"A whole month!" Naruto yelled as she and her teammates followed Kakashi back to Konoha proper. The tower was located conveniently at one of the edges of the training ground.

"Weren't you listening, Dead Last?" Sasuke asked.

She smirked. "No, I was watching the soap opera that was Sakura and Lee."

Sasuke shuddered.

"So what's the training schedule going to be, Sensei?" Naruto asked.

"I'm giving you two days off and then you'll each be training hard," Kakashi responded. "I can't realistically or fairly train all of you, so I'll be finding at least two of you other trainers."

"You aren't looking to dump us on someone are you, Kakashi-sensei?" she said suspiciously.

"Would I do that, Naruto-chan?" he asked innocently.

"Actually, you've been a pretty decent sensei," Naruto admitted.

"Only decent?" he asked, acting hurt.

"Yeah," Naruto said with a grin. "You never treat us to ramen."

"Or you know, something that tastes good," said Sasuke.

"You take that back, Emo-chan!" Naruto shouted.

Naruto and Sasuke squabbled while they continued walking.

"Where are we going, Sensei?" asked Hinata.

"Hokage Tower," he replied. "We need to discuss what happened in the Forest."

Sasuke and Naruto quieted down.

"Didn't we already do that?" Naruto said.

"We need a few others to get involved," Kakashi said.

At the tower they found the Hokage waiting with the medic that examined them after the Second Exam, Hinata's father, Anko the Second Exam proctor, and two older shinobi that Naruto recognized as the Hokage's Councilors.

"First of all," said the Hokage, "I'd like Naruto-kun, Sasuke-kun, and Hinata-kun to explain again the encounter they had in the Forest of Death and what happened afterward."

Sasuke started by explaining the encounter with Orochimaru with input from Hinata and Naruto. A frown flashed across Hiashi's face when receiving the Curse Mark was mentioned. Their own frowns lingered on Anko and the Councilors' faces. Naruto went on to describe what happened in her mindscape and then afterward.

"So Orochimaru's Curse Seal is no longer present?" Hiashi asked.

The medic said, "No, I examined them quite thoroughly in the Forest Tower. There is a mark shaped like a moon and there is some of Naruto-san's chakra present in the other two, but no other foreign chakra."

"Not any of Naruto-san's other chakra?" asked Hiashi carefully.

"Sasuke-kun and Hinata-kun have been briefed on Naruto-kun's prisoner," the Hokage commented.

"That's correct, Hyuuga-sama," the medic said. "Naruto-san's chakra changed slightly after her kidnapping, but it's still quite distinct from her prisoner's. The chakra in Hinata-san and Sasuke-san is purely Naruto-san's." He turned to the Hokage. "I'd like to quickly examine each of them to make sure that there have been no further complications, Hokage-sama."

"Very well," he answered.

The medic spent about a minute examining each of them. "There appears to be no change since I last examined them. The 'patch' Naruto-san made seems to be very stable."

"Can she remove mine?" Anko asked excitedly.

"Please examine Anko-kun's Curse Mark, Naruto-kun," the Hokage directed.

Naruto placed her hand on Anko's neck over the Curse Seal. She probed it with her chakra. Since this was the fourth time she had dealt with Orochimauru's chakra, she identified and probed it easily. The connection to Anko's chakra network was more solid, but not any wider than it was with Sasuke.

"I think I could remove it, but I'm positive her chakra network would need to be healed or patched afterward," she said.

The Hokage looked at the medic. "Could you stop the chakra hemorrhaging that Naruto-kun talked about?"

The medic shook his head. "What she described is not something I could stop or fix. I'm also sure none of the other medic nin currently in Konoha could do it either. I'm certain that Tsunade-sama could do it, but short of her coming back, you'd need Naruto-san to utilize her patch method."

The Hokage thought for a few moments. "I'd like to have you wait until we get Tsunade-kun to return, Anko-kun. I'll send a message to recall her. If within a six months she hasn't returned. I'll allow Naruto-kun to use her patch method. I'm not comfortable with going ahead with that without knowing the long-term effects if there's another method available."

"Alright, said Anko disappointedly. "I've dealt with the Scumbag's Curse for over a decade. I can wait a few more months."

The Hokage dismissed Anko and the medic.

After they had left, he said, "Hinata-kun, you did something unusual in the preliminary match with your cousin. Can you tell us about it?"

"Yes, Hokage-sama," Hinata said. "I was doing well against Neji-niisan, but physically I began to tire and it was beginning to show in the way the match was progressing. I reached within myself to gather my chakra in order to reinforce my body. When I gathered it my chakra, there was something odd that happened. I could see the forces that govern the physical world. Instinctively I knew how to manipulate them. The technique I used to repel Neji-niisan came from that knowledge. I don't know why it happened, just that it did."

The Hokage said, "Your eyes changed right before you did the technique. They seemed to glow blue."

"Hokage-sama, can you describe the change to her eyes, better?" asked her father.

"I was too far away to say more," said the Hokage.

"They had a dark blue pupil with a lighter blue creeping in around the edges," said Naruto.

"Tensaigan," Hiashi whispered reverently.

"You know of this, Hiashi-san?" the Hokage asked.

"It is said that our ancestor, Outsutsuki Hamura-sama was able to enhance his Byakugan in order to control gravity itself and to enhance his own physical abilities. This evolution of the Byakugan, he called the Tenseigan."

Naruto said, "I was watching Hinata-chan with my own Byakugan when she evolved her eyes. It appeared that brighter specks of chakra were leaving the 'patch' I had made on her chakra system."

"It is known that Uzumaki chakra is denser than most," said Kakashi. "Naruto's mother's chakra was dense enough that she could form a solid object from it."

"Can you do the Tenseigan, Naruto-kun?" asked the Hokage.

"I don't know. When I focus more chakra to my eyes, something else happens," she said.

"It's alright to demonstrate," said the Hokage. "I trust that my Councilors and Hiashi-san will keep this confidential." He looked at them and the three nodded.

Naruto activated her Byakugan and then focused more chakra to her eyes, activating her third eye.

"Sharingan!" the female Councilor said.

"It's fully mature now," said the Hokage.

"I believe it happened while fighting Orochimaru in the Forest of Death," said Naruto.

"I got my third tomoe then too, I think," said Sasuke.

"Can you push more chakra to your eyes?" asked the Hokage.

"Let me try," she said.

She could not seem to force more chakra there; it was kind of like how she could not force it into her hair without pulling from the Kyuubi. This time she tried grabbing chakra from her own core, instead of the Kyuubi, and then forcing it out of her. It worked and she felt her hair start to grow and move. The world changed and she could see the forces that kept things anchored to the ground. She could also see a glow around the people in the room that was different than their chakra.

"I think my eyes changed again," she said.

"Your main eyes are the same," said Kakashi, "but your third eye now has nine tomoe all orbiting along three circles."

"The circles are reminiscent of how Jiraiya-kun described the Rinnegan," said the Hokage, "but the tomoe are still there as is the red color. Jiraiya said the Rinnegan he saw was purplish gray. It's like a combination of the Sharingan and the Rinnegan."

"I feel like I could do the 'Divine Will' Technique that Hinata-chan did," Naruto offered.

"Please, not in my office," said the Hokage with a smile.

"No problem, Jiichan," she smiled back at him. She let the chakra go, and her hair went limp, her third eye closed, world went back to normal. "I need to figure out what to do with my hair when I release the technique," she muttered. "It's a pain to keep cutting it."

"Can you recreate the Tenseigan, Hinata-kun?" asked the Hokage.

"I'm not sure. Let me try," she said.

Hinata activated her Byakaugan. Naruto and Hiashi did as well. Sasuke activated his Sharingan. After a thought, Naruto activated her third eye. She could see Hinata pull more chakra into her eyes. The specks of denser chakra appeared again and the Tenseigan manifested.

"I don't think I can keep it activated very long at present," said Hinata.

"Amazing," murmured Hiashi.

As far as Naruto could tell, the patch that appeared almost as if it were an extra chakra gate was remaining stable. Perhaps it was 'training' or 'imprinting' the chakra that passed through it?

Hinata released her chakra and her eyes reverted to normal. "I don't think I could do that more than three minutes," she said.

"I saw the 'patch' and the brighter specks you were talking about, Naruto-san," said Hiashi. "The patch seems to be the source of the brighter specks, but it wasn't diminishing as she kept the Tenseigan active."

"That's good," said the Hokage. "We wouldn't want this new ability to cause Hinata-kun medical problems." He turned to Sasuke. "We should see if Sasuke-kun's eyes can evolve as well."

"Okay," he said.

Sasuke still had his eyes active. Naruto saw him surge his chakra. Like Hinata, bright specks of chakra left his patch. Sasuke's eyes changed much like Naruto's third eye, except that his only had six tomoe in each instead of Naruto's nine.

"I can see what you mean about attractive and repulsive forces," said Sasuke. "I feel like I could change them. I also see what Hinata-chan said about a time limit. I don't think I could keep this up for more than five minutes, maximum."

"It seems you can access the Rinne-Sharingan, too," said the Hokage, "but your eyes had six tomoe compared to Naruto's nine."

"Sasuke-kun felt like he could keep his Rinne-Sharingan active for five minutes compared to Hinata-chan's three for her Tenseigan," said Kakashi thoughtfully. "I wonder if that's due to his larger chakra reserves."

"How about you, Naruto-kun?" asked the Hokage.

"Maybe half an hour?" she said. "As long as I wasn't doing anything else too strenuous. Much longer if I used the Kyuubi's chakra. I think I could keep my Byakugan and normal Sharingan active indefinitely."

"I'm declaring the cause of Hinata-kun and Sasuke-kun's doujutsu evolution an S-Rank secret," said the Hokage. "I'd like all three of you to use moderation in using them. Keep it as a trump card for now, please. If you have to use it in the Chuunin Exams, you may do so, but I'll tell you now that winning through skill rather than power is looked upon more favorably by the judges. Hiashi-san, you may tell your clan elders that Hinata-kun has the Tenseigan, if you want, but not why."

With that, the Hokage ended the meeting.

As Naruto was leaving, Hiashi stopped her. "I'd like to thank you for saving my daughter's life and removing the traitor's mark, Naruto-san," he said. "If there's a personal favor I can give to you, please let me know."

"Hinata-chan is my best friend as well as my teammate," Naruto said smiling. "I could hardly do less."

"As you say," agreed Hiashi. "The favor is still owed."

Hinata's face was red with embarrassment. It had been a while since she had blushed like that.

"Come back tomorrow at 1 o'clock in the afternoon, Naruto-chan," said the Hokage, "and we can discuss your other matter," said the Hokage.

"Sure, Jiichan," called back Naruto.

The next day, Naruto arrived at the Hokage's office just in time to see an ANBU drop off Karin.

"Good afternoon, Naruto-chan, Karin-san," said the Hokage.

"Good afternoon, Jiichan," said Naruto.

"Good afternoon, Hokage-sama," said Karin.

"I've looked over the transcript of the interview you gave, Karin-san," said the Hokage. "I think we can find a place for you here. . ."

At this Naruto interrupted him with a cheer. The Hokage smiled indulgently at her.

"Do you have something you would like to do?" he asked.

"My main skills are my sensor abilities and my healing bite. I can also form chains from my chakra, but I'm not very good at manipulating them."

"Really?" asked Naruto. "My mom could use the chains too. They were her signature technique."

"Really?" said Karin. "Who was she?"

Naruto looked at the Hokage, pleadingly.

The Hokage sighed. "I'm going to trust you, Karin-san. Please don't make me regret it. I don't want you repeating this to anyone. Naruto-chan's mother was Uzumaki Kushina, the second-oldest grandchild of last Daimyo of Uzu no Kuni."

Naruto and Karin's eyes both widened at that. This was the first Naruto had heard of her mother's relationship to the last Daimyo.

"She's Kushina-hime's daughter?" asked Karin. "When did Kushina-hime die?"

"Yes," said the Hokage. "Kushina-chan died the day Naruto-chan was born, unfortunately. We kept Naruto-chan's parentage a secret to protect her."

"My mother said that Kushina-hime was the most likely member of the Daimyo's family to have survived, since she was known to have gone to Konoha before the attack on Uzushio."

"Do you know how we're related, Karin-chan?" Naruto asked.

"Third or fourth cousins, I think," Karin said. "All Uzumaki are related, but my parents were not close to the ruling family."

"Do you know of any other relatives that survived?" Naruto asked.

Karin shook her head.

"I know of one," the Hokage said.

Both Uzumaki whipped their heads to look at him.

"My student, Senju Tsunade-chan is the granddaughter of Senju Mito-sama who was born Uzumaki Mito-sama. She was the aunt of the last Daimyo, so Tsunade-chan is your second cousin twice removed, Naruto-chan."

"How come she wasn't here for me?" asked Naruto.

The Hokage sighed. "Tsunade-chan has had to deal with great losses in her life. I'm sad to say that she's dealt with it by running away. I've allowed it, but it's been too long. She's not going to recover on her own. I've recalled her, but I don't know if she'll come on her own. She was always a stubborn woman."

He looked at Karin. "You were talking about your skills and what you wanted to do before we got side tracked."

"Oh yes," Karin said. "I like to help people, but I don't like that they have to bite me in order to heal them. I'd like to be a real medic nin or maybe a researcher."

"We can arrange that," said the Hokage. "I'd prefer that you not take missions outside the village, for now, so that there's less chance of news getting to Kusa. I can arrange for you to get an apartment in Naruto-chan's building. Another of Naruto-chan's friends that lives there has just started our medic nin training program. Naruto-chan can introduce you to her."

The Hokage made a few more arrangements with Karin and then dismissed them. He gave Karin a key to the apartment next to hers on the other side than Haku and Ranmaru's shared apartment.

As they walked to their apartment building, Karin asked, "What's your relationship to your male teammate?"

"We're friends," she said. "If anything, he's like a brother to me."

"Ah, good," Karin said. "You don't mind if I pursue him, then?"

Naruto snorted. "You and almost every other girl under 16 in the village and some older. I think Hinata-chan and I are the only two not doing so."

Karin grimaced.

"If you want my advice, Cuz," Naruto said, "be subtle and slow about it. Sasuke-kun doesn't like stalkers and he doesn't like girls after him for his family or his looks. If you become genuine friends with him first, he's more likely to go on a date with you. He's pretty good at reading people though. He'll be able to tell if you're being genuinely friendly or if your just being friendly to win him. The other thing is that he respects strength. He doesn't care for those that he doesn't think are taking being a kunoichi seriously."

Karin nodded thoughtfully. "Thanks, Cuz. I'll keep that in mind."

"Any girl trying to win his heart has a long road in front of her, at least starting now. Maybe when he's older he'll be more interested in that kind of thing."

Author's Note: Sasuke's Rinne-Sharingan is simply the Rinnegan and Sharingan combined with no extra powers. He can't do the Infinite Tsukiyomi because he doesn't have the chakra for it and he doesn't have a sufficient connection to the moon. This is represented by him having less tomoe than Naruto.