Invictus

by Raging Smurf

When I died, I never thought I'd get a second chance at life, let alone another chance as the protagonist of an anime. Getting another chance in a world with Snake pedos, heart thieves, and peepers with doomsday capabilities wasn't a part of the memo. But I ain't selling my life cheap, that's for damn sure. Male OC NarutoInsert. Chapters 1-4 prologue.

40. The burden of brothers

I think I've come to a couple of decisions.

As of now, I will try for the Naru/Ino/Hina pairing. If it is to work, I will be giving more focus on Hinata and Ino becoming friends to ensure it's an actual 'proper' pairing. Same as what I said last chapter: If the scenes fight me in being written, I'll revert it to a single pairing without hesitation. I'll still build up a friendship between Hinata and Ino, but it'll only be platonic in that case.

For my SISasuke story, it will 100% be a FemNaru pairing. If a large group wish for Rin and Sasuke to get together in this one, I'll do that too. I'd planned on it from the beginning, but I can see it being either Shikamaru or Sasuke now.

For the Danzo Hurin thing: I honestly had no idea wtf people were talking about until I went back and read Naruto's POV when he heard Danzo died. A query for my esteemed readers: Suppose you know someone is about to get shot, that when you hear of their death, you'll immediately assume that they were shot. Would your mind not freeze and think "What?" If you found out a hailstone the size of a baseball struck him in the head and killed him? Danzo supposedly died of natural causes, AKA the hailstone in such a situation.

Anyway, here's the chapter. I hope you like the POV at the end.

---

Transcript of report from a survivor of Roshi's forces enroute to Uzushiogakure.

Jonin Sato:"Roshi-sama, we have the Chunin the scouts brought in from the ambush."

Roshi:"Chunin? Chunin?"

Chunin:"Sir?"

Roshi: "Roshi. Commander of Iwa's forces. What happened? Who did this?"

Chunin: "Him. It was mad. I couldn't tell you who it was."

Roshi: "Calm down, son, you are safe now. But twenty of Iwa's Shinobi, all A-ranks, are dead. I want to know how."

Jonin Sato: "He said there was-"

Roshi: "Were you there? Then let him speak. Take you time and tell me. How many were there? Were they Konoha nin? Were they Uzumaki?"

Chunin: "I don't really know how many. Maybe one."

...

Roshi: "One man? Really?"

Chunin: "He was in the flank. All around us. Amongst us. I could barely see him. He was there, then he was gone."

Roshi: "He just vanished? Sounds more like a ghost than a man."

Chunin: "A ghost. He was like a ghost. His eyes."

Roshi: "Enough."

Roshi: "Sato? Take a patrol. Capture or kill this 'ghost' before word of his exploits spread and lower morale."

End Report.

---

I kept to myself mostly, up until the 5 day mark.

It took several days for me to unwind how tense I was from the fight, and it was made all the worse when I found out why nobody helped me.

My traps evidently fucked me over big time. Unbeknownst to me, Hiruzen had ANBU positioned around the forest in case Orochimaru decided to sneak in, and my traps stopped them from getting there to help.

That little tidbit of information had me questioning all the stuff that had changed because of me deciding to send that damn letter.

"Oh, I'm gonna LARP as the Witch-King and fuck with the Hyuga," I said mockingly in English, no one being near my room, "Then I'm gonna send a letter to the two of them and have a fucking meme as Kakashi's security question." I scowled and flung my sword on the bed, looking at it with irritation.

That sword should have never been in my possession. Zabuza might have canonically had it, but it was never shown.

My paranoia at killing Orochimaru inadvertently shafted me and caused my doubts to start to creep up on me, on whether what I've done has been worth it.

Should I have let Sasuke get marked?

Should I have let the Akatsuki blind side us?

Should I have told Itachi he was sick?

No. I growled to myself, Don't fucking think that. You made the choice to kill canon, you're sticking to it.

Fuck canon, fuck Orochimaru resurrecting the Kages, fuck Sasuke turning traitor, fuck Danzo dying later, and above all else.

Fuck Obito.

I'm killing him no matter what. Zetsu getting killed is a given, that thing is an existential threat to the world. But out of all the people that died that can be saved; Hiruzen, Jiraiya, Itachi, Inoichi, and Shikaku, or possibly even Nagato, Obito is the only one that I'm not even going to try to redeem.

If canon is God's word on him being savable, I'll just do what many others have done.

Defy God.

I was already going to prevent the Prophecy from applying to Rin, what's a little defiance of a deistic archetype's will in comparison?

My chakra was itching under my skin as I paced around, trying to get my thoughts to calm back down. It served no use to be angry right now.

But I was also thinking constantly of what I was going to say to Rin, trying not to visualize her running off like I did.

I don't know you.

I turned my head when I felt a chakra signature come towards my door, one that was around Chunin level.

A knock on the door came moments later, followed by a voice.

"Time is up on more teams coming in. Head towards the arena section."

Screw you too. I thought, the voice sounding dismissive.

I sighed and grabbed the sword off the bed, sheathing it and heading to the door.

Opening it, I walked towards where I sensed several familiar chakra signatures, and some that weren't.

All the rookie teams made it, looking much better than the others thanks to the masking tags.

I spotted everyone else once I got to the arena, the Jonin and Hiruzen there.

No Oto Jonin escort was here.

Lick your wounds, bitch. I growled to myself, looking at the others as I walked towards them.

The Sand siblings were separate from everyone else, Gaara eying me as I stood next to Team 7, putting my hands on the ledge.

Rin gave me a smile and turned back to Hiruzen, who was giving a near identical speech about the true reason for the Chunin exams, being a substitute for war and so on.

After Hiruzen finished his speech, I refocused and was prepared to see how the match ups changed from different people being here.

No other Konoha team got through, most of the scrolls being taken by one of my clones. But the amount of feedback I'd gotten from the fight with Orochimaru ended up causing me to lose track of it, evidently.

One Suna team, being Gaara's, the Kumo team, and the Oto team were the only others, meaning there was going to be a decent amount of matches.

I focused when I heard the announcement for the first match.

And the first...was Shikamaru against Kin.

Hmnn. Out of order, I think. But still the same.

Could the 'random' selections be rigged? I don't know.

"Do be gentle, Shika." I said to him, the boy rolling his eyes.

"Right." He said flatly, hopping down to the center of the arena.

The proctor asked if both were ready, which Shikamaru just shrugged at, irritating the Oto girl.

I was bored out of my skull as Shikamaru proceeded to beat Kin in all of 5 minutes, the bell Genjutsu she used only being a minor hindrance.

Thankfully, it looked like I managed to light a fire under his ass and made him be serious about improving.

Shikamaru came back up and stood next to me, a smug look on his face.

"What are you grinning at, lazy ass?" I asked with a grin, letting him know it was a jest, "I could've beaten her with a hand tied behind my back."

"You could've done it with both tied behind your back." Shikamaru remarked, his team and Team 7 being right next to each other.

Next up was Sasuke and Kiba, which was a change.

The one genin with the chakra drain ability didn't get through the forest, so stuff obviously changed.

"Who shall win in this titanic battle of the ages?" I asked grandly, smirking at Kiba who could hear me, "The duck or the dog?"

Sasuke glared at me, but turned it into a grunt, jumping down from the ledge.

"Be vain about it." I shrugged, moving closer to Hinata and Rin as Sasuke and Kiba got to the center.

"Hinata," I whispered, getting her attention, "Ino," I gestured for Ino to get closer, which she did, "If you're paired against Gaara, forfeit."

Hinata nodded sadly, while Ino furrowed her brow in thought.

"Doesn't he use sand?" Ino asked quietly, "Water jutsu would work well, wouldn't it?"

"Ino," I looked at her, "You're better at support and hit and run. You don't have the chakra reserves to be a heavy hitter or have a taijutsu form like Hinata."

I put my hand on her shoulder to reassure her when she looked downcast.

"Sasuke, Rin, and I are probably the only ones that can fight him and win. Lightning can pierce his sand and I'm the only one who can burn my chakra reserves to flood his sand."

I had given an explanation of my knowledge on that by saying the Kazekage used a sand technique, and Gaara had sand in his gourd, logic dictating that he used something similar.

"And you can't use you clan jutsu," I said seriously, "What happened when you did it to me wouldn't even be remotely similar."

Ino shivered at the reminder, Hinata lowering her head from the thought of what happened.

"He's a Jinchuriki with a weak seal," I explained, needing to make sure she understood, "You could very well end up stumbling across the Bijuu itself. It will kill you."

Shukaku was probably the only one of the nine that I'd truly consider a beast, based on how much of a dick he was.

Ino was about to say something, but a loud screeching sound caused us to turn towards Sasuke, who had Kiba on the back foot, the two having their kunai crossed.

Kiba was pretty damn good at taijutsu, but he wasn't good enough to beat Sasuke.

Akamaru was to the side, looking a little injured, with his master barely holding off Sasuke.

Sasuke pulled back from the pressure he was putting on Kiba, kicking at the other boy's ribs.

Kiba shifted to his right and tucked into a roll, making some space to get away from Sasuke.

Kiba whistled for Akamaru, who came running towards him, followed by Kiba grabbing something from his pouch. I saw a small, red pill in Kiba's hand, which he tossed towards Akamaru to eat.

Seconds later, Akamaru transformed into a copy of Kiba, the two standing side by side.

I focused a little more on the fight and pulsed some lightning chakra into my nerves to see if I could see what was about to happen.

Sure enough, I saw several smoke bombs get flung at Sasuke, obscuring him from view. Kiba then used the Fang over Fang technique, he and Akamaru flying straight towards Sasuke.

I could tell Sasuke hadn't moved, based on his chakra signature.

The two spinning opponents to the youngest Uchiha crashed into the smoke cloud, circling back and repeating it.

Eventually, the one that turned out to be Akamaru was hit by Sasuke, who likely was able to track the trajectory with his Sharingan and ended up smashing the ninken into the wall with a well placed kick.

Kiba stopped his attack and rushed to Akamaru, who was slumped on the ground, whimpering.

Sasuke let Kiba get to his dog, but made a few hand seals when Kiba's back was turned.

Katon: Gokakyu no Jutsu.

Sasuke blasted a concentrated ball of fire from his mouth, but it was aimed somewhat to the right of Kiba.

The Inuzuka heir was able to grab Akamaru's unconscious form and was able to dive out of the way, his jacket smoking from the heat.

Sasuke, running out of the remnants of the smoke cloud, used a Shunshin to close the distance between him and Kiba.

I smirked a little at Sasuke trying to mimic what I did in fights, incorporating quick applications of the Shunshin to outmaneuver opponents. Pretty much the only people who could do it without hurting themselves were Uchiha, me, speed freaks like Minato, Tobirama, or those who moved at already ridiculous speeds like Gai or Lee in a couple years, if only he weren't hampered by a malformed chakra network.

Sasuke pulled it off and drove a fist towards Kiba, the boy looking shocked at the speed.

Being forced to either drop Akamaru or try and stop the blow with one hand, Kiba chose the latter and tried to stop Sasuke with his left hand. It didn't work and Kiba got his face smashed by Sasuke's fist, knocking him on his back several feet away.

Kiba cradled Akamaru to him and looked up, Sasuke holding a kunai inches from his face.

Kiba spat some blood out of his mouth and said something, looking towards the proctor to submit.

The proctor announced Sasuke as the winner and the raven haired boy reached his hand out to help Kiba up, the Inuzuka accepting it.

Sasuke said something else and gestured to Akamaru, but Kiba waved him off and walked up the steps and towards his team.

Sasuke walked back towards us and I noticed he had a claw mark across his forearm, some blood leaking out.

He saw what I was glancing at and he shrugged.

"He's faster than before." Sasuke didn't say anything else.

"I'd recommend cleaning it," I pointed out, "Do you really think Kiba washes his hands after doing anything?"

Sasuke seemed to still for a moment, before turning to Hinata.

"Hinata." Sasuke began to say, but Hinata was already going through her pouch.

"Here, Sasuke." She handed him a bottle of antiseptic, along with a small bandage roll, "Just make sure to clean the marks thoroughly."

Sasuke nodded his thanks and started cleaning the cut, the sound of the next group of fighters coming up.

I looked at the board and saw the two new names.

Temari and Tenten.

Well, that sucks.

Tenten couldn't have been matched against a worse opponent.

I just hoped Tenten had the presence of mind to try and mix some other things that didn't involve the chucking of weapons at a Futon user.

The two kunoichi got to the center and Tenten looked a little nervous, but seemed to gather herself and faced Temari with her head held high.

The proctor shouted for them to begin and Tenten made the choice to rush Temari, breaking open a storage scroll and dropping 5 kunai into her hand, promptly flinging them at the blonde girl.

Temari batted them aside with a gust of wind from her fan, looking bored.

Tenten growled and pulled out a sword, charging at Temari.

A sharp blade of wind went careening towards the brown haired girl, but in an impressive display of reaction timing, she slid under it while skidding across the ground from her momentum and coming towards Temari.

Temari retreated back to keep some distance, noticing that Tenten was probably a close range fighter.

The fight went on like this for another 10 minutes, neither of the two making a decisive difference.

Tenten unfortunately kept trying to slip in a kunai or a weapon to try and hit Temari, but it was as futile as trying to carry a river with your hands.

Temari managed to clip Tenten with a wind attack that wasn't dodged on time and sent her into the wall, the crack of her head against the stone being a very unpleasant sound.

Tenten groaned audibly as she slumped to the ground, not getting up.

Temari was announced as the winner, but she at least had to work for the victory somewhat.

Gai leaped down and helped Tenten up, talking to her and smiling like her loss didn't matter. Fighting someone who was a hard counter to your style of fighting, but refusing to give in, was commendable. It didn't matter if you were defeated.

The next two fighters' names showed up on the sign, this one a new one.

Akamichi Choji and Masoni Kaito.

From what Rin told me, Kaito might be able to beat Choji in taijutsu. He was able to charge his fists with lightning and was fast enough to tag her with a few hits.

"Good luck, Choji." Ino said, giving him a hug.

Shikamaru clapped him on the shoulder and didn't say anything, while Asuma ruffled his hair and told him to kick some ass.

Choji walked towards the center, Kaito getting there only seconds earlier.

Choji gave the Kumo genin a nod of respect, one being returned.

The proctor gave the signal and the fight began.

Kaito was on the defensive immediately when the two clashed, Choji having a decent amount of physical strength for someone a couple years younger.

Choji landed a hit on Kaito, but got a kick to his side as a retaliation. Choji tried to grab the leg and hold it, but staggered back and grimaced when his arm got shocked by lightning chakra.

Kaito drove several punches towards Choji's face, but the boy managed to block most, avoiding the last one.

I knew Choji couldn't keep this up, his fingers were twitching and his face was twisted into a grimace from his forearms getting hit from lightning chakra.

Choji used his clan jutsu and expanded his arm and tried to smash his opponent. Kaito was now back on the defensive and was trying to avoid getting crushed.

Unfortunately, his greater speed helped him and he drove a lightning enhanced fist into Choji's arm, causing him to shrink his arm back to normal size and clutch the limb, which had a scorch mark on it.

Kaito blurred through hand seals and launched a respectable lightning jutsu at Choji, who didn't avoid it on time and was struck dead on by it.

Choji fell to a knee and wasn't able to stop a knee from being driven into his face by Kaito, who blitzed him when the opening appeared.

I winced when I saw Choji's head jerk back and fell on his back, not moving.

Choji was out cold, Kaito being declared the winner.

Choji was carried off the ground and the floor was starting to show some damage. Sasuke's fireball blackened part of it, and now Choji's fist cracked some of it.

Shino was next, with Zaku as his opponent.

To say that Shino kicked his ass would be a disservice. It was the fastest one as of yet, with the sight of Zaku's arms practically exploding being rather disturbing.

After the mess got cleaned up and Shino moved on to the next round, Gaara's name came up.

Dosu was the opponent.

Dosu promptly forfeited, eliciting a few looks of disappointment.

I gave a silent prayer of thanks that Lee wouldn't be crippled by Gaara, since this technically was his fight.

With Kakashi being more serious with his training and me being fast tracked to being an S-rank in a couple years, Hiruzen may not have Tsunade replacing him.

If she wasn't here, then she couldn't heal Lee.

Neji's name showed up next.

And his opponent was Omoi.

Neji had a sinister grin on his face that I knew the origins of.

A Kumo nin was within arms reach of him, a Hyuga.

I made eye contact with Gai, willing him to understand what could happen. Gai seemed to notice it and grabbed Neji by the shoulder, whispering into his ear.

The look on Gai's face was something I didn't think could be on his face outside of a fight to the death. His chakra was cold and whatever he had said to Neji had the boy clenching his fists and nodding stiffly.

Neji went down to the center and I didn't need to feel his chakra to know how angry he was.

All the bullshit I did to him seemed to have him focusing more on hating Kumo instead of being resigned to being a servant to fate, which technically was an improvement. Fighting back was better than giving up mentally on wrestling with the 'natural order of things', but he was lashing out against the wrong thing.

I'll just need to do something else. Hopefully Hinata or I would be matched up against him to beat some sense into him in front of thousands of people.

The fight began and Neji was out for blood instantly, his Byakugan activated and his hands glowing a faint blue.

Omoi had his sword out and was trying to use it to keep Neji from touching him. Neji grabbed the blade between his fingers as he got to Omoi and yanked the sword to the side, shocking Omoi.

The Juken ensured that your fingers and palm were protected when going up against armed opponents, the chakra coating acting as a shield.

Omoi avoided a juken strike aimed at his heart, but traded a lethal hit for a hit to his forearm.

He backed away and kept his sword in a low guard, his hand flexing constantly like it fell asleep.

"Did he close it?" I asked Hinata, who was watching the fight as intently as I was.

"Yes." She replied, her Byakugan active, "He missed the nerve, but his tenketsu is closed."

Neji was similar to how Sasuke was initially, an absolute dick, but his behavior didn't take away from how skilled he was.

Because of her training alongside Rin and I for a couple years, combined with Hiashi helping her adjust to a more flexible Juken form, I was confident Hinata could potentially match Neji in taijutsu, her cousin maybe having an edge from being as intelligent as he was.

My focus went back to the fight and I saw Omoi started slashing at Neji, who avoided the attacks by bobbing and twisting away from them.

Neji abruptly stopped his dodging and grabbed the blade, driving a hit into the inside of Omoi's arm.

Omoi yelled and backed away, but Neji offered no respite.

Neji's hands went up and he sped up his attacks into something very familiar to someone who fought Hyuga constantly.

8 Trigrams: 64 palms.

Hinata gasped in realization at what Neji had managed to reverse engineer.

2 hits struck Omoi.

2 more.

Then 4.

The hits sped up, each hit closing a tenketsu point. Eventually, Omoi started to fall backwards, not being able to stand. The final strike included Neji shouting in anger, blasting Omoi back with a massive amount of force.

Omoi was on his back, not getting up.

I saw Neji start to walk towards him, and the Kumo genin was coughing up blood and was moaning in pain.

Being the asshole/good friend I was, I made a decision to prevent Neji from getting a dressing down from Gai for being 'Unyouthful' and attacking a beaten opponent.

Cupping my hands over my mouth, I shouted down towards.

"Way to go, Neji-chan! I knew you could do it!"

Hinata flinched back from me shouting, but I could almost see her shake her head at what I said.

Neji paused and turned his head sharply towards me, his eyes practically burning a hole in my head.

"Wait," Omoi managed to cough out, sitting up slowly, wiping some blood off his lips, "You're a girl?"

I could hear Rin snickering while Hinata sighed, knowing Neji was about to get pissed.

Neji turned back towards Omoi and looked like he was truly going to murder him.

Kumo owes me for this.

"Don't talk to my Neji-chan!" I shouted at Omoi, "That is my Hyuga! No other shall without my permission!"

Neji growled and ran towards me, ignoring Omoi and the proctor, who already announced him the winner.

"Stop calling me a girl, you idiot!" He shouted, running up the wall.

I made a quick decision and looked at Rin and my friends.

"Shut your eyes and ears." I said, pulling out a flash tag that was fortunate enough to have survived the fight with Orochimaru.

Everyone, including Hinata thankfully, shut their eyes and put their hands on their ears.

I didn't get to use it, because Gai intervened and rushed towards us to grab Neji by his shirt, a look of disappointment on his face.

"I trained you better than this, Neji," Gai shook his head, "Go stand by Lee, now." The last word had authority in it.

Neji gave me a look of hatred, but relented. Gai let go of him and looked at me with a sad look.

"Will you please not say such Unyouthful things, Naruto?"

"Better he hate me and train, than hurt a Kumo nin that did nothing." I replied, acknowledging what I said was rather shitty.

But Neji needed to stop being all pissy about it. Hiashi needs to tell him what really happened with Hizashi and get him to stop being his insufferable self.

I liked how he matured in Shippuden, and that couldn't come any sooner. I want buddies, not people to step on.

Gai sighed and walked back towards his team, the spectacle delaying the next round of fighters.

C'mon, gimme some magic.

Haruno Sakura and Yamanaka Ino.

Well, okay.

Ino pumped her fist in excitement, preparing to head down.

I tapped her on the shoulder to get her attention, causing her to turn around.

"She'll be on guard against your Clan jutsu, so perhaps try something else." I advised, unsure if 'Inner' Sakura would cause an issue.

Ino smiled and nodded, but I had another thing to say.

"Good luck and kick ass," I gave her a smile in return, "You can do this."

Ino was more dedicated than in canon, everyone was. Konoha was going to have several rookies fighting with several high ups watching in the finals. If I had to guess, there will probably be more matches than canon, mainly because of Kumo participating.

Ino seemed to brighten at my faith in her, her eyes alight with gratitude.

"Thank you, Naruto." She gave me a quick hug, racing down to prepare for her fight.

---

Okay, Ino, you can do this. She thought to herself, looking at her former friend.

Sakura had trimmed her hair some, almost to the length that Ino had shortened hers after her father and Naruto commented how someone could grab it, and she actually looked like she'd been training since she last saw her, Kurenai probably forcing her to see reason.

"Scared, Ino-pig?" Sakura asked with a grin, hopping on the balls of her feet in excitement at fighting her.

"Scared that it'll take more than 5 minutes to beat you, Forehead." She shot back, pulling a kunai and flipping it into a backhand grip.

She glanced at the proctor, then to Naruto and her team.

Shikamaru, even though he was a lazy slacker, was a good friend and was giving her a reassuring smile, her Sensei having a similar look.

Naruto looked completely at ease, not looking anxious at all.

He didn't believe she could win, he knew she would.

She turned back to Sakura, who was just as ready.

"Begin." The proctor said, backing up quickly.

The two rushed each other and Ino stabbed towards Sakura, the pinkette ducking under the stab and aimed a punch at her ribs.

Ino pivoted on her right leg and avoided the punch, slashing at Sakura as she did so.

Sakura's sleeve got nicked, but no blood was drawn.

The two backed away from each other and stalked around one another for a moment, neither making a move.

"Still not better than me, Sakura." Ino said, looking at the girl.

"Gonna take more than a little bit of training to beat me, Ino." Sakura replied sharply, reaching towards her waist and flinging a kunai with a tag on it.

Ino dashed to the side to avoid it, the tag going off where she just was. She expected it to be an exploding tag, but it turned out to be smoke bomb.

She used her sensory ability to look for Sakura, but didn't feel her.

She realized that something was wrong, Sakura couldn't mask her chakra to that level.

Ino's eyes widened at her oversight and tried to sense beneath her. That was the right choice, as she felt Sakura just under her, slinking through the ground.

Sakura rose from the ground right in front of her, slashing at her with a kunai. Ino back flipped away, charging back at her.

A quick exchange of taijutsu occurred, neither of them getting a clear advantage. Ino still had her kunai and was slashing and stabbing at Sakura, who was dodging or deflecting the attacks, a look of intense focus on her face, which was starting to flush from exertion.

Sakura backed away and flung a kunai at Ino, trying to make some space.

Ino flung her own kunai at Sakura's, managing to knock it off course.

Sakura was surprised enough by it that Ino saw an opening to possibly win already. Making hand seals as fast as she could, Ino pooled some chakra in her stomach and used the one water jutsu she was competent with right now.

Suiton: Teppodama.

The beach ball sized projectile struck Sakura, who got knocked across the ground, getting pushed back some distance.

Sakura was soaking wet now and was coughing up water, trying to get up.

Ino grinned and made a hand seal to jump into Sakura's mind.

Shintenshin no Jutsu. (Mind Body Switch Technique).

Her body went limp and her consciousness shot towards Sakura, who didn't look to be getting up.

Sakura looked up and her eyes widened in realization, her eyes going slack when Ino's consciousness impacted her.

Ino went to control Sakura, but she felt two different personalities.

She'd never felt anything like this before, almost like Sakura had two personalities.

Are you legitimately insane, Sakura? She couldn't help but ask, the pinkette's fury raising when she heard that.

Get out of my head, bitch! She screamed, trying to fight her off.

Ino couldn't seem to keep ahold of Sakura, feeling like she was trying to grab an eel.

Or a greased PIG! Sakura shouted, hearing her try and wrestle control of her body.

Ino growled and decided she wanted to bruise and hurt Sakura for that comment.

She abruptly broke the connection, making it as loud as possible of an exit.

Sakura pitched forward and clutched her head, blood coming from her nose.

Ino opened her eyes seconds later and bolted upright, seeing Sakura be affected so much.

She grinned and dashed towards her, pulsing chakra into her feet to stop her from slipping on the water left from her Suiton jutsu.

She drove several punches towards Sakura, who barely managed to get her hands up in time to prevent her from being struck in the face.

A punch slipped through and hit her in the eye, causing her to lose sight of Ino.

The blonde leaned back and spun 360 degrees, driving a kick into Sakura's temple, knocking her unconscious.

Breathing heavily, Ino saw that Sakura really was down for the count.

"Haruno Sakura is unable to continue. The winner is Yamanaka Ino." The proctor declared, coughing slightly at the end.

She heard Naruto clap and whistle, Rin whooping as well.

The other Konoha genin didn't cheer, given that it was two Konoha fighters, but she didn't care.

She won.

She let the Iryo-nin attend to Sakura, while she rushed back to her team, a wide smile on her face.

"Good job, Ino," Asuma clapped her on the shoulder, "I knew you could do it."

Ino smiled at her Sensei, which turned into a smirk.

"You think Kurenai-san will be mad at you for making her student lose?" She saw Asuma's eyes narrow slightly.

"Very funny, kid." He ruffled her hair, causing her to growl in anger.

She pushed his arm away and stomped over to Naruto, her hair a mess.

Naruto snorted as she got within earshot.

"Asuma not find the joke funny?" He asked simply, glancing at her hair.

Ino turned her nose up and made a pointed effort to not look at her Sensei.

"I make a little joke and he dares touch my hair."

"Oh, the inhumanity," Naruto swooned, clutching his own hair, "How dare he do such horrible travesty?"

Ino giggled, knowing Naruto didn't care about vanity, save for his hair.

Naruto then adopted a more serious look.

"You did amazing," He smiled, his eyes shining bright, "You've gotten so much better."

Ino preened at the praise, feeling warm inside.

Naruto then turned towards the proctor, the newest names coming up.

---

Ino has gotten much better. I thought to myself, seeing her expression be almost radiant in how happy she was.

The newest names were about to be announced, the possibilities running through my head.

Me, Rin, Hinata, Karui, Kankuro, and Lee were the only ones left that could be chosen. Unless Lee went up against me or possibly Rin, he was in the clear to the finals. Karui was almost guaranteed to lose, while Kankuro needed to be against Hinata to have any chance of pulling out a win with his puppet.

I looked at the first name on the board, being Lee's. But it was the next that caught my attention.

Uzumaki Naruto.

Lee, this will be fun.

"Wish me luck." I said cheekily to Hinata, who was to my right.

Hinata then proceeded to do something that had me freeze for I don't know how long.

She kissed my cheek.

I felt the softness of her lips touch a whisker mark on my cheek, causing me to shiver. I slowly turned to her, seeing her look beet red in embarrassment.

"Good luck, Naruto-kun." She whispered, averting her eyes.

I was still trying to understand what the hell just happened when Ino followed that and gave me a hug, discreetly kissing my other cheek.

"Kick his ass, Naruto." She whispered in my ear, letting go of me and smiling.

I was still blinking in surprise at what happened, not moving at all.

It took Rin walking up to me and smacking my head to get me out of the stupor that afflicted me.

"Get down there, Naruto," Rin scolded me, a grin on her face, "You're gonna get disqualified."

I robotically walked down the steps, my mind running through what just happened.

Hinata plucked up the courage to kiss me, even if it was just a 'good luck' one. Then Ino decides to be funny and does it as well.

My mind may not read into it all that much, but this insufferable flesh suit liked it far more than I wanted.

Fuck puberty.

Lee better put up a damn good fight, because I needed to get my mind off of having to deal with the affections of girls that were my physical age. It'd be welcome if it was at least a few years from now. But as it was, it was weird.

I got down to the center and focused on the fight at hand.

Lee looked absolutely giddy at fighting me, his weights still on.

"Lee," I said, looking at him seriously, "I refuse to fight you unless you're at your best."

Lee looked at me confusedly for a moment, but it shifted to an absolutely glowing smile moments later when he realized what I meant.

"Take them off." I instructed, returning the grin.

Yep. Problem solved. Nothing solves troublesome things such as girls like the prospect of punching the shit out of your buddies.

Lee pulled his weights off and flung them to the corner, the absolutely obscene boom of them impacting the ground was ridiculous, the crater causing dust to rise.

I saw the look of shock on the faces of the Kumo and Suna genin, relishing in it.

They must think I was a lunatic for demanding that Lee go at me without those weights on him.

"Are the fighters ready?" Hayate asked, coughing slightly.

I nodded, not even drawing my sword.

My arms were up and I had lightning chakra flowing through the nerves in my brain. I wanted to see everything.

"You don't have permission to give up until I say you can, Lee." I commanded, "Your youth will burn bright, even if I must force it to."

Lee had his hands up and body positioned in a classic Goken stance.

"Yosh!" He shouted, his entire body still with focus, "I will overwhelm you with the fires of my youth!"

The sickly proctor stepped back and signaled us to begin.

To say we shot towards each other at a fast pace would be an understatement. We both were going at about Jonin speed.

Our first exchange was literally nothing but punches and counters, our fists a blur. I pushed one punch aside, darting my fist out to strike his face. Lee ducked under it and blurred as he spun his whole body and lashed out with a kick towards my head.

I caught the kick, my palm stinging, and flung him away. He twisted in the air and landed with no problem.

I tested out his speed and made one hand seal, shaping some water chakra in my stomach.

Suiton: Teppodama.

Who needs massive, complex jutsu when you can overcook regular C-ranks into being able to smash trees?

I blasted a massive ball of water at Lee, easily dwarfing Ino's. Lee completely avoided it by sprinting to the side, being a green blur to most people viewing.

The water crashed into the wall and exploded, raining down on the Kumo nin and the Sand siblings, Gaara only being spared getting wet because of his sand armour.

I was able to track Lee's movements from my sensing and sped up mind processing. He leaped over me and straightened both his legs out to kick my head. I simply pivoted and blocked the kicks with my forearms.

I didn't give Lee time to do anything and charged at him as he landed, pressuring him with a furious assault. Gai should be proud, watching Lee keep up with me, an Uzumaki Jinchuriki and prodigy.

His guard was hard to get through. He was like a rock, pun not intended. He felt like a piece of iron, unbroken and unbent.

My punches and kicks were being straight up stopped by him, the thud and heavy breathing being the only thing heard. No words were needed, an entire conversation practically occurring as we exchanged blows.

I managed to slip a punch through and felt his head jerk back from the impact. He recovered faster than any other genin that wasn't me would have and kept stopping my punches.

I growled in exertion and kicked out at his head, my leg impacting his forearm.

Finally, I got a wince out of Lee, the kick actually being felt.

I withdrew my leg and let Lee attack, knowing I could outlast him.

He started speeding up, me responding in kind. A green and orange blur that was his leg drove towards my chest like a spear, but I avoided it on time. I pushed the leg away with my palm before he could pull it back and caused him to lose his balance. The retaliatory kick to his ribs sent him flying back, barely avoiding his ass hitting the ground.

With the opening, I made a hand seal to make about a dozen shadow clones with orders to try and slip some gravity seals on him once he started opening a Gate or two.

The chakra blast from opening a Gate would fry most seals, but slipping it on after the initial blast of opening one had a chance of sticking.

Besides, it only needed to stick for a few seconds to be helpful.

The clones Shunshined a short distance to the edge of the battlefield, sticking to the walls with chakra.

I then drew my sword.

"Come," I beckoned Lee to charge, "If so certain of victory," I flourished the blade in challenge, "why wait?"

Lee smiled and charged at me again, looking gleeful.

I swung towards his head with one hand on my sword, the other tucked towards my chest.

He pulled a kunai from his holster and diverted my sword strike to the ground, driving his other fist towards my face.

I pushed his arm away, swinging my sword up again at his head, trying to land a hit. The blade ghosted over the top of his head as he ducked and stabbed at me.

The stab brushed across my shirt as I shifted my body to avoid it, throwing several punches at him, not even bothering to maneuver my sword when we were so close to each other.

Lee ended up missing one of my punches and got another hit to the face, but retaliated with several of his own, each one seeming to whistle from their speed.

I caught the last punch and tried to stomp on his foot, but he shifted around to not get stepped on. In this close of range, his kunai had an advantage over my sword, so I simply dropped it and grabbed at his wrist as he stabbed at me.

We started grappling and trying to shove the other off balance, the two of us relatively equal in strength.

Eventually, Lee started straining some, his face tightening. I put on a show of using all my focus to keep him still, but pressed my foot to the sword that I dropped.

Lee looked more shocked than pained when I let go of his empty hand and fell backwards, swinging the sword stuck to my foot at his shin.

I opened up a sizable slash on his lower leg, him barely avoiding tendon damage by jumping away at the last second.

He landed on his good leg, wincing from his leg jostling.

I arched my body and flipped back to my feet, pulling the sword off my foot and readying it.

"Sometimes, an opening is too good to be true, Lee." I said to him, pointing at his leg with my sword.

Lee didn't expect me to disengage from our battle of wills or drop my sword intentionally.

That crap only worked once in a fight, so you best make sure it works. And judging by the dark stain slowly growing on Lee's lower leg, it was worth it.

"I will not give you the right to give up until you beat me into the ground, Lee!" I shouted, wanting him to prove to himself that he could push me, "You trained until your bones cracked, don't tell me that little love bite has you whimpering away from the fight!"

Lee gave me a look of determination.

"I will never give up!" Lee shouted, shifting his legs and putting his hands in a familiar position, "I will become a splendid Shinobi able to stand beside you, Naruto!"

I turned to Gai, who had tears of joy in his eyes.

"Lee!" He shouted to his student, "I give you permission to use them!"

I saw Kakashi give Gai a look of surprise, glancing towards me.

I watched Lee, how his entire body seemed to freeze at the display of trust his Sensei had in him.

I was not going to let him misunderstand.

"You see, Lee," I shouted to him with genuine passion in my voice, "Your Sensei has faith that you can do this. Show me your might! Show me you will!" I dug deep and flared my chakra, "Show me your Youth!"

Lee's chakra flared in a way only mine and Gai's did as he tensed his whole body.

Gate of Opening: Kai!.

I felt his chakra shift as the first Gate was opened, his chakra almost visible.

Gate of Healing: Kai!.

His chakra flared even more, feeling like a whirlwind of power.

This was it.

"Come!" I shouted, pulsing chakra into my legs.

He let out a shout and charged at me with so much speed it left an after image.

I Shunshined at him and we clashed, the ground cracking from the impact.

Lee was now temporarily out pacing me, his hits being strong enough to seriously hurt. I avoided them, slipping in punches where I could.

My sensing was shut off because the chakra halo from Lee was almost blinding. I landed a punch to his face, but I didn't avoid the punch in retaliation.

I felt the air be driven from my lungs as I got bodily sent back, smashing into the ground.

Lee seemed to blur behind me and drove another punch into my chest as I barely stopped myself from falling down from disorientation.

The next one was dodged as I expected it. His speed started to slow down a bit, meaning he was trying to pace himself.

I growled and swung my blade at him, twirling it towards my blind spot as he jumped over the first.

He managed to knock the blade aside and sent a spinning kick towards my head.

I ducked under it, being almost horizontal to the ground, my hand swinging my blade back towards him as I jerked my upper body back up.

Lee actually caught the sword and wrenched it from my grip. He then swung the hilt at my head, which I ducked.

Lee was going to have to hit me with something harder if he was going to beat me.

Knowing I needed room to use the match enders, I backed away and waited for one of Lee's attacks to get through that would knock me back.

Damnit, c'mon. I thought to myself, avoiding punches or knocking them aside with my forearms. I needed a kick that wasn't too strong to knock me back.

That kick came and I threw my arms out to let it hit me. Lee realized too late what I did and already kicked me.

I groaned at the impact, but I managed to tense the muscles in my gut to not get winded.

As I flew through the air, I shouted at my clones to delay. They all Shunshined towards Lee, none of them using a Chidori or Rasengan.

Lee started tearing through them, but not fast enough.

I made a hand seal and shifted some chakra to the first Gate.

Gate of Opening: Kai!.

My body felt much lighter and stronger, my chakra flaring deliciously.

Lee was now moving visibly slower, courtesy of a couple gravity seals stuck to his arms and back.

I made a hand seal and sent another ball of water at Lee and Shunshined to the left.

Lee dashed away from the water, predictably, and ran straight into me.

My speed surpassed him when I used the Shunshin, and it was all the more apparent when my fist struck his face and drove him into the wall, cratering it.

I was riding the rush of my chakra flowing throughout my body at a higher level, but managed to keep myself restrained and let Lee regain his composure.

Lee groaned and got back up unsteadily, looking a little dizzy.

I glanced at Gai, who didn't look to be too concerned, meaning he trusted Lee not to overdo it with the Gates.

I was courteous and let Lee shake away the cobwebs and refocused his gaze on me.

"You are an amazing Shinobi, Lee," I said sincerely, "and I am proud to call you a comrade."

Lee had tears in his eyes and still looked ready to keep fighting.

"Will you honour me and still fight?" I asked him, wanting him to know I respected so much.

Lee nodded, wiping his eyes.

"Yosh!" He shouted, his chakra flaring again, "My Youth burns hot!"

Gate of Life: Kai!.

His skin turned red and his hair stood on end, the fact that his pupils were gone struck me when his eyes opened.

I grinned and pushed chakra towards the right hemisphere of my brain, jabbing at a specific tenketsu to force it open.

Gate of Healing: Kai!.

Instantly, the minute amount of exhaustion I had disappeared, my entire body shaking like I was on a sugar high.

We both let out a war cry and charged again, the ground breaking under our footsteps.

An Earth shaking boom that nearly deafened me occurred when our punches clashed.

I ducked under his second punch and sent a kick at his face, his head blurring out of the way.

He was moving really fast, now that the third Gate was opened.

Each punch that made contact felt like a hammer smashing into me, but I muscled through the pain and was actually laughing as I landed my own hits.

Lee ended up getting the first face shot in and I felt my nose break from the hit.

I staggered back and I felt my lower teeth clack as he did a back flip, driving both feet into my head from below.

I went airborne and realized what he was going to try.

Primary Lotus.

He flicked his bandages loose and wrapped them around me, jumping towards me.

There was no chance I could get my chakra to stick to him and reverse our positions so that he'd get smashed into the ground rather than me.

I saw the ground get closer and everything started spinning as he started twisting us around faster and faster.

I refused to get bodied by him.

I pulsed a chakra blade into my hand, cutting through the bandages. I then stretched it as far as I could, even getting it to shoot out of the tenketsu in my arm. It freaking hurt, but I managed it.

The slowed down perception from the lightning enhancement had me freaking out as I was looking at the ground get closer, but I broke out of the bandages and grabbed ahold of Lee, kicking him away from me.

I still ended up hitting the ground hard, but I managed to avoid my head hitting first.

The ground still cratered under me, my legs going numb from the impact.

Groaning, I wobbled a bit and looked towards Lee, who was breathing heavily several yards away.

"Anybody else would have been in Dreamland after that, Lee." I winced and massaged my leg, trying to ignore the pins and needles feeling in the extremity.

Lee looked ready to keep going, but I raised my hand to stop him.

"I know you can keep going, Lee," I said kindly, my voice then shifting to a serious one, "But opening anymore will hurt you. I don't want to see a friend hurt over something as trivial as a tournament."

Lee looked mutinous, but I gave him a stern look.

"I must prove that I can be a truly great Shinobi with just taijutsu." He said, looking almost lost at me telling him to stop.

I walked towards him, closing the two Gates I could open currently, not being able to hide the shiver as my nerves started twitching for a few seconds.

"Lee," I said softly, giving a look of pride, "You have nothing to prove that hasn't already been. You showed everyone who called you a loser and a failure that you can become great in spite of something you had no control over."

I put my hand on his shoulder, not caring that his chakra was causing my hand to shake.

"This day will go down in history as the day that the dead last of his year used only taijutsu to fight the future Hokage." I smiled, almost choking up at the look on his face.

Lee teared up, but nodded and closed the three Gates he opened, his chakra reverting back to normal.

He began to collapse, but I caught him.

"Proctor," He said weakly, "I cannot continue."

"Rock Lee is unable to continue," Hayate announced, "The winner is Uzumaki Naruto."

I didn't let go of Lee, helping him over to the Iryo-nin.

"Look at your Sensei," I whispered to him, not caring that he was a little heavy as I carried most of his weight, "Look at his pride. Who gives a shit about bragging rights when you have a Sensei like that?"

Gai had jumped down and rushed towards us as I said that, the man hearing the last part.

"You are a lucky man to have such a good student, Gai-sensei." I said with all the respect I had for the man in my voice, "You have given Konoha a splendid and beautiful Shinobi that I will proudly serve with."

Gai sniffled, before a face splitting grin appeared on his face.

"I knew you wouldn't be corrupted by Kakashi's hip and Unyouthfulness, Naruto!" He shouted, pulling me into a hug.

If I wasn't already certain that there was life after death, what happened next would have proven it did.

And the afterlife was Hell.

To see the Sunset of Youth Genjutsu on a television screen was one thing, but to be an unwitting member of it was a million times worse.

I couldn't feel anything aside from me, Gai, and Lee. My chakra sensing was useless. Something that wasn't chakra, but something that was transcendental, was surrounding me.

I then heard an ethereal voice echo all around me.

Youth is what gives a Shinobi his power. It's an energy field created by all living things. It surrounds us, it penetrates us, it binds the universe together.

Let me out! I screamed in my mind, unable to escape Gai's grip. Let me out!

Kurama, being the unlucky son of a bitch he is, decided to see what all the commotion was about.

"About time you opened up a connection," He grumbled, "I wanted to see you figh- What the fuck is going on?!" He shouted, seeing through my eyes, "Kill me. Get us out of this."

Kurama started trying to flash his chakra to disrupt mine and get out of whatever hellscape I was in, but it didn't work.

The Genjutsu from hell finally ended with Gai letting go of me, taking Lee with him, the medics right beside them.

I guess I walked back towards the others, because I didn't remember doing it.

Kakashi ended reaching me as I just stared dumbly around.

"Naruto," He asked, looking concerned, "Are you okay?" He looked genuinely worried.

I just looked at him with a faraway look, not being able to respond immediately.

"I think being born was less traumatic." I mumbled eventually, blinking a few times.

Ino looked downright concerned as she sensed my emotions, probably shocked by how much the Springtime of Youth had affected me.

"Well," Kakashi grimaced, patting my shoulder, "You're now acquainted with the power of Gai's Youth. You've taken your first into a larger world."

That last sentence shook me out my stupor, my shock being replaced with irritation.

I should never have published that damn book.

"I hate you." I said simply, walking back towards Teams 7 and 10.

---

Rin stared at her brother in wonder, the fact that he was that fast shocking her.

Sure, she knew he was much better than he let on, but he actually beat Lee in taijutsu and broke out of the older boy's Primary Lotus.

She now understood how he was able to fight Orochimaru on his own and actually hurt the traitor.

The blonde couldn't help but smile as she heard Naruto talk to Lee and Gai, the look of joy on Gai's face at Naruto saying he was proud to have fought Lee.

She ended up gawking at the disturbing display of Youth that Naruto was trapped in by the two spandex wearers.

She could actually hear the Kyuubi screaming, it was that bad.

Rin started giggling when Naruto wondered back towards them, looking traumatized.

After Kakashi said something to him, she walked towards him and gave him a hug.

"Don't worry, oniichan," She whispered softly, rubbing his back, "I won't let the big bad, Youth get you."

Naruto scowled and pushed her away, grumbling under his breath about troublesome blondes.

"Don't be like Shikamaru," She stated flatly, "You're more troublesome than I am."

"I'm not a blonde." Naruto said simply, as if that was all that was needed to be said.

"Shika," Rin looked at the laid back boy, his gaze going to hers, "Am I troublesome?"

Shika sighed and seemed to debate for a moment, but finally answered.

"Is the sky blue?"

Rin felt a tick mark form on her head at what he said, stomping towards him.

"Rin." Sasuke said, not wanting to have to deal with her being in a bad mood.

"Lazy ass." She growled at Shikamaru, who didn't flinch at all.

Shikamaru flicked his eyes towards Naruto.

"She's quite literally the female you." He said to her brother.

Before she could respond with a biting comment, Naruto mimed like he was retching.

"No," He begged, "I can't fathom being a blonde." He shuddered like it was the worst thing he could imagine.

"What is that supposed to mean?" Ino asked irritably, stepping forward.

"It means I have a much higher calling in life, Ino-chan." He laughed, both her and Ino now glaring at him, "Something befitting my status."

"You're a baka." Rin grumbled, annoyed with her brother.

"Better a baka than a blonde." Naruto said in their language, a toothy grin on display.

"But not all blondes are the same," Naruto offered, acting like he was trying to find a middle ground, "You and Ino are very different creatures."

I'm going to kill him. Rin vowed, Ino's expression saying the same thing.

The arena was still getting cleaned up, but it was almost ready.

"Rin," Naruto addressed her, "You and Ino may be girls with blonde hair, but that is where the similarities end."

Rin was not looking forward to what he was going to say, especially with that mischievous grin on his face.

"You're hair is a blonde shade that looks like a mote of sunshine, almost like it were spun from gold." Naruto said poetically, looking starstruck, "Furthermore, your eyes are a piercing violet that look like fresh cut amethysts as the light strikes them."

Rin snorted, knowing Naruto was having a blast doing this.

"Ino-chan," He looked at the Yamanaka girl, repeatedly using the 'chan' suffix, "Where Rin's hair is spun from gold, yours is of platinum, and your eyes are the most radiant of turquoise, matching perfectly with your flowing mane of hair."

Rin had never seen Ino get that red faced in her life, almost looking as embarrassed as Hinata was at times.

It was when Naruto turned to face Hinata that Rin realized why he was giving grandiose descriptions of them.

He was getting back at them embarrassing him by replying in kind.

"While Hinata-chan is cut from a different cloth," He tilted his head, the girl looking at him with with her face reddening already, "Hair as dark as the night sky, with luminous eyes that shine like the full moon, two gorgeous pearls. A perfect contrast."

Hinata started to sway like she was going to pass out, but Naruto then looked at Sasuke.

"Don't make any stupid jokes about 'Satsuki-chan' or whatever you're going to say." Sasuke glared at Naruto, taking the initiative.

Naruto scoffed. "I'm pretty sure if you used the Henge like me, you could surpass the Sexy jutsu I made."

Sasuke made his typical 'Hn' sound and turned away.

Kakashi walked over to them and cleared his throat.

"As amusing as it's been listening to you sound like Jiraiya-sama when he hits on women," Kakashi said, eliciting a scowl from Naruto, "Rin's name got called."

All of them turned and looked at the screen, seeing her name and the one Suna Shinobi, Kankuro.

She smirked and went to leap over the guardrail, but Naruto grabbed her by the waist to stop her.

Her eyes widened in surprise, wondering why he stopped her.

"What?" She asked, looking to her right to see his face just inches from hers.

Gone was her bright eyed and energetic twin. In his place, was someone that fought Momochi Zabuza and beat him, the 13 year old boy that fought Orochimaru, an S-rank.

She shivered at how cold his gaze was, before he leaned closer.

"He's a puppeteer," He whispered into her ear, "expect poison and distractions."

She nodded, but he said one more thing.

"Don't use the Rasengan." He finished, letting her go.

Not knowing why he was that worried about it, she shrugged it off and assumed it was him being his usual self.

Rin went down towards the center of the room, hearing her footsteps echo off the walls.

Kankuro was there already, his clothes looking weird and the makeup on his face made it look weirder.

Rin stretched her arms and legs, giving the older boy a predatory smirk.

"Are the fighters ready?" The proctor asked, looking at the two of them.

Rin intentionally giggled girlishly, flicking her hair.

"I'm ready for another victim." She gave a grin that had her baring her teeth.

Kankuro flinched a bit, but he grabbed what was his puppet from his back and had it ready. He then gave a nod towards the proctor.

"Begin!"

Rin slipped a kunai from the seal in her sleeve and flung it at Kankuro, making a hand seal as she did so.

Kunai Kage bunshin no Jutsu.

One kunai became several and Kankuro used his puppet to deflect them, retreating back as he used chakra strings to manipulate the construct.

Using the temporary opening, Rin made several bunshin and had them charge Kankuro, a few making hand seals and sinking into the ground when she dropped a smoke bomb to hide them.

Sakura had the proper chakra control to move through solid ground at a fast speed, but Rin would have struggled if the tiles weren't already broken from Naruto and Lee smashing them apart.

Under the tiles was regular dirt, which was fortunate for her.

This was pretty much the only one of two Doton jutsu she could do, the Mud Wall being the only other. But Kakashi-sensei's was much better.

Rin let her bunshin fight Kankuro so she could get a read on his fighting style, which wasn't as exploitable as she hoped.

He wised up to the bunshin being solid when they clashed with his puppet, which he was maneuvering as he ran to avoid her bunshin that pursued him.

Spotting a lull in the fighting, Rin blurred through hand seals and aimed a wind jutsu at the puppet.

Futon: Daitoppa. (Great Breakthrough).

A compressed gust of wind shot towards the puppet, popping a couple bunshin accidentally, but it did blast the puppet away, causing the near invisible strings to break, judging by it going limp.

Kankuro's eyes widened at his puppet being wrenched from his control and pulled out a kunai as he rushed towards it.

Rin saw him mouth, "I need to get Karasu back" as he raced towards the puppet, but she was already dashing towards him.

She closed the distance and jumped, swinging a kick at his head.

He ducked under it barely and struck out with his kunai as he reached his other hand out to pull at his puppet.

Rin leaned in and checked his attack by blocking his forearm, driving a kick towards his chest with her right leg.

He made an 'oof' sound as he got the wind knocked from him, falling to the ground from the hit. She saw the puppet get dragged along, meaning he reconnected the strings.

She shouted as loud as she could for her bunshin underneath to jump up and try and stop the puppet.

The bunshin jumped up, but didn't stop it in time.

Kankuro got it back within his reach and tried to catch his breath, the two not moving.

As of now, Kankuro hadn't used any tricks with the puppet, which wasn't good because she didn't know the scope of its abilities.

Kankuro grinned and twitched his hand seconds later, Karasu charging straight at her.

She ordered her bunshin to attack while staying back and drawing her tanto, pushing wind chakra through it in preparation.

Karasu sprouted a blade from its torso, impaling one bunshin, while its four arms were managing to hold off several others.

Rin lost patience and rushed towards Kankuro, wanting to end it.

She got the memories back of her bunshin getting killed, but she didn't care. She yelled as she sprinted towards Kankuro, who hadn't moved at all.

Next thing she knew, a smoke bomb went off and her vision was obscured for a fraction of a second.

She ran through it and swung down with her wind blade, hearing a clang.

Kankuro had switched with the puppet, shocking her for a moment.

Karasu sprouted several blades on its arms and started swinging at her in a rapid motion of attacks.

Her eyes widened at the speed as she backed away, diverting the attacks as best as she could.

A stab at her face nicked her cheek, which started burning immediately. Two slashes from the two right arms were caught by her wind blade, the force from it causing her to grit her teeth.

The other two arms swung at their blade lock and caused her to pull back, her grip on her blade almost coming loose.

She gritted her teeth at the cut, which wasn't healing.

Poison. She realized, the burning feeling making sense now. A cut from Anko didn't heal as fast because the toxins or poisons used impeded her healing speed.

"Give up and I'll give you the antidote for the poison," Kankuro offered, looking triumphant, "You'll be a drooling mess in 5 minutes."

Rin growled in anger and raised her blade up, her other hand flipping him up.

"Bring it!" She shouted, twitching her left hand to deposit a kunai in her left, crossing the two.

Karasu moved to be in front of Kankuro in a defensive position.

Rin ran towards the puppet, blades raised. The four arms started flailing out in a certain pattern, the blades sparking against the ground with a shower of sparks.

She stopped the flailing by simply stabbing forward with her wind blade, the screech of all four impacting her one. The four arms pulled back and stabbed at her, which she avoided by leaping over it.

She touched the ground with her feet, raising her blade and kunai to defend against the slashes, which she knew she couldn't be hit by. She was sure she could last a lot longer than the five minutes Kankuro expected her to, but any more poison might actually overwhelm her body's ability to flush it out.

Doing something Naruto did in a spar, right as two arms slashed horizontally at her neck, she stopped channeling chakra into her tanto, the blade vanishing right as she ducked.

A third arm was stopped in its tracks by her kunai, her knees now touching the ground from ducking, while she spiked wind chakra back into her primary weapon and swung diagonally at the out of position arms, taking one of the puppet's arms off at mid forearm level.

Kankuro was shocked, based on the fact that the puppet paused its movements, which gave her the chance to kick it away, twisting her legs around to stand up, breathing heavily from managing to destroy an arm.

"You bitch." He growled, looking at the severed limb, "I'll make you pay for that."

Rin made a decision after she was called a bitch. She was going to trash that puppet with extreme prejudice.

She sheathed her tanto, resealed the kunai, and pulsed chakra into her hands, making hand seals as fast as she could.

Futon: Juha Sho. (Beast Tearing Palm).

She slashed horizontally across her body, a blade of wind chakra tearing through the air with a near deafening howl.

Kankuro looked like he yelled, but it was drowned out by the sound of the Jutsu. The ground got torn up and debris was picked up by it as it came crashing towards him.

In an act of desperation, Kankuro made a couple hand seals and Shunshined away, avoiding the Jutsu by the skin of his teeth, the puppet getting dragged with him.

Kankuro ended up hitting the ground from being unable to slow down and staggered while trying to get up.

Rin, being enraged at being called a bitch by the same boy that was on the team with a dangerous Jinchuriki who had murdered people in the forest, ignored what Naruto said, made a bunshin and had it Henge into a kunai.

She flung it at the puppet, aiming high. Kankuro thought it was a miss and didn't evade it.

Big mistake.

The clone dropped the Henge midair and formed a Rasengan in its hand, smashinh it into the puppet and shattering a large portion of its chest, tearing two of its arms off.

She didn't let Kankuro recover from his shock and used a quick step Shunshin to get within a few yards of him, running the rest of the distance.

She punched at Kankuro's face, who got his arm up in time and stopped from getting KO'd in one hit, but he cringed when her fist struck his arm.

She punched twice more, followed by a high kick that turned into a back flip, a kunai dropping into her hand as she did it, the knife getting thrown before her feet hit the ground.

The kunai cut into his chest, tearing his shirt open and a visible flash of red being seen as he started bleeding.

She dashed back at him and kicked at his arm, the boy trying to stop it. He groaned as her kick broke through his guard and she thought she heard a pop sound emanating from his arm. The limb went limp and she capitalized on it, a flurry of punches aimed at his ribs and face.

He wasn't able to block them one handed and several struck his chest, one smashing into his face.

He fell backwards and she dove on top of him, grabbing his collar as he was dazed. After unsheathing her tanto and holding it to his throat, she pulled him closer and growled at him.

"You give up!" Her face was starting to feel a little numb, but it wasn't getting any worse.

Kankuro groaned and tried to grab at her with his good arm, but she planted her knee onto his elbow, his cries of pain echoing out.

"Give up!" She shouted, her eyes flashing in anger.

Kankuro grimaced and muttered his surrender, the proctor announcing her as the winner.

She jumped off him and whooped at winning, hearing the Konoha genin applaud her.

She grinned towards her team, Hinata smiling and Sasuke grinning. But when she saw Naruto, her twin's expression had her feeling cold all of a sudden.

He was pale and his eyes were flicking towards the Kumo team. Rin looked at them and saw Karui and Kaito giving her a speculative look, a look that had her wondering why.

She quietly walked back to her team, Kakashi giving her a congratulations, with Asuma saying something similar, Ino and Shikamaru also doing so.

Rin got to Naruto, who wasn't looking at her.

"Naruto." She whispered, but he still wasn't looking at her.

"We will talk at home." He said quietly, gazing off at nothing in particular.

She slumped and stepped away from him, her eyes downcast.

Was he really that angry with her for using a Rasengan to damage the puppet and win? She couldn't understand why though. It was just another jutsu that Kakashi learned from his Sensei and taught the two of them.

She had an unpleasant feeling that she wasn't going to like the talk she was going to have.

---

I barely paid attention to when Hinata's name was called to fight Karui, who kept glancing towards Rin and me, specifically after Rin used a Rasengan.

Blonde hair, used seals to beat them in the forest, uses the Rasengan, and has Hatake Kakashi as her Jonin Sensei.

Rin, whether she wanted to believe it or not, was learning about our father today. It was time. Holding off now would only make it worse.

My head wasn't in it when the two began fighting, with Hinata having a clear advantage with her clan's taijutsu form.

I got to hand it to Karui, she didn't have an ounce of quit in her, having been hit multiple times by Hinata and still pushing on.

A quick flurry of punches and a Vacuum Palm at point blank knocked Karui on her ass, the girl now obviously on her last legs.

Hinata rushed towards her and kicked at her chest, the hit being stopped by Karui's visibly shaking arm, but Hinata pushed through with her momentum bending her leg so she could wrap the other around Karui's head, the momentum carrying the two to the ground.

Hinata had Karui's head now trapped between her knees, slowly squeezing on her neck to force her to submit.

Karui kept driving her fist into Hinata's leg, but it wasn't enough. Her punches got progressively weaker as her face started to darken, her eyes starting to go out of focus from oxygen deprivation.

Hinata grabbed her arm and had her other hand resting above Karui's face in warning, the red haired girl getting the message.

She managed to choke something out, tapping Hinata's thigh in surrender. Hinata let her go and rolled away, standing up with a grimace from her leg being punched repeatedly.

I managed to force a smile as Hinata was announced as the winner, even if my heart wasn't in it.

Hiruzen signaled for all of the winners to come to the center, giving us all a congratulatory smile.

He instructed everyone to pick a number out of a box, each of us grabbing a piece of paper.

I barely payed attention to the numbers themselves. I only cared about who was fighting against Gaara.

Shikamaru against Shino.

Different.

Ino against Temari.

Different.

Neji against Hinata.

Same, but a round later.

Rin against Sasuke.

Thank you, God.

None of them would be fighting Gaara... because I was selected to fight Gaara.

The aforementioned Jinchuriki looked at me the way a starving man looks at a steak, anticipating us fighting.

Wait, there's an odd number.

Almost as if Hiruzen read my thoughts, he started speaking again.

"As there is an odd number, those who were eliminated will have the opportunity to fight in 3 days to receive a spot in the finals.

A bit unfair that they'll have a few days less to prepare for the finals, but they did already lose.

We were told the finals would be in a month, giving us time to train and prepare.

I was the first to leave when we were dismissed, Rin trying to keep up with me.

---

Rin followed her brother, who was walking towards Kakashi's apartment, for reasons unknown.

He turned around and told her to stay put while he went inside. She just stood on the street, ignoring some of the angry looks given by the civilians. They'd thankfully diminished a great deal, but there were still several.

Naruto exited the building, a picture frame in hand. He didn't say anything and walked towards the direction of their apartment, still remaining silent.

Her hands were cold and she was almost shivering from anxiousness at how he was acting, being distant and cold.

If anything, she would have preferred him being openly angry and wrathful. This almost felt like he was treating her like a stranger.

I don't know you.

He pushed out the key to their apartment and she noticed his hand was shaking as he opened the door.

He walked in and stood in the center of the room, finally turning towards her.

They looked at each other for several seconds, not saying a thing.

"Why did you not listen to me?" He asked quietly, his voice sounding small.

She saw how tense he was and she might have mistaken it for anger if his voice didn't sound so unsure and weak.

"Why did you use a Rasengan?" He asked more firmly, his eyes darting to hers.

"I needed to win." Rin replied, confused why that would be why he was upset.

"I told you not to, Rin," He said, his voice bordering on harsh now, "Why did you not listen to me?"

Her expression shifted to one of irritation at the harshness in his voice.

How dare he judge her when he was the paranoid and crazy one of the two of them that would keep secrets, run off and sing weird songs in the winter, and not be honest.

"I wanted to win, Naruto," She bit out, leaning towards him in challenge, "It's okay for you to do things I hate seeing you do, but the moment your little, baby sister does it, it's oh so bad." She finished mockingly, grinning viciously as his eyes seemed to flash with anger.

"You have no idea what the fuck you did." He said harshly, his tone and language combined making her flinch, while he looked at her like she was a child, "You used the Rasengan in front of Kumo genin whose Jonin Sensei is Killer B."

"So what!" She shouted, "You can beat Lee, but I can't beat some jerk who called me a bitch?!"

"We are being hunted for who we are!" Naruto shouted, switching to their personal language, "And you've painted a fucking target on your back after I shattered my bones and broke my body over and over again to protect us from everybody!"

"I didn't ask for it!" She screamed at him, her face starting to flush in anger, "I didn't ask you to be that for me! I didn't ask for you to protect me!"

"Orochimaru would have targeted you three if I wasn't ther-" He started saying, but she cut him off.

"You're doing it again," She accused, her teeth clenched, "You don't tell me anything. Why would he come after us? How did you know he was there? Just tell me!"

"I'm not going t-" She interrupted him again and stomped towards him.

She was tired of it all. Not telling her they were Jinchuriki for almost 5 years, his progress, anything he did on his own.

"I've had enough," She stood just a foot away from him, jabbing him in the chest with her fingers, "I'm tired of you keeping secrets from me, Naruto. You didn't tell me about the fox until I was eleven! And don't think Kakashi is the only one who knows about your little secret training in the woods and whatever you do with the tree on December."

Naruto's eyes widened at her proclamations, his face paling.

"H-how did you..." He tried to say, his voice trailing off.

"You're not as good at barrier Fuinjutsu as you think." She kept looking straight into his blue eyes, refusing to look away.

Whether Naruto really was annoyed, or was trying to divert the subject, he glared at her.

"You have no right to spy on me, Rin."

"Don't," She nearly snarled, refusing to let him manipulate her, "Change. The subject. Why are keeping secrets from me? Didn't we say no secrets?"

Again, Naruto tried to change the subject, but his eyes were avoiding hers now and his fingers were twitching.

He was nervous or ashamed.

"You kept a secret from me when you told Jiji about my dreams." He accused lightly.

...

She wanted to slap him. How dare he bring that up? That wasn't applicable at all.

"You didn't recognize me," She saw him twitch, his eyes still not looking at hers, "Look me in the eye, Uzumaki Naruto." She grabbed his hand, but he jerked it away. His eyes did look at hers though.

"Don't think I don't know why you're bringing it up, nii-san," She said that intentionally because she knew Sasuke called Itachi that constantly, "You're ashamed because you know you're wrong and don't want to own up to it."

Naruto turned away, pacing around as he was wringing his hands.

"I don't care what excuse you convinced yourself with, but you have to stop," Rin said fiercely, her eyes tracking Naruto as he seemed to try and wear a hole in the floor, "You are hurting me."

Naruto abruptly stopped, his head jerking towards her.

"I am protecting you."

Rin was almost ready to leave the apartment, she was that mad. She wasn't going to deal with this any longer.

"You are not protecting me, Naruto. You are protecting yourself. Are you so selfish that you would hurt me? Abandon me?" She asked, Naruto's reaction being so noticeable that she could've shut her eyes and seen it.

Whether it was the part about hurting her or abandoning her, Naruto started looking at the corners of the room, his breathing accelerating.

"Naruto." Rin said his name, "Tell me."

"You will die without me." Naruto walked towards her, the two just a foot away, "You will have the Kyuubi ripped out of you and you will die screaming if I didn't fucking fight Orochimaru." He didn't have to raise his voice to scare her, the venom in his tone was more than enough.

Rin flinched and backed away from him, horrified at what he said.

"What are you talking about?" She asked, breathing erratically at the fire that seemed to be dancing in her twin's eyes. It made him look almost manic.

Naruto started pacing and grabbing at his hair, groaning as he tried to steady his own breathing.

"You wanna hear it all?" He asked her strangely, sounding both scared and angry. "You wanna know why I'm always secretive and don't want you knowing everything?"

"Orochimaru was part of a group of S-rank criminals who plan on collecting all the Bijuu," He said, shaking visibly, "Whether they are sealed or not."

Rin was trying to make sense of what was just said, not believing it.

"He's lying." She said quietly, assuming Naruto was being paranoid again.

"Then why did Kakashi and the Hokage confirm that the Akatsuki exist?" Naruto raised a brow, his voice cutting deep.

Rin swallowed and found it harder to breathe, the room seeming to crush her.

"But why have you been doing this before now?" She asked, knowing Naruto couldn't have known about this group for the years he'd been training.

"They're number three on the list of enemies that want us dead," He said harshly, his grip on the picture frame tightening, "And you've tipped off another."

"Will you stop being elusive and just tell me?!" She demanded, stomping her foot, "I'm not a child!"

She saw his eyes flash to a violet colour, his chakra making his hair shift.

"Yes, you are."

"You're only 3 minutes older than me," She stomped towards him, glaring at him, "You think you're so high and mighty cause you're taller and a little older?" She jabbed his chest with her finger.

He grabbed her hand and leaned towards her, his face hard.

She tried to pull her hand away, but he wasn't letting go.

"I stopped being a child the day we were born," Naruto whispered, his eyes having a faraway look, "There is only one person who could understand how I feel, and it isn't Sasuke."

He loosened his grip and she pulled her hand away.

"I screamed when they took you away from me," He whispered, tears starting to form in his eyes, "Every second of that day was me screaming."

She had never been told in explicit detail what happened. Naruto had never been able to bring himself to tell her.

"That Genjutsu was worse because I already know what your eyes would look like if you died," He choked out, his fist clenching, "Your eyes are exactly like kaasan's."

She was silent as her brother was explaining probably the worst memory he'd ever experienced.

"Everything was death and screaming. The only light I knew was taken from me and I felt like I was burning on the inside when the Yin half was sealed in me."

He swallowed and spoke again, his eyes lowering.

"Kaasan loved us so much, and so did tousan." Her twin whispered, his fingers threading through his hair shakily.

He then looked up at her.

"The Akatsuki evidently want us because of the Kyuubi," He said, pressing his hand to her stomach, "While half the Shinobi villages want us dead because of this." He pulled his hand away and grabbed at his hair.

"But that doesn't even include our father." He whispered, wiping his eyes. He then went over to a chair and sat down, trying to calm down.

Whatever motivated Naruto to keep secrets, it was obviously hurting him to keep it in.

"I shouldn't have yelled," He said, looking ashamed, "But it's too much. The entire world is trying to crush me and I feel like I'm drowning. I wake up in a cold sweat at night, unable to breathe. I feel like I have glass in my lungs everytime I try to breathe, the taste of blood on my tongue."

She never knew that.

"I didn't know you had nightmares." She said quietly, seeing how isolated Naruto felt.

"They weren't an issue until we started sleeping in separate rooms," Naruto mumbled, wiping his nose with his sleeve, "Your chakra kept me rooted. It feels safe. Only a couple people are close enough to me to do that."

Rin walked to him and pulled him into a hug, feeling his body shudder as he relaxed the tenseness in his body.

"I'm sorry for yelling too," she whispered, knowing she shouldn't have lashed out, "And for not trusting that you meant well. But please, stop trying to keep secrets."

She gently grabbed ahold of his hand, interlocking their fingers.

"I love you, Naruto," She pressed herself against him, hearing his heartbeat thundering in his chest, "We've always been together, thirteen years. Don't think you have to be alone with this."

Naruto hugged her tighter, before kissing the top of her head.

"Okay," He mumbled, his fingers digging into her slightly as he held her tightly, "I'll tell you.

"You need to know," He continued quietly, sounding terrified, "It's why I freaked out."

She leaned away from him and looked into his bright blue eyes, the luster in them muted.

"Why?" She asked gently, knowing this was the reason he was terrified and paranoid about the future.

He stood up, the picture frame from Kakashi's still in his grip.

"You have blonde hair," He began, looking uncertain about continuing, "Are good at Fuinjutsu, you have a wind affinity, can use the Rasengan, and you have Hatake Kakashi as your Sensei. How would that sound to someone who has either fought or hates the Yondaime?"

Rin then saw Naruto's face tighten.

"Who does it sound like is our father?"

Rin connected the dots after a second and scoffed.

"They're idiots if they think he is our father." She said flatly, not finding it funny at all.

Namikaze being their father? A disgusting and cruel joke.

Naruto slowly closed his eyes and took a deep breath, the hand with the picture frame raising to eye level, his hand shaking.

"Look at it." His voice was barely a whisper.

She took it with no small amount of trepidation and flipped it around, tilting her head at it.

It was a picture of Kakashi's genin team, also called Team 7. She saw Kakashi, who had both eyes and looked bored, a boy who reminded her of a very cheerful Sasuke, and a brown haired girl who was smiling and had purple marks on her cheeks.

Nohara Rin.

"Obito was crushed by a rock when he and Kakashi went to save Rin," Naruto said quietly, the way he said Obito's name being strange, "Kakashi had just lost an eye, and Obito tore his own eye out and gave it to Kakashi, the eye being implanted by the teammate they rescued, Rin."

Her fingers ghosted over the face of the girl she shared a name with.

"She was later abducted by Kiri nin on a separate mission and they sealed the Sanbi in her, the seal an improper one so it would break out when she got back to Konoha. They wanted to kill thousands of people."

It would have been like what happened the day the Kyuubi was unleashed.

"Rin couldn't bear the thought of being the cause of thousands of innocent people dying," Naruto said sadly, looking almost lost, "So she begged Kakashi to kill her so the Sanbi would die as well."

Rin's eyes widened as she heard the reason why Kakashi supposedly killed her.

He always said it was an accident and wouldn't go into detail. Is he really a friend killer?

"He refused to, but she thought differently and jumped in front of him as he tried to fight their way out of an encirclement, a Chidori being driven through her heart."

Rin could almost imagine how painful it would have been. She saw what a Chidori did when it struck something, the only thing coming close was a Rasengan.

"She decided to die at the hands of someone she loved," Naruto went on, his voice almost sounding monotone, "To protect the Hidden Leaf."

Rin blinked tears out of her eyes, imagining how much it would break Naruto or Sasuke if she were killed.

But Naruto was the only one other than Kakashi that used the Chidori. She didn't want to imagine what he'd become if he accidentally killed her, remembering what he said about not surviving losing her.

She thought she heard Naruto mutter something about an imposter, but she couldn't tell.

"Look at Kakashi's Sensei." He requested, his tongue brushing over his lip as he seemed to prepare for something.

She looked down at the picture and saw the face of the man that she hated, the man who sentenced them to hell, made them outcasts.

The one that almost took her nii-san from her.

If he hadn't sealed the Kyuubi in them, Naruto wouldn't have been almost killed, he wouldn't have nightmares of choking on blood, he wouldn't be hurting himself to be strong enough to fight the whole world.

She could almost be fooled into thinking that Namikaze Minato was a good man, that charming smile and carefree look being more than just disarming.

But weren't she and Naruto called demons that hid behind false smiles? Yes, they were. Some adults even said it to them face to face, knowing nothing could be done because they could claim it was a figure of speech.

Their hero was the very thing that they accused the two of them of being.

Only a demon would seal something like the Kyuubi into two screaming newborns, one of them looking directly at him as it happened.

That frozen smile in the photograph, the light dancing in his blue eyes, it seemed to torture her by reminding her of all the things that made Naruto seem so cheerful and bright.

After several seconds, Naruto spoke.

"Rin," He said, "Please look at me."

She looked up at him, seeing her twin brother.

Red hair, whisker marks, and blue eyes.

"I'm going to put on a Henge to hide my whiskers," He said, putting his right hand up in a half seal, "And I'm going to Henge my hair to look like yours."

She watched intently as he let out a breath that seemed to fill the room. His whiskers disappeared, the skin now smooth and matching the colour of his face. His hair then shimmered and shifted to a golden blonde identical to hers.

He then opened his beautiful blue eyes.

"Look at the picture." He whispered.

Rin looked at Namikaze, then to Naruto.

She didn't know what the breaking sound was. Whether it was the framed photograph slipping from her fingers, or if it was a part of her soul, she didn't know.

The cracked glass didn't hide that smile from her. It didn't hide the hair that was the same as hers. It didn't hide the eyes.

They were staring straight into hers.

"No." She moaned, her voice almost non-existent.

Everything was blurring, the room out of focus. She was trying to gasp for air as she felt like she was choking.

It was a lie. A trick. He wasn't their father. Touchan loved them. Kaasan married a kind and good man, not a selfish and terrible one like the Yondaime.

"No." She mumbled louder, trying to stagger away from the lie in front of her. "Stop it. It's not funny. Stop."

It couldn't be. It's not true. It's impossible.

"He's not..." She tried to choke out, her tongue not seeming to work.

"He is." Naruto looked like he was made of glass from causing pain. "I'm so sorry."

Rin shook her head, this moment being a lie. Why was her brother hurting her? Why did he hate her? Why?

"Rin." Naruto reached out to her desperately, but she fell back and tried to crawl away.

"No," She started crying, backing away from the ghost that was haunting her, "I don't know you. You're not my oniichan." She started shaking and hugging herself.

It wasn't Naruto's blue eyes looking at her, it wasn't his face, it wasn't him.

It was him.

Naruto reached for her and held her as she started wailing, everything falling apart.

"I hate you!" She screamed, punching him with as much hatred as she could muster, "You lied to me!"

The memory of what Naruto said before he ran away years ago was replaying in her mind.

"You lied to me. You said no secrets. You said no secrets."

Naruto lied. He knew. He knew and he didn't tell her.

She kicked him away and punched Namikaze in the face.

"WHY!?" She screamed, seeing her hatred seem to reflect off those horrible and cruel blue eyes.

Naruto spat blood out of his mouth and didn't react at getting kicked or punched.

"I didn't want you burdened with it." He whispered, looking back at her with shame.

She punched him again, but he grabbed her hand and pulled her towards him.

She started screaming and began punching and elbowing him to try and force him to let go, but he wrapped his arms around her and pushed his legs between hers, locking her in place as he pushed her face down into the carpet.

"Let me go!" She screamed, her voice muffled by his body weight forcing her down, "Get off me!" She started shouting, trying to wriggle free.

She was crying in anger as she tried to break loose, but couldn't.

He was just like his father!

She growled and grabbed at her chakra with all the hatred she had for the village, her brother, and her father and screamed.

She felt and saw a red chakra halo form around her, Naruto groaning in pain.

She felt her teeth elongate and she bit Naruto's arm, trying to make him let go.

Naruto growled back at her and his own chakra flared, her whole back feeling like she was being electrocuted.

"I'm not letting you go," He snarled in her ear, his grip tightening to the point of it hurting her, "I'm not letting you run like I did."

She heard her own voice, a high pitched and childish version.

Would you still love me if I kept a secret from you?

Rin was breathing heavily and couldn't move anymore, but her rage wasn't getting any lower.

"Do I have to put a seal or twenty on you?" Naruto demanded, "I will close your seal off and drop you at the Tower and you can talk to the Hokage about why you had a temper tantrum like a toddler that didn't get a cookie."

Rin knew he wasn't lying about putting a dozen seals on her to basically tie her up.

"I hate you." she growled, spitting out the blood she drew when she bit him.

"I love you too." He said, slowly lifting his left hand off her head, his grip on her arms and legs loosening.

She tried to get away, but he clamped back down, smashing her into the ground, causing her to whimper.

He rifled through his pockets and pulled out a tag, pulling up her shirt and pressing it onto her stomach.

She felt her chakra fly out of her control and most of the strength she got from the Kyuubi's chakra left her, leaving her at Naruto's mercy.

He didn't stop there and pressed his hand against both her arms, concentrating lightning chakra in his fingers as he jabbed her.

Rin bit down a curse as her arms jerked involuntarily.

"I hate you." She growled, her arms going numb for a few seconds from the lightning.

His breath was right next her ear, the sound faint.

"I love you too." He repeated himself, using another tag to stick her arms together.

He then got off her and lifted her up gently, carrying her slowly to the couch. He set her down with a practiced ease and shifted her to face the chair, which he sat down in.

"You ready to talk without biting me?" He asked, lifting his arm up to show that she bit pretty deep.

"I hate all of you." She bared her teeth, "Everyone who knows. You, Kakashi, Jiji. You all lied to me."

Kakashi had to have known. It was his sensei after all.

Her brother slowly forced his breathing to calm down, his hands clenched at his sides.

"I told the two of them that I would be the one to tell you," Naruto sighed, looking at the bite mark, "This might have hurt, but Orochimaru's was worse."

"Why didn't you tell me?" She refused to accept any excuse, "I had a right to know."

"I didn't tell you because I knew it would hurt for you to know." Naruto said, the statement predictably angering her.

"And it wouldn't later?" She bit out, seeing her traitorous brother pinch the bridge of his nose.

"I was already trying to come to terms with everything, alright?" He said, frowning at her, "You try watching your parents die in front of you. You're not a damn sensor. No words can describe what it feels like to sense your mother die and your father's soul get dragged into a bottomless pit devoid of anything."

Rin just shook her head, refusing to give their father sympathy.

"Do you love me?" Naruto asked abruptly, sounding completely serious.

Rin really wanted to say no, but she knew she'd be lying because she was hurting right now.

She sighed and nodded her head.

"Yes." She whispered, not looking at him.

"I would have done the exact same thing as tousan did."

Her head jerked up and she glared at him, daring him to say it again.

"Kaasan was going to die no matter what," Naruto said flatly, "The only reason she lived as long as she did was because an Uzumaki can survive after a Bijuu is removed for a short time. If it was ripped out of her weeks afterwards, she could have survived having it resealed. But she was already fatigued from giving birth to us." He gestured to the two of them, sounding almost monotone.

"How can you be so clinical about it?" Rin asked, disgusted by how detached he sounded, "Do you even care about her?"

She realized that was a bad thing to say by Naruto's reaction. His chakra and presence felt hostile and her breath hitched.

"Don't you ever accuse me of not caring, Uzumaki Rin," Her brother snarled, his eyes flashing violet in his anger, "You never felt her chakra before you ever saw the light of day, you never heard her voice, you didn't hear her tell you to be a good child and for us to love and look out for each other, you didn't hear tousan beg me to protect you because he couldn't. You felt nothing as they died, you were busy screaming and shitting all over yourself!" Naruto was starting to cry at the end.

Her brother was starting to scare her. What changed? He never acted this way, not even after he lost control of the Kyuubi's chakra and executed the Iwa nin brutally.

She thought she heard an echo of a voice, almost sounding like a hiss and a light burning feeling creeping up her neck.

Naruto seemed to relax completely seconds later, his breathing less erratic. His chakra then seemed to stop feeling so predatory.

"I wanted you to not know until you were older," He said quietly, "It broke Sasuke to see his clan and family killed, something in Kakashi died when his father killed himself."

"And something broke in me when I saw them die." He sat down, his eyes foggy.

Naruto then scooted the chair forward some.

"Tousan loved us more than anything," He kept going, "He put chakra in our seals in case either of our seals started to break. Orochimaru's mark would have probably broken my seal and unleashed the Yin half if Tousan didn't fix it." He swallowed and looked towards her, standing up and carrying the chair to sit next to her.

Was he that close to dying? Rin wondered fearfully, squishing it down.

"I talked to him," Naruto said quietly, "The chakra is like a Kage bunshin, manifesting as him in our mindscapes."

Rin, despite wanting to still keep hating, was slowly calming down and was paying close attention to her brother.

"I yelled at him," Naruto winced, looking ashamed, "I blamed him for everything. Jiji getting old, Kakashi being broken, us being made Jinchuriki, the hatred of the villagers, Hinata almost being abducted. I laid every hardship at his feet. And you know what he did?" He asked.

Rin shook her head.

"He cried."

Rin blinked, tilting her head in surprise.

"I made Namikaze Minato, one of the strongest men in history, cry. I broke him with just words. I confirmed every fear he ever held. A prodigy that saved his soulmate from Kumo nin when he was twelve, but wasn't fast enough to save her from being killed by the Kyuubi. He was the fastest and smartest of his generation, but he couldn't save his students."

With every word said, their father started to sound more and more like Naruto.

"What good is it being the fastest if you're never fast enough to save those that matter?"

Rin lowered her head in shame, realizing she was a terrible sister for forcing a confrontation and an even worse daughter for hating him.

"Why didn't Kakashi or Jiji help us?" She asked, swallowing the lump in her throat.

"Kakashi was only a year older than we are now at the time," Naruto replied, his tone a sad one, "I wouldn't be able to take care of two newborns that were a living reminder of what I'd lost. Kakashi was still borderline trying to kill himself in combat up until he started training me."

He then explained Jiji.

"Iwa and Kumo would have started the war again if it was discovered that the Yellow Flash had twins that were Jinchuriki and had an Uzumaki mother," He said, "Not to mention being descendants of the Uzukage." He added.

"Any children, especially a blonde one, that got massive amounts of attention would cause scrutiny that could have gotten us killed."

Everyone wanted to kill them, either because of them being Uzumaki, or now because of who their father was.

"Why did he seal the Kyuubi in us?" She asked, needing to know this above all else.

"He barely defeated the person who opened up kaasan's seal," Naruto replied, "He almost lost and he knew that the village would be too vulnerable if it lost its Jinchuriki."

"How could he almost lose?" It seemed too out there for the Yondaime to almost lose, being one of the strongest alive.

Naruto explained the entire conversation he had with their father, including the stuff on the Hiraishin. He then went on to talk about what he kept secret from her, specifically the threats that they faced.

"So the three groups that want us dead," Rin said quietly, trying to think things through, "Are the Akatsuki, because we're Jinchuriki, half of the villages because we're Uzumaki, and Iwa because of tousan."

Naruto nodded.

"A mess, isn't it?" Naruto looked grim.

No wonder he was so secretive about it. Constant training to prepare for several different parties out to kill them and diverting of touchy subjects because she might figure something out made sense.

But it didn't excuse it.

Rin sighed and sank into the couch.

"Can you take the tags off me?" She asked sadly, squirming some.

The tag on her stomach was starting to tickle and she didn't like it.

"Yeah," her brother nodded, scooting towards her, "I'll do that now."

He leaned over her and pulsed his chakra into the tag that restrained her arms, setting them free.

"Now hold still," his hands ghosted over her stomach, "I don't want to accidentally shock you."

Rin pulled up her shirt some to reveal her stomach, the seal visible from the suppression tag on it.

She shivered from his hands being cold as he touched her, and the small pulse of chakra to deactivate the tag ended up making her squeak from the feeling.

"Sorry." He said, pulling the tag off of her, before tossing to the side.

Rin lowered her shirt and shifted away from Naruto, not looking at him.

"I'm sorry for hurting you," Rin eventually said, hating herself for getting angry at him, "I shouldn't have gotten angry."

"No," Naruto replied, "I lied and kept a secret from you. Don't be sorry for being angry. You shouldn't have bit me." He agreed on the last part. "But you never deserved to be left in the dark."

They were quiet for a few minutes, not saying anything at all.

Rin took a deep breath and turned to face her brother, trying to muster up the courage to ask.

"What's he like?" She finally asked, forcing herself to make eye contact.

Naruto smiled softly and sagged in relief.

The next couple hours was him explaining what their father was like, how he and kaasan met, what he loved to do, his small mannerisms that she did as well, like the furrowing of her brows when she was focusing on painting a seal.

When he got to the part about their grandfather being a pervert, she started giggling.

"You sure you're not like him?" She laughed, seeing Naruto roll his eyes.

"Yeah, yeah, laugh it up," He laughed sarcastically, "You should have seen tousan's face when I told him about when I ended up in the hot springs."

"You didn't give context, did you?" She deadpanned, knowing her twin's idea of a joke.

"Nope." He grinned, looking pleased with himself.

"Actually," He said suddenly, "If you want, you can do a joke like that on him and say your favourite book is Jiraiya's, and don't give any detail on what book it is."

Rin almost collapsed in a fit of laughter, the image being ridiculous.

"The Tale of the Gutsy Shinobi?" She asked, laughing harder when Naruto nodded.

"Touchan, I like Jiraiya-sama's book! I want to be just like the princess when I grow up!"

She knew another book by Jiraiya had a princess in it, but she most definitely did not want to be like that princess judging by how Kakashi would blush and giggle as he read that particular book.

Naruto was snickering and his eyes were watering from keeping it together.

"He would murder Jiraiya," Naruto said seriously, a smirk cracking his visage, "I'm serious. He'd come back from the grave and murder Jiraiya for corrupting his baby girl."

The two held each other as they laughed at the imagery, the anger and screaming a distant memory.

After some time, Naruto coughed and cleared his throat, wiping his eyes.

"I need to take the picture back," He said, pointing at the broken frame, "I'll need to get a new frame though."

Rin grimaced at the reminder that she broke it, knowing it was important to Kakashi.

Naruto stood up and made a hand seal, a bunshin puffing into existence.

"Buy a new frame just like it and put it in there." Naruto commanded it, the bunshin doing so. It picked up the frame and left the apartment, the door closing behind it.

Naruto sat back down next to her, but the growling of her stomach stopped him from saying something.

Rin felt her face redden in embarrassment, but Naruto just snorted.

"You want ramen?" He asked, reaching into his pocket to pull out the scroll that had his money in it.

Rin nodded her head, smiling at the idea of some ramen.

Naruto fished out some money and stood up, pocketing the scroll.

"Okay then," He reached out his hand, "Ready to go on an adventure?"

Rin took his hand and stood up from the couch, smiling at her twin.

"I love you, Naruto."

He leaned forward and planted a kiss on her forehead, pulling her close.

The fact that she had not been told who their father was hurt, but she understood why Naruto didn't want her to know for some time. It hurt him to tell her, almost as much as it hurt her to know.

"I know." He whispered, breaking away from her and walking towards the door, the two heading to Ichiraku's.

---

Almost like Deja Vu, I was drinking to numb the guilt I felt, the only difference being that I was walking the street now instead of being in my apartment.

I didn't want to feel Rin's chakra and I didn't want to try and fall asleep, only to wake up, choking on air as remembered my head getting cut off and that snake's voice in my ear.

I hated myself for letting it get to this point. I should've been more forthcoming.

It was so much worse than I imagined when I told Rin all the secrets I could give, save for a couple I prayed never saw the light of day.

My knowledge, and everything pertaining to it, and Orochimaru taking my head off.

I choose you.

With supreme force of will, I stopped the urge to start looking around to check the shadows, the stupid things at least not whispering anymore.

It wasn't as bad after a few days and a healthy distance from the Forest of Death, but the memory of being so totally helpless and at the mercy of a monster made every part of my sense of Self recoil in both fear and self-hatred at that fear.

Rin had been hurt deeply by me keeping so many secrets. She hid it well, but I know it hurt her after I told her so much.

But what else do you expect from an older brother in this world? Itachi hurt Sasuke, even if what he did was worse.

I wonder if I would've done worse if the curse mark stayed and started rotting my mind. Would I have tortured her in a twisted attempt to prepare her for what was on the horizon, just like Itachi?

Her face appeared in my mind, violet eyes wide in shock as she coughed up blood.

"You promised. We promised."

I took another gulp of alcohol, trying to dull my senses. Maybe I could make myself blackout. This was definitely better whiskey I'd stolen and I didn't want to visualize myself hurting her after what happened.

Orochimaru already made me antsy about that, especially when I broke Hinata's arm.

Spotting an alley cat as I started to walk a little more unsteadily, I made a half seal to shoot a water senbon near it to spook it.

I ended up botching it by hiccuping and causing water to spray out of my mouth, covering me completely.

"Fucking fuck fuck." I hissed under my breath, knowing there was supposed to be a noise threshold you weren't supposed to cross, double that for Shinobi.

I started trying to clean myself off and heard a faint chuckle from my right, causing me to turn.

An old man, a cane in his hand, was leaning against the wall, looking amused by what just happened.

"Having fun?" He asked, his weight shifted towards the cane. "Eloquent choice of expression."

He looked like he was in his sixties, probably around Hiruzen's age, and had shoulder length white hair. His clothing was rather boring, looking like your average civilian.

"Mind your business." I scoffed, ignoring him after that and taking another drink.

I took my eye off him for maybe two seconds, but it was enough for him to move to be in front of me, a disappointed look on his face.

"You're far too young to be drinking, boy." He scolded me, reaching for the bottle.

Without thinking, I forced chakra through my fingers and pointed a chakra blade at his face, my vision a bit funky.

"Don't." I warned, the blade looking discoloured. "I'm not in the mood to listen to a lecture from some shriveled old prune."

I lowered my hand, expecting him to walk away from me after threatening him.

He didn't.

"My point stands. You're what, twelve or thirteen?"

"Thirteen and a half." I muttered petulantly, trying to keep myself steady as the world wanted to shift a bit. "If you're one of those kinds of people, I'd fuck off right now if I were you before they find you hanging from a tree."

The man scoffed, looking unimpressed.

"A boy." He remarked, peering at me with a typical stern look from an elder. "And I've killed plenty of those creatures as well. But my point still stands."

I scoffed. "You see this," I pointed at my Hitai-ate, silently thanking myself for putting it on as a habit, "This piece of steel means I'm an adult to Konoha. I can drink, smoke, own property, and pick and choose whatever willing female at the brothel I want."

That last part was just for shock value. I wouldn't hire a hooker for company, and any that would be willing to have me at my age was something to steer far away from. I had more important stuff to spend money on, like paper and ink for explosives.

"Yes, and I also had one." The old man shook his head, "But being a trained killer doesn't mean you should drink, especially a Jinchuriki."

That last part had me on guard. I looked at him appraisingly, suddenly realizing that I could hardly read his chakra.

His fingers then shifted into an ANBU code sign meaning 'Hello'.

I rolled my eyes as I kept walking.

"Just my luck that I come across a retired spook." I shook my head irritably. "I don't need your breed around me right now."

Basically the crayon eaters of this world, the ANBU were. A great deal of ANBU were sub-bricks outside of conflict situations, but that isn't surprising when the majority were orphans... most growing up with substandard funding from the conflicts raging necessitating the different allocation of funds to war.

Who would've thought subpar care resulted in emotionally stunted children that were thrown into the threshing machine of war, breaking them further?

Kakashi had no idea what to even say when I called him a crayon eater after he told me stuff about the ANBU.

God, my mind's in a dark place. I thought grimly, still eying the old man.

All I did was blink. One moment, the bottle was in my hand, the next, it was in the old man's.

"What the..." My eyes widened, shock overwhelming me.

The old man sniffed it, snorting derisively.

"Lightweight." He looked directly into my eyes in challenge and straight up chugged the entire thing, gulping it all down.

I stole that damned alcohol, and it was expensive.

The shock and awe at this old fart just doing that made my mind reboot.

"You going to keep gaping like a fool, or are you going to break the Genjutsu I put on you?" He asked politely.

At the word Genjutsu, I flexed my chakra violently, my vision cracking and my vision corrected slightly.

This man just put a Genjutsu on me, without me even realizing it.

"Game's over, old man," I readied a chakra blade, pointing it at his throat, "Tell me why you're here or I'm going to strangle you with your own colon." I spiked my Killing Intent at the end.

The old man shrugged and flipped the empty bottle in the air, swinging his cane like a bat and smacking the bottle down the alleyway, the sound of glass breaking and the yowling of a cat being heard.

"Bullseye," He laughed, twirling his cane in a familiar pattern, "Still got it."

He then turned to me, glancing at the blade still pointed at him.

"I was asked to babysit a brooding gaki as a favour," He said casually, "Not my idea of a beautiful evening."

Of course Hiruzen would be tailing me.

"Does the Sandaime spy on me?" I asked, suddenly feeling disconcerted by the thought.

That was when a memory hit me, something I hadn't thought of in years.

The orb.

"Goddamn anime palantir." I muttered in English, secretly horrified at the realization that I might have never had true privacy in training.

The old ANBU looked at me intently, letting out a snort.

"If you would kindly stop speaking gibberish, I can go back home without feeling guilty about leaving a special child on its own." He tapped his cane against the ground.

I didn't dignify that with a response, simply turning and walking away, mindful of my steps as the alcohol hit me.

The clack of a cane had me turning my head and glaring at the man walking next to me.

"I'm walking you back home," He said firmly, brokering no nonsense, "You're swaying."

"I'll be fine in a half hour." I muttered, keeping my eyes forward.

"What has you so obstinate about this?" The old ANBU asked, still matching my place as I headed home, "It's unnatural for a boy to seek the comfort of the bottle."

Better to drink instead of the nightmares that kept me awake.

"The village we live in is unnatural," I scoffed, my sandals scuffing against the ground, "Nature is cruel and brutal, but we impose our will on nature itself, bending it to our will. We civilize it."

"Drunk philosophy, huh?" The man grunted amusedly, "Haven't heard that since the Second War."

"I don't care." I kept looking ahead, knowing Hiruzen probably picked this guy for a reason.

Neither of us spoke for a few minutes as we walked. I definitely wasn't going to bring anything up.

Just as I suspected, my chaperone started talking.

"There's four main coping measures a Shinobi takes when they have experienced horrific events," He kept his eyes ahead, seeming to navigate without any thought. I could tell he was a sensor when his head twitched in the direction of a small flare of chakra, probably from a genin training some type of jutsu in their room.

"Family," The man broke through my thoughts, "Faith, Fraternity, and Fermentation." He looked at me distastefully at the last word.

Such a cutesy way to describe coping mechanisms for broken people.

"Well," I decided to humour him, "My family is mostly dead, there's no temple here for my god, my close friends don't understand me... and you drunk my alcohol."

I couldn't talk with Rin about this because her being hurt by me is what caused me to walk on my lonesome. Fat chance I'd ever find a church in this universe. Sasuke already saw me when I was in the forest, the feeling unpleasant, but I couldn't let him know the truth.

Even if it took me longer to compartmentalize what happened on my own, I'd rather do that instead of burdening them.

The man snorted, smacking my leg lightly with his cane.

"You're family isn't dead yet," He remarked, "Your clan lives on through you and your sister."

At my raised brow, he laughed quietly.

"I knew your clan," He said, glancing at my head, "I fought in that region during the Second War and your name stands out, not to mention that mane of yours."

Is that why Hiruzen asked this guy to watch me tonight?

"Yes," He abruptly stated, seeming to read my thoughts, "There's a reason I'm the one speaking to you."

I kept thinking of what good it was. It didn't matter to me. I needed space, not a sympathetic ear.

"Give me your sagely advice," I relented, stifling the urge to scowl, "And let me walk home afterwards."

The ANBU grunted an affirmative, smacking a pebble with his cane.

"I'm not clairvoyant, but you underwent recent trauma."

I looked at him skeptically, still not knowing who he was.

The old man sighed. "Combat Iryo-nin that served as an impromptu shrink when needed. I had a way with people. And some skill in Genjutsu." He added absent-mindedly.

He could obviously tell he wasn't welcome still, so he got to the point.

"A retiree gets selected to babysit because all the other ANBU are occupied running security. That only happens when we've been infiltrated. The only individuals I can think of that have the interior knowledge of Konoha and skills are Uchiha Itachi and Orochimaru."

I wasn't able to hide my reaction to Orochimaru's name, my body betraying me.

"Ah," He smiled pleasantly, tapping his fingers against his cane handle, "So it's Orochimaru who has snuck into the village. A pity, I hoped I was going senile."

Whoever the bastard was, he manipulated me on purpose to get information he wasn't privy to.

"I can assume all the commotion during the first round of exams involved you encountering Konoha's wayward child, or at least one of them?" He asked me, suddenly sounding rather melancholic.

I slowly nodded my head, nearly halfway back home.

"Terrifying." I said truthfully, slowly closing my eyes as I remembered it.

A Genjutsu user and somebody who fought in a war made a little bit more sense, but I would've preferred Kakashi.

"You don't have to speak," He seemed to point out, "I just know that it might help."

To be fair, this guy didn't deserve ridicule and only responded sarcastically after I started it.

Why did I even give him a rash of shit?

"I," I paused, looking up at the stars as we walked, "I can talk a bit."

I gave vague details, but did share the Genjutsu aspect and my hatred for illusions.

"I can't even think of pleasant memories of me being in the woods without..." My fingers brushed against my neck, remembering the feeling of cold steel passing clean through my spine like nothing.

The ANBU listened quietly, an expression of sympathy on his face.

"Are any of your friends aware of how it effected you?" He asked kindly, the two of us finally reaching my apartment.

I shook my head.

"They don't deserve to have that on their minds," I mumbled, fishing out the key to the front door, "And I don't want my sister worrying."

"Uzumaki Naruto," The man said my name softly, his tone exceedingly quiet and kind, "Do not forsake your only family when you need them."

I backed away from him, suddenly uncomfortable with the tenderness.

This man must know me more than he's admitting. Kakashi? Hiruzen?

"When the walls come tumbling down, when you lose everything you have," He continued to smile, but it now held a deep sadness to it, "you always have family."

I closed my eyes and felt Rin's chakra signature blazing like a beacon from her room, the brightness meaning she was still awake.

I'm going to hug her and tell her how much I love her. I promised myself, looking at the old man in front of me.

"Thank you for... staying with me." I managed to say, almost certain it was Hiruzen or Kakashi in front of me under disguise. "Tomorrow will be here soon enough, and there is much to do."

I was going to start training to fight Gaara, and it was going to be rough.

"I hope you have a wonderful night, Uzumaki," The ANBU turned to leave, "And good luck with the finals." He then disappeared in a puff of smoke, meaning I was talking to a clone the whole time.

Yep... Kakashi.

I unlocked the door and walked straight towards Rin's room, not even knocking as I opened it.

"Narut-" She started to say, looking a bit vexed by me barging in.

I ignored her and scooped her up into my arms, hearing her squeak in surprise as I held on to her.

"I'm sorry for hurting you," I whispered in her ear, "I'll always love you."

It didn't matter how much I was struggling right now. Rin would set my priorities straight, no matter how many times I fell.

My little sister melted into my embrace and held me tight as well.

"I love you too, Naruto." She mumbled into my shoulder.

We just held each other for some time, not caring about anything in that moment.

I will never stop loving you.

---

Itachi POV:

An unscheduled meeting was called by Pein, about which he did not know.

The last several years had not been pleasant, to put it mildly. He was reviled and hated by the village he loved and the brother he would have fought a one man war for, a brother he hadn't seen in years.

He opened his eyes and he saw multiple astral forms of the other Akatsuki members, each one looking just as surprised at being called.

"Why was a meeting called for all of us?" Kakuzu asked, sounding aggravated.

"The better question is why you sound like you got your panties in a twist." Hidan laughed.

"Don't think I won't rip your head off, idiot."

"Fucking heretic." Hidan responded, "And have fun stitching my head back on when you're told to."

"Why were we summoned?" Sasori asked with a degree of deference, ignoring the two immortals arguing.

All of them turned to Pein, who hadn't spoken yet.

The supposed leader of the Akatsuki started speaking when he had their complete attention.

"An unforseen stroke of good fortune has made itself known in Konoha," Pein began, looking at all of them, "The Ichibi, the Nibi, the Hachibi, and Kyuubi Jinchurikis are all there for the Chunin exams occurring."

You could hear a pen drop from how quiet it was.

"Why would there be that many there?" Itachi asked, his mind running through possible scenarios, "This is unusual for the Raikage to send both Jinchuriki, including his brother, to Konoha for something as simple as a few genin competing."

Itachi kept thinking of reasons for doing that, but each theory was unlikely at best.

It would be easier to send several Jonin as chaperones to have a show of force instead of both Jinchuriki. Arrogance? Unlikely. The Raikage values his brother more than his ego.

"Is a reason known for why Kumo sent both?" Itachi asked, trying to scope out any information.

He didn't usually ask this number of questions, but it could be explained away by it being the village he came from being the object of interest.

"No," Pein shook his head, "It was unexpected, but not undesired."

Pein looked straight at him, the purple ringed eyes boring into his.

"A possible solution would be to attack the village with all of you partaking," Pein didn't take his eyes off of him, "But the odds would be difficult to determine. Orochimaru has been detected in the village, possibly planning an attack of his own."

Itachi showed no outward emotion, but his thoughts were racing.

Orochimaru had an interest in the Uchiha clan's dojutsu, and only one Uchiha was in Konoha.

"Too many variables to account for," Sasori said in a gravelly voice, "The slippery bastard would be difficult enough to counter when he doesn't want to be cornered, and that doesn't even include the security around the village in preparation for the exams."

"Indeed," Pein intoned, keeping his gaze on Itachi, "With the likelihood of Orochimaru planning an attack, a possible window to capture a Jinchuriki is open to us. The disappearance of one can be explained by a catastrophic surprise attack by an S-rank nin that wished to harm Konoha's reputation."

The Akatsuki was still laying low for now, not targeting the Bijuu actively, but an opening such as this will never happen again. Orochimaru may have unintentionally given the organization he betrayed an opportunity to get a Bijuu.

"Out of all of you present, only one has experience in infiltrating a village with the Hyuga clan acting as security."

All eyes turned to Itachi.

Itachi dreaded what was about to be said, but he kept an impassive expression.

Of course the belief that he killed his clan singlehandedly at 13 would cause even more problems than he could think of on a bad day.

"Itachi," Pein addressed him, "You will scout the village with Kisame, and if an opportunity arises where you can capture one of the Jinchuriki and escape without it being known, you shall do so."

Itachi nodded his understanding, blinking slowly.

"I shall do as I am commanded." He replied, turning to his partner, Kisame.

"If Orochimaru is in a position of weakness," Pain continued, "kill him. He is a potential impediment to our goals." Pein then turned to look at Kisame, "Itachi will have overall command for this operation. You will follow everything he says. You are to make your way there today."

Pein added one more thing.

"Being covert is of paramount importance. Do not attempt to take one if you cannot avoid being identified. Preferably, have it appear that Konoha was responsible."

Kisame shrugged his shoulders. "I'm not complaining. I've always wanted to see Konoha up close."

Pein glanced towards the other members.

"A meeting will occur at the conclusion of the exams to see if Itachi and Kisame are successful with their mission. This meeting is now over." The connection then ended, the world reverting back to its normal state.

Itachi turned to Kisame, the taller man displaying a wide grin that would frighten some people.

"So," Kisame said, looking rather upbeat, "Looking forward to seeing Konoha again?"

Itachi didn't make any physical expressions, only flicking his eyes towards Kisame's.

"It is simply another mission, nothing more."

Kisame huffed and shifted Samehada around, smiling softly as his hand caressed the handle of his sword.

"I really hope I get to see what truly made you into such a dangerous Shinobi. Your former village always has made some of the strongest Shinobi while being so much softer than the rest."

Itachi didn't reply to him and simply turned towards the south, an excellent path for them to take for a quick journey to Konoha on foot.

"Come," Itachi said, pushing chakra into his legs, "We mustn't delay."

Kisame saw he wasn't feeling talkative, even less than he usually was, and prepared to match his pace.

The two disappeared in a blur of red and black, making haste towards Konohagakure.

---

End Chapter:

Bow before me, mortals! Gaze upon the Majesty of a Shatterpoint caused by LARPing. This is a lesson to all you nerds (Ignore my hypocrisy, thank you very much) playing dress up: You will be hunted by S-rank terrorists as a punishment if you do it.

I'm just dicking around. This chapter was fun to write, even with the emotional rollercoaster that was involved with writing Rin's perspective about learning about Minato being her dad.

But the finals will be longer, and almost all the fights are different. Naruto gets to taste the delicious elixir known as Youth!

As an added bonus, I'll let you in on a secret: The servant of the Secret Fire, wielder of the Flame of Lechers, the Gallant Jiraiya the White shall make his grand and beautiful appearance next chapter. And by God, I'm going to have a fucking blast writing him and Naruto interact, they'll be like gasoline and fire.

Anyway, here's your chapter, you mangy sea rats. Have a fantastic day!

Raging..