A fine night breeze swayed the branches of the trees, making a pleasant noise that signaled the slow change of seasons. In one of the isolated cabins near the Sarutobi clan, Jiraiya was drinking sake while flipping through one of the magazines for his research as he relaxed after a busy day with the elders of Konoha, information analysis in IT...

He didn't like to spend a lot of time in boring meetings despite his sensei's insistence. If it were up to him, he would have long ago returned to his journey among nations, digging up information and working on one of his new novellas in his series.

All of this just gave me an uneasy feeling, knowing that something was bound to go wrong, and his gut never let him down. He just couldn't put his finger on what exacly. Jiraiya sensed the presence of a very familiar spark of chakra, much weaker than usual but very familiar. "Come in Kakashi, drink some sake with me," Jiraya called him with his singing voice, after which Kakashi appeared in the room with his ninja speed and knelt down next to Jiraiya at the table, while Jiraiya poured him a glass of sake.

Sage scanned the almost grown man, the teenager and his condition. Part of his face was visible, zou can clearly see dark circles under his uncovered eye, which he assumed were mostly the result of his frequent nightmares and probably recent mission. His body was stiffer than usual due to the injuries he sustained on the mission with his ambu team. According to his chakra level he was probably chakra exhausted again, and had probably recently recovered enough to move around. The injuries must have been serious since Kakashi wasn't wearing his typical jonin uniform but only a black sleeved shirt, black ninja pants with a bag full of ninja weapons.

,, When did you return, master Jiraiya." Kakashi asked in his usual monotone voice with traces of fatigue, taking a glass of sake in hand, trying to ignore his gaze that was scanning him. No matter how tired he was, Kakashi still covered his face with a genjitsu or drank it incredibly fast, which almost always drove the others crazy. "A few days ago. Although I would forever be out there gathering material for my research if it weren't for one specific red kunoichi." Nothing more needed to be said. Kakashi never questioned Jiraiya or the Hokage's decisions. After all finding one of the Uzumaki clan was no small matter. Kakashi remembers Minato and Kushina's stories well, how there were several kidnapping attempts, and since no one except a few knew that she was a jinchuriki, the reason was her Uzumaki bloodline.

"Is there a specific problem?" Kakashi asked him. Considering he was out of the village for a little over a month and came back in a semi-unconscious state, and was in a coma for two days until his chakra recovered enough, there was a lot that didn't reach his ears. After all, Gai would surely hunt him down in the next few days to challenge him to one of his ridiculous challenges in the name of their rivalry and would probably fill him in what happened while he was away. He also had full access to most information, so he could find what he needed without his green friend and his sandy-voiced positivity, which would spare his sensitive ears from torture. Although he didn't want to admit it, he would need at least two to three more days for his chakra to recover back and his tired mind to return to full function.

He also owed his pack a big reward after a mission like that, and he himself could use some quality time with his ninken. He would have liked to rest in the crowd with his pack tonight, they were the closest to family that Kakashi had left. Although he respected Jiraiya as a ninja, a friend and his sensei's teacher, they weren't that close. The only reason why the sannin kept an eye on him and sympathized with the young jonin was the loss of Minato, who was the closest thing the old man had to his son, and his respect for Sakumo.

The old sage took a deep breath and exhale, putting his inappropriate magazine on the table next to the sake bottle. On the face of the elderly man, you could clearly see the stress that had accumulated over the past couple of days, and probably a few more were expected of him. "The Elders and the Hokage have decided to send the red brat to the chunuh exam in Kusagakure." It was clear from his voice that the sannin wasn't particularly fond of Maxi, but he didn't hold much against her as he allowed himself to be worked up about her. Although Kakashi knew that was certainly not all.

He saw her fighting style firsthand, which was unlike anything he had seen before. Even considering that she had not mastered a higher jutsu from C-rank, she was still more than capable of surviving and maybe even making it to the finals of the exam. After all, she managed to fight against four chunin who tried to kill her only with the help of their taijutsu, in unfamiliar territory, with disadvantages and during her friendly testing with Genma she managed to incapacitate him. On the other hand Genma was unarmed, she had a time advantage and the jonin greatly underestimated her due to her no chakra usage. But she still showed a solid head on her shoulders despite her rashness.

,, But... Danzo and the other nations rebelled against the unfairly assigned ninja rank. By doing so, they want to test how capable the girl really is by taking her Uzumaki origin. In the third round, she will fight three jonin from different nations."

This frozen Kakashi for a second. The request made by the nations and Danzo were absurd in the Maxi case. It was only a little over a month ago that she unlocked her chakra and she barely managed to last in sparring with Genma who goes easy on her with it. Here, on the other hand, we were talking about jonin who would not hesitate for a second to kill her on the spot during the fight.

This was obviously very suspicious. No one in the other nations could have known that Konohagakure had gained another Uzumaki and their ranks, this quickly. Also she was nor neither a combat ninja, nor an assassin, nor an infuation specialist... She told him directly, and also a few in the Kage Tower that she specialized in teaching not direct combat. It was obvious someone had sold the information to other nations behind their backs as soon as they found out this quickly. And Danzo probably approved of all of this and convinced the other Elders that this was a good idea so he could see the Uzumaki's power firsthand and if it turned out to be useful for his purposes, try to capture her.

There was no one powerful enough to stand behind her to protect her from his greedy planning. Kushina and Naruto have/had jinchuriki status. Also, Kushina was a very powerful kunoichi, and if something happened to her, then the still persistent Uzushiogakure would react instantly. And after the fall of her clan, she already had Uchiha, Sarutobi, Inuzaka, and a couple of other clans to stand up from her, as well as Minato, who became a hero under the name Yellow flash of Konoha. For Naruto, those who knew who his parents were had agreed not to initiate any contact with him in exchange for Danzo not doing the same, and was constantly monitored by anbu.

,, The Sandaime-sama would surely not allow such an absurd thing. The exam is in less than three months, she doesn't have enough time to prepare to fight against jonin. She doesn't even have a team." But Sage's disappointing look and lack of response was more than enough to prove the point. Then Jeiraiya began to explain what happened a few days ago, or rather what he missed while he was in a two-day coma.

Flashback

The Sandaime and the toad sanin looked at Maxi who seemed to be looking through them as if they had told some confusing news, but a few seconds later her body started shaking and then she burst into very loud hysterical laughter, as if she heard the funniest thing of the century. Even a small tears started to form and go down her cheeks as she hold her stomach. It would be an understatement to say that Hiruzen and Jaraiya were shocked by her reaction as the red haired girl tried to calm her laughter by wiping the tears from her face.

,, This is not a joke Maxi-san. The other nations have rebelled about this and are demanding that you take the chunin exam, by your own will or force." Hiruzen tried to reason with her, and therefore demanded that she pay attention to the situation and try to see it seriously. After she calmed herself enough to talk she started speaking ,, I sincerely apologize Sandaime-sama, But I expected something like this to happen. Life doesn't give you anything for free or to achieve something easily." After all, she was more afraid of the thought that someone trying to get to her dimension and would probably create unimaginable chaos and possibly war. But it was still no laughing matter.

"Don't play smart, this is a serious matter, young lady. Do you have any idea what a disadvantage and danger you're in here!" Sanin yell at her like at child for not realizing how dangerous this situation actually was for her. Maxi's face went from a smiling, relaxed state to one of annoyance in a second, and hurt was evident on her face as she crossed her arms in front of her, letting out an irritated hmm... "I'm not pretending to be smart, I'm thinking realistically about the situation like any intelligent person. And panic would not help either." That only annoyed the sannin even more, but Hiruzen gave him a warning look, wanting to hear the girl out and partially understanding her reasoning for panic part. Hiruzen nodded signaling her to explain her rude attitude towards the situation and towards them, giving her a chance to explain herself.

Maxi took a deep breath and dropped her hands to her sides, trying not to pull arrogantly. ,, As I studied your history and everything that I could find about the Uzumaki clan, several things caught my attention. To begin with, a genin can become a chunin in only two situations. To pass the chunin exam or get a field promotion during the war for his/her contributions in battle." She paused for a moment to which Hiruzen nodded his head realizing she was looking for confirmation from him for her observation, while Yeraizaidal frowned and half-heartedly just listened. ,, Therefore, it could be argued that my chunin rank was unfairly assigned. I mean I would be mad too, and that is probably reason why so many chunins tried to pick fight with me or ambush me thinking that me civil women don't deserve it. Next, my disguise as an Uzumaki, a very powerful clan that is believed to have disappeared during the Third Shinobi War, would then attract unwanted and enormous attention. So it is the most peaceful way to solve these two main problems is that I simply pass the chunin exam." This was a good sign. Maxi understood most of the situation and didn't panic about it, understanding the essence behind it all. It made things a lot easier in their situation, but it didn't make them any less dangerous and unpredictable.

"I'm glad that you adapted so quickly to our world and showed understanding. But I'm afraid the others don't have the same for you. The other nations require you to take the exam alone without a team, and when you get to the final round you'll be fighting three jonin from different nations which wont be easy." You could feel the weight of his words as Maxi analyzed the information given to her in her brain. She crossed her arms and put them out looking thoughtfully at her fist, patting her foot like a cartoon rabbit and looked like she decided something and smiled with determination in her eyes. "Now that's a laughing matter, young lady." The Sannin spoke to her as she partially ignoring him. Now, on the other hand, Hiruzen saw a completely different picture.

Despite the news that would scare someone to the spot, start to crack under pressure and panic, the girl remained calm and seemed to be looking for possible solutions to the problem. ,, The first two parts will not represent such a big problem. Even though I'm not a ninja for a long time, I have years of experience and knowledge that others don't have, so I can use that to even the odds. The third part worries me more, because I believe they won't tell me who the opponents are till very end. And it doesn't leave me much time to prepare myself in terms of ninjutsu or fuijutsu, which might be the biggest problem with all of this..." she muttered quietly but not enough that the two older than her couldn't hear her. The situation was really specific and scary, making them think.

If Sarutobi had waited at least a year, he would have allowed her to take the exam only then. He even looked at her with pity because of her the chances of surviving have become very small, almost non-existent.. ,, I planned to assign you a sensei who would prepare you for the exam. I have also already sent a message to the authorities at the academy that you will take time off at the end of the month so that you can prepare seriously." this attracted the girl's attention giving her some sort of reassurance as Hiruzen was ready to help her. But despite all that, she was still short on time, and so many things needed to be completed.

Then for a moment you could see a glint in her eyes, which was very familiar to Hiruzen and Jiraiya but not in the most pleasant way but not unwelcome either. ,, You are the Sealing Master Jiraiya aren't you?" Maxi asked to which the Sannin slammed his fist against his chest full of pride at his title.. ,, "One and only, you won't find a match in the entire nation and beyond." That's exactly what Maxi wanted to hear. Looking at the her fired up eyes, Sanin began to question whether he should have remained silent, because her look was so uncomfortable. "Could you give me a few lessons?" This surprised both of them a bit, because from the beginning Maxi had almost either ignored his existence or only addressed him when necessary.

"Why should I? I don't have much time to waste red. I have work to do, waiting for me outside of Konohagakure that should not be delayed." Sanin tried to reject her in a reasonable way, since every statement she made was based on logic, so he defended himself logically. Hiruzen considered Maxi's proposal reasonable considering that the girl seemed to have a strong talent for seals, but his student's work was equally important. As well as the fact that if he stayed too long, the others would begin to dream that something was up. ,, Give me two lessons of two hours each. One only about seals and the other seals and a useful technique of any rank." This time it was the sannin's turn to laugh at her statement.

The knowledge he possessed could not be imparted in just a few lessons no matter how genius or hardworking she was. And on top of that she asked for a technique, to the soul of any rank so that he could be C or lower.. Hiruzen was surprised by her request but he was also satisfied that despite her stubbornness towards the sannin, she was raedy to work and overcome the conflict and asks for help. "I'm not asking for your entire knowledge. I just want you to push me in the right direction and I can do the rest myself." She tried to explain her request, and explained that she wasn't asking for something impossible but just a little help showing understanding for his time, since she was only asking for two lessons.

Although sanin was not going to agree so easily. Despite seeing her prowess with the seals to secure and protect her home, she could easily lie about having achieved it herself. He also didn't want to waste time on what could turn out to be no talent for his craft. ,, Do you really think that I will just give lessons in one of the most complicated ninja disciplines? Do you really think you're capable enough to master enough in two lessons to pass the exams?" With those words, Maxi stepped loudly and firmly in front of the sannin who began questioning her abilities. A slight KI could be felt coming from her, along with a strong with an aura around the girl. The desire to prove herself flared up in her eyes, while a smile slowly appeared on her face. "Try me!" that alone left her lips.

Those two confident words seemed like a sign to Jiraiya who didn't expect this kind of response from her. Hiruzen took a puff of smoke from his pipe with a smile on his face knowing his student wasn't backing down from the challenge. Also the girl was simply shining dominating and full of fire, eager for knowledge and determination. The girl showed great promise, which he hadn't seen in a very long time. But he is fed up and worried because to some extent her desire to knowledge and her talent reminded him a lot of his former student Orochimaru.

End of flashback

Kakashi wasn't sure if the red kunoichi was a fool for lack of fear or very brave for not panicking in such a critical situation that befell her. But all in all, she was determined and she clearly wasn't going to give up. , Even if she wanted to she was in no position to refuse the exam request.,, Kakashi thought. He also couldn't decide if it was a good thing that the exam was outside of Konohagakure or not.

On the one hand, the exam practically takes place on neutral territory outside the land of fire, where root did not have as much power as Danzo with his influence. On the other hand, she could be seen as a threat to, a good ninja or not, because of her Uzumaki status. So if she planned to pass the exam and more importantly survive, she would need all the help she could get. "So, have you accepted her offer?" asked Kakashi Jiraiya.

Toad Sage exhaled tiredly massaging the bridge of his nose, forcing the slight migraine that was starting to build up at the mere thought of teaching Maxi this morning that he was beginning to regret his decision somewhat. "Unfortunately, I am." replied sannin this time pouring the whole bottle of sake down drinking it all at once hoping it would ease his headache.

"Is she that bad with seals?" Kakashi asked, a little surprised that the Uzumaki couldn't pull off something that was literally in their blood and a gift of their clan. He also knew that Jiraiya wasn't known for his patience with those who didn't show even average talent, but for someone to throw him so out of tune that he drinks sake like that... ,, Actually the opposite, The girl is very gifted with seals, maybe even a genius at taking considering she didn't know a single thing about them until recently."

Then there must have been something else going on, because it wasn't like Jiraiya was getting so stressed about someone he would call a genius. Usually the sannin liked to praise how his students were very powerful and smart, especially when talking about Minato. Sanin then slammed the empty bottle on the table this time shouting almost at the top of his voice like a petulant child. "But I will go crazy because of her. She is so chaotic and unorganized. She asks ten questions at once for every two of my sentences, when I ask her to clarify her seal and it function is as if she starts talking in a foreign or coded language. She even twisted the functions of some variables, changing the flow of energy, making the seals more unstable, and then making the system more complicated than even a fool would dare, knowing that a wrong move with a brush could liquidate us in seconds. And the craziest thing is that most of her 'attempts' work amazingly smoothly..."

Kakashi couldn't understand why there was so much trouble about Maxi being able to master the fuijutsu enough to be able to change them without much consequence. That would should have eased Sanin's pain and shortened his pain, not annoyed him even more... ,, In the end, her lesson turned into just asking for advice on how to make the most of the functionality of the signs in the seals and their the power of combining to a higher level with hand signs or using without ink." If it was her attempts then Kakashi understood Saga's concern.

Maxi was a beginner no matter how gifted she was. Interfering with more advanced things, no matter how much Uzumaki blood she had in her, was not smart and certainly not without years of experience. Kushina constantly warned Minato when he would try something without her presence or previously practiced during their training. There were only a few memories like that as Kakashi tried to respect the privacy of Kushina's secret clan techniques, as well as not really enjoying the flirting between the pair.

,, She is ambitious that's for sure." Kakashi commented considering this a huge relief and just one more thing that could ensure the kunoichi's safe passage of the exam. Considering how rare the use of the seal during combat was for anything more than bombs and storage.. ,, Ambitious, is Kakashi's, too weak word for her. The girl showed up at 5 in the morning and literally kicked me out of bed to start the lesson." Now it was much clearer why Sanin was so grumpy today.

He received an unexpected and judging by his reaction, a rude awakening that seemed to be effective. This caused an almost silent restrained giggle from Kakashi. The girl didn't take crap from anyone nor did she care, to do such bold things. She was really something when she had the courage to break into the house of a powerful legendary ninja like Jeraiya. Or she had a little help from the Sarutobi clan since the cabin was on private property.

,, She also took Naruto with her. The boy napped in her lap for the first hour and then, at her insistence, started to revise the material for the academy today." This surprised Kakashi the most. He had expected from the beginning, when he found out that Maxi was an Uzumaki, that when they met then, and he hoped that somehow his sensei's son would have someone to take care of him. Since she had almost no connection with Kushina and Minato, no one could directly forbid her contact with the child. It is even more important that she was his sensei now and you could not deny her contact with her student.

, ,You're trying to tell me that he's the biggest prankster Konohagarur has ever seen. A kid who regularly skipped classes at the academy and regularly overslept, got up at 5 a.m. to come all the way here with Maxi and study of his own accord." This sounded ridiculous. If it had been anyone else who had told him, he would have written him off as a joke or a cruel prank.

No one ever managed to get Naruto to pick up the book and actually learn something from the texts. The silver haired jonin still couldn't believe what he was hearing but the Sannin had no reason to lie to him.. ,, It was hard to believe at first... Of course, the kid protested a couple of times that nothing made sense and that he didn't need a niche from the book to become Hokage... To which the girl only encouraged him by saying that nothing was too difficult to overcome for the future hokage and that he should not give up. Then she would help him for a few minutes and return to the discussion with me." This time Sanin didn't complain.

There was a slight goofy smile on my face, his eyes had a nostalgic look while his shoulders slumped as if in relief. But you could also feel the sadness behind his voice. Jiraiya also didn't take the best of not being able to interact with Naruto, along with the loss of Minato, whom he had promised to be a good godfather to. This visit must have taken a lot of weight off him as no one could accuse him of trying to contact the jinchuriki.

Just by bringing him to Jiraiya, it was obvious that no one had told her about the boy's parentage, his status, and that the sannin was his godfather. "Sounds like she really cares for him." Kakashi was very relieved that Naruto wouldn't have to be so lonely, alone, isolated... because now he had someone to take care of him. But he felt guilty, more guilty than usual.

The same guilt he felt since the day of the Nine-Tails' attack. He blamed himself for not being there when his sensei needed him the most, even though he probably couldn't make a difference. He couldn't be with Naruto, just watching him from the side how the village treats him like a monster. The son of the fourth hokage who saved the village by sealing the nine-tails into his own son. And now when someone who is an outsider who doesn't know about S-rank secrets, finally shows up, that Naruto is a jinchuriki, that ninjas who knew his parents are forbidden to contact, that no one is allowed to tell who his parents were...

Before he went on the anbu mission, Maxi seemed to have formed a strong friendship with the Uchiha matriarch, also the Ino-Shika-Cho trio was interested in the new Uzumaki in the village, so she probably made some more friendships while they weren't there.

This meant they could finally get to Naruto without breaking the deal, especially since like in Jiraiya's case Maxi had led Naruto to them. This way no one could break the rules that the Elders brought in not even the Hokage who seemed to be more than okay with this. Kakashi was convinced that if Danzo didn't already know about this, when he did he would be pissed off. The rules work in their favor this time. The only thing they have to worry about now is making Maxi strong enough to pass the exam somehow, and become strong enough to not be eliminated by Danzo or something worse. Finally after a long time Kakashi saw the silver line.