the now crying and startled infant, Tsunade reached out and snatched little Naruto from her. Shizune opened her mouth to protest her mentor's actions, but her sensei interrupted her.

"Shizune!" She flinched slightly at Tsunade-sama's tone, letting her protests die before she could finish them.

"Yes Tsunade-sama?" she answered somewhat hesitantly. Her sensei was obviously in a very bad mood right now. When she heard her teacher's orders she was appalled. "B-b-but Tsunade-sama-!" She let her protests die when Tsunade glared at her. Shivering slightly, she gave in. "Yes Tsunade-sama." Sending one last glance at the crying infant in her mentor's arms, Shizune left to carry out her orders.

Sarutobi watched his student sit in the room's only chair, before she fixed him with a stern look and said one word, "Talk."

Knowing her volatile temper, Sarutobi thought for a moment to see if there was an easy way to explain, preferably one that wouldn't ignite her fiery temper. There wasn't. 'I really wish Jiraiya was here… he's always been good at being a target for Tsunade's temper.' Sighing, he began his story. "As I'm sure you're aware by now, two weeks ago Konoha was attacked by the Kyuubi no Kitsune." Tsunade nodded impatiently at this. "What you don't know is just how the Yondaime defeated it."

He then told Tsunade about the sealing technique and its various costs, about Naruto -who he told her was an orphan of unknown heritage- and his reasoning behind the decision to inform the council. He also informed her about what the result of that particular decision was, and the difficulties facing Konoha's medical personnel.

He watched as her face grew angrier and angrier. Sarutobi knew that, soon, her temper would explode. He was not disappointed.

Tsunade couldn't believe what she had just been told. The Yondaime, one of the kindest men she had ever met, had condemned an orphan to a – possibly short – life of struggle and, in all likelihood, fear and pain. She was even angrier to learn of what her sensei had done, and she made sure he was aware of it.

"You senile old fool!" She exploded, "what have you been smoking, crack!" She stood from her chair to glare down at her old sensei. "I thought you were supposed to be smart!" She continued before he could defend himself, "Professor my ass! What could have made you think it was a good idea to inform the entire council about this! Why didn't you just tell the Elders and Anbu? They were the only ones who actually needed to know! Hell, you still haven't even told me who the second Jinchuuriki was, and my grandmother was the first! But you'll tell dozens of random shinobi and civilians about the third?!"

As she took a breath to continue her rant, Sarutobi spoke, "I had to inform someone, Tsunade. I'm already an old man, and while informing the council might have been a mistake; there weren't a great many options. The rest of Konoha's leadership were either killed, or are as old as I am. Both the Anbu ranks and the shinobi portion of the council took heavy casualties as well. Besides, I did not think they would be so willing to risk their own death, especially the civilian members, not when they were explicitly told what would happen. It appears some of them have grown arrogant in the "power" afforded them by their status."

Tsunade growled at that. "So what makes you think that they'll keep their mouths shut now?"

She fumed as Sarutobi pulled his pipe from the folds of his robe and began packing it with tobacco, taking his time in answering her. "I am fairly certain that the dozen heads decorating the front of the Hokage tower will suffice to remind them why they should follow my orders." He then lit his pipe and began to puff on it.

She opened her mouth to begin again when he beat her to the punch, "So, now that I have explained the situation, will you perform a checkup on Naruto?"

Tsunade glared at him for changing the subject, but relented seeing how she really wanted to get drunk and just forget about this whole fiasco, and she knew that both her sensei and Shizune would gang up on her about her drinking habits. Better to get rid of the old man as soon as she could since she was pretty used to ignoring Shizune's scoldings.

"Fine!" She spat as she stomped to the door and slammed it open.

Once she entered the room, she was presented with the brat's unbelievably loud cries. Wincing at the volume, she walked to her apprentice, who was trying to calm the kid. Reaching out, she scooped the blond brat out of Shizune's arms and barked, "Shizune!"

Shizune's half-formed protests ceased as she instinctively answered, "Yes, Tsunade-sama?"

"Go buy me sake, a lot of it. And hurry up."

Shizune protested, but Tsunade silenced her with a glare. "Yes, Tsunade-sama."

Looking down at the still crying baby, Tsunade's eyes softened slightly as she began rocking him. Wasn't like it was the brat's fault she had to put up with all this bullshit. "Shh, it's alright little one. There's nothing to be afraid of." Once he calmed down, she ran a standard diagnostic jutsu on him before raising an eyebrow at the results. Next, she took a very small amount of blood -to avoid triggering her hemophobia- and ran another diagnostic on both him and the blood. Examining the information, she turned to her sensei and began to inform him of what she found.

"Physically, he is perfectly healthy." she stated in a softer voice than before. The old man nodded in relief; apparently, he had been more worried than he had let on.

"What else have you found?" He asked curiously.

Falling into her old routine, Tsunade started her report with an overview on the boy's surprisingly enhanced senses. "All of his senses; sight, hearing, smell, even touch and taste are far above what one would consider normal, even among shinobi children."

"Just how far above normal are they?" Sarutobi cut in curiously before she could continue.

Tsunade thought for a moment to formulate her answer, knowing that while her old sensei wasn't unintelligent by any means, and could perform every single Medical Jutsu known to Konoha, he wasn't a Medic-nin by any stretch of the imagination. As such, Tsunade had to give him an answer that was simple enough for her sensei to understand, even if it wouldn't be entirely accurate as a result. "His senses of smell and hearing are on par with most fully grown Inuzuka I've ever examined, and his eye sight is probably equal to an Uchiha or Hyuuga -without their doujutsu of course. Not to mention, his senses of taste and touch are several times above normal, though the latter will make him quite sensitive to sensations of pain or pleasure, and he'll probably be a picky eater because of the former."

She looked down at Naruto for a moment as she dryly concluded, "Impressive, for a two week old brat."

Sarutobi nodded thoughtfully as he asked, "Anything else unusual?"

Tsunade hesitated before answering, wondering if she'd be doing more harm than good by telling him. "His body seems to heal fairly quickly." Seeing Sarutobi's questioning look she elaborated. "Not like regeneration or the effects of Medical jutsu mind you and he'll certainly scar just like anyone else. But at the same time, he'll probably be able to survive injuries that would kill most others. It actually reminds me of the old stories about the Uzumaki clan's longevi-" Tsunade's thoughts came to a halt before staring at Sarutobi angrily. "Is he from the Uzumaki clan? I thought you said he was an orphan, yet he bears the Uzumaki surname and appears to have their longe-"

"No, he's not from the Uzumaki clan." Sarutobi sighed interrupting her this time. "I gave him the surname in honor of Mito-sama, and of the friendship that Konoha had with Uzushiogakure and the Uzumaki clan. All of these enhanced abilities of his are likely the result of the Kyuubi being sealed within him, along with the seals Minato used."

Tsunade stared at him for a moment, unsure as to whether or not he was actually telling the truth. On the one hand, the boy's healing factor was quite similar to what she knew of the Uzumaki clan's longevity, and it wasn't every day that the name of a dead clan was so nonchalantly bestowed on an orphan. On the other hand, there had never been a newborn Jinchuuriki that she knew of, so who's to say that the Kyuubi couldn't have been responsible for the boy's altered physiology. And besides, what reason would Sarutobi have to lie to her about this?

Tsunade felt her gut clench as she realized that either way, it was all but guaranteed that Kushina, the last of her family -no matter how distant- was most certainly dead. Had she been alive, she never would have consented to bestowing her clan name on a child that wasn't her's, or that she didn't intend to raise as her own. Which meant she would have been here with Sarutobi. And her old sensei would never have given the boy that surname without Kushina's consent if the woman were still alive.

Sarutobi's voice drew her out of her morbid musings before her depression could take hold of her.

"Still, this is a very interesting development. Perhaps these abilities could be passed down to Naruto's children as some form of a bloodline or another? Particularly that healing factor, if it's as similar to the Uzumaki's longevity as you claim." Sarutobi pondered aloud.

Tsunade glared at him, both for the insinuation that she didn't know what she was talking about -even if he hadn't meant it that way- and for thinking about something like the benefits Naruto's bloodline could have for the Village in the future, regardless of how pragmatic such thoughts were.

Seeing her look, Sarutobi was quick to explain himself. "This information may make the council more willing to accept Naruto, rather than constantly complaining abo-"

"Or," Tsunade interrupted pessimistically. "It may make them all the more eager to try to kill him." After all, it certainly wouldn't be the first time a clan had decided to prevent "competition" from an emerging bloodline. Even if said bloodline had the potential to benefit the village as a whole. "Or even worse, it might make them decide he'd make a nice addition to their own clans, causing them to drag him into their politics and, God help him, political marriages."

The old man sighed in frustration. "I am doing all I can to keep him safe and free of the politics, Tsunade-cha-."

"And what happens when your all isn't enough!" She interrupted again, too angry to care about protocol. "How much suffering will be inflicted on him because of the Yondaime and your foolishness!? You of all people should remember how my Grandmother was treated, even after all she'd done for Konoha before sealing the Kyuubi within herself, and even after years of keeping the Bijuu safely locked away!"

She watched the Hokage's eyes narrow in anger before he uncharacteristically yelled, "What would you have me do!"

Tsunade glared at him when the startled Naruto began to cry again. "Quiet!" she hissed softly. "What did I just tell you about his hearing?" She asked as she comforted the wailing infant.

The old man's visage softened into that of a tired old man as he looked at her and the crying child. "Forgive me," he said softly before continuing, "But what would you have me do? What else can I do? The attack was barely two weeks ago, parts of the village are in ruin, and I have more dead and injured than our doctors and Medic-nin can handle. A large number of the shinobi I currently have under my command are teenagers, many of whom just lost their loved ones to the Kyuubi, and I have clan heads that are barely twenty in some cases, or weren't even supposed to be clan heads in the first place. All of this less than a year after the end of the Third Great Shinobi War. I can't even get Jiraiya to stick around, or to help in any way other than his spy network."

Tsunade thought furiously while she continued to comfort the child in her arms. 'What could he do? Is there any more that could be done?' Realistically, no, there really wasn't much more that could be done for Naruto, not now that his status was well-known within Konoha. She frowned sadly at the child once he began to calm down. 'It's not fair. He's too young for such a burden. Not to mention how the Village will treat him.' She had no doubt, what would happen to Naruto if he grew up in that accursed village. She had met several Jinchuuriki in her life and none of them were well adjusted or well treated individuals. Not particularly sane either. And there were undoubtedly many in Konoha who knew or thought they knew that as well. Those misconceptions were almost as damning to the boy as the truth. And in their fear, Konoha would likely bring them about. Even her grandmother had been feared by many, though the woman always seemed to take it all in stride. Whether or not that was because she was already a full grown woman -not to mention a powerful kunoichi who had survived the era of the Hidden Clans as well as seen the birth of the Hidden Village's era- or because she had a lifetime of good experiences as well as family to fall back on, was something that Tsunade had never truly been able to discern.

Sighing she turned back to Sarutobi as he asked her. "Is there anything else I should know about Naruto's health?"

She recognized the change of subject for what it was and was grateful for it. "Other than a higher than usual rate of metabolism no." On that note, Naruto began to cry again. "I'll take care of it," Tsunade offered as she checked the boy's diaper before standing and digging around in Naruto's baby bag for his bottle.

Her old sensei sighed and walked toward the door. "Very well, thank you for your help. I'll gather my Anbu and come back for Naruto and his things when he's done feeding."

She nodded distractedly as she found Naruto's bottle and returned to her chair before she began to feed the little tyke. Once he was finished, she placed the bottle on the table. Naruto gurgled happily while stretching and kicking his little feet. Looking down at him, she smiled sadly while thinking about how quickly the village would ruin that beautiful innocence of his, of the suffering they would no doubt inflict on him with their ignorant prejudice. After all, that was a large part of the reason that the identity of Konoha's second Jinchuuriki was kept such a well-guarded secret, even from her. Not that it had done them much good, as the Kyuubi attack meant the former Jinchuuriki had either been killed, or lost control of their burden. And somewhere along the line, her thoughts began to take a darker turn. 'I can't let him be destroyed by that place. He shouldn't have to suffer so much.' Slowly she raised her hand until it rested on his frail neck. 'Just one quick snap is all it would take.' She thought, 'Just one snap and he'll be safe from the future that awaits him back in the Village.'

Ordinarily, she could never condone killing an infant, but unlike the villagers, she would do it only to protect him from the hatred and suffering that he would undoubtedly face. Granted, the Kyuubi would eventually reform itself, but that would take years if not decades.

In her mind there were no other viable options. Sarutobi would never willingly allow Naruto to live outside the village, not with one of the Bijuu sealed inside him. The security risk was simply too great. And she certainly couldn't try to take him by force, even if she wasn't still dealing with her own problems. She had no doubt Sarutobi and his Anbu would be able to stop her. While Tsunade may be one of the Sannin, she also had a crippling fear of blood. There was no way she could fight her way through while carrying an infant, if the sight of more than a pinprick of blood caused her to shut down. Even if by some chance she succeeded, she and Shizune would both be declared Missing-nin and hunted down by everyone from bounty hunters to Oinin.

So really her only options were to either let him be taken back to the Village that she truly believed would destroy the boy, or a quick mercy killing.

Compared to the quick and painless death she could give him, the Village was unlikely to be as merciful regardless of Sarutobi's wishes and intentions. She tightened her hand and looked away. Her eyes began to water uncontrollably as she took a shuddering breath. She squeezed her eyes shut and gave a whispered "I'm sorry." She was ready to finish her task.

Just as she was about to snap Naruto's neck she felt a soft tug on one of her braids. Opening her eyes, she was greeted by an adorable sight. In his blind flailing, little Naruto had somehow gotten a hold of her braid that had been hanging over her shoulder. She watched as he curiously placed her hair in his mouth, still tugging at it slightly and somehow avoiding getting any hair wrapped around his tiny fingers. The sight melted her heart, and reminded her of beliefs and convictions that she had carried throughout her life, even if they'd been tarnished by all that Konoha had taken from her.

Removing her hand from his neck, followed by her hair from his hand, she did nothing to stop the tears that trailed down her cheeks as her rampant emotions raged back and forth. She brought him close and laid a kiss on his forehead. She held him to her chest and wept silently at his fate and her lack of willpower to save him from it. 'Please,' she prayed to whoever was listening, 'Please, someone, anyone, keep him safe, keep him happy. Please, don't let them destroy him… please.'

Later

She stood next to Shizune as they watched Sarutobi and his escort leave the town with Naruto. "Did they really have to leave so soon, Tsunade-sama?" Her apprentice asked disappointedly.

"The old man can't afford to be away for too long, you know that." She replied grumpily. "He shouldn't have even come out here in the first place."

"I know," Shizune sighed wistfully, "Still I wish he and little Naruto could have stayed a bit longer. He's so adorable; I almost wish we could have kept him!"

Tsunade snorted in amusement at her apprentice's near squeal before fondly thinking of how true the statement was. 'He was pretty cute for a brat.'

"Do you think we'll ever see him again Tsunade-sama?" Shizune questioned curiously, the truth behind the brat's identity unknown to her.

"Who knows?" She replied sadly while thinking to herself, 'If we do ever meet again, I just hope he can still smile by then. Hell, I hope he's still human by then.' It was by no means a certainty considering the relatively short average lifespan of Jinchuuriki in other Villages, or of their sanity.

…

…

…

If only she knew…the horrors he would see...

Well, there you have it. Little shorter than last chapter. I wasn't too sure whether or not to leave that last line unchanged during revisions. I originally put it in as a foreboding suggestion of Naruto's future, but it might be a bit much. I've thought about just leaving it as "If only she knew..." but I don't know. Any thoughts, suggestions, ideas, criticism? Reviews appreciated.