When Tsunade got home, she was exhausted. She kicked off her shoes and just plopped onto the couch in the parlor room, kicking her feet up as soon as she sat down. The exhausted Godaime let out a long sigh as she looked up towards the ceiling. Funny enough, the couch she sat down on had her second apprentice reading on it. When she kicked her feet up, she rested them on Naruto's lap surprising the blonde genin and pulling him from his book. Shizune was not far behind though instead of sitting on the three-seater, with Naruto and Tsunade, she took a seat on the love seat perpendicular to the two three seaters that faced each other.
Naruto was curious as to why Tsunade and Shizue seemed to be exhausted. "Ne Tsu-chan. Why are you so tired?" Tsunade let out a sigh, "Can you bring us some tea and a dish of sake?" Tsunade failed to notice the small glare she got from Shizune. Naruto let out a sigh before sending a kage bunshin to bring over a tray with a bottle of sake, a pot of tea with a second cup for himself. Tsunade knocked back the cup of sake the second she grabbed it. She let out a sigh of contentment before she began her explanation.
"I was in a rather boring Council meeting. It was so taxing that I need a just kick my feet up" Tsunade explained. Then she remembered something. "Oh you need to be in my office in the morning. So make sure you leave with us. We can do some training while you wait for the others" explained the blonde Senju. Naruto nodded at her words before he spoke. "The meeting couldn't have been that bad Tsu-chan. I mean nothing could be as boring as Iruka-sensei's lessons" he spoke as he crossed his arms and nodded his head. Tsunade merely smirked at the ceiling. She couldn't wait for the day Naruto got the chance to sit in on the meeting.
Shizune for her part had to agree with Tsunade. She had the "pleasure" of attending the meetings to present documents before The Council or be there because Tsunade insisted she be there. She could very much testify that the meetings are boring.
The next day, the five plus one canine were standing before Tsunade's desk while Tsunade sat at her desk with Shizune behind her once again holding a clipboard close to her chest. Naruto's eyes were wandering around the room mostly looking at the other people, and dog, lined up with him and Kakashi.
He knows of the red eyed woman, Kurenai. She is the sensei of Team 8 but that was all he knew of her. The other woman he knew was an Inuzuka because of her facial markings and that she had a companion with her. Of course he knew Shikamaru too but he hadn't spoken with the lazy Nara for a lengthy period of time.
Tsunade addressed the six. "Thank you all for being here. You five were called here as you have a mission." Tsunade would have said four however her lessons from long ago discussed how Inuzuka viewed their canines as partners and teammates so to not address the canine would have been seen as disrespectful. "Over the past week we have been conducting an investigation into who Naruto's target was. We believe we know who it may be, or at least the group they may be apart of." Most of the group went wide eyed at the new. Naruto wanted to ask questions but a look from Shizune to be patient.
"Thanks to Tsume-san here we believe we are looking for a Kurama" explained the Godaime. Naruto was confused. "Umm Tsu-chan, aren't the Kurama no longer in possession of their kekkei genkai?" asked a confused Naruto. From the records in the Senju library he had read that the Clan lost its kekkei genkai from too much experimentation to have members with more than one kekkei genkai. Tsunade shifted her eyes to her second apprentice. "From what we have documented, yes. However records our various Clans have as well notes on the investigation seem to indicate that a Kurama with their kekkei genkai is active once again" explained the Senju.
Those who were unaware of this went silent. Kurenai was especially affected as many of the lost genjutsu of the Kurama Clan had inspired many of her more subtle techniques. Afterall, being able to fully control a target with nothing but genjutsu is considered to be the peak of any genjutsu specialist, something the Kurama Clan was infamous for doing. It was rumored that they could even get enemy commanders to preform seppuku in front of their own staff before an engagement.
When everyone gathered their baring's Kakashi asked "What is the mission Hokage-dono?" Tsunade made a motion to Shizune who handed a packet from her clipboard to each of the shinobi in front of Tsunade's desk. As they were reading their mission briefing Tsunade continued to speak. "Kakashi, for your time in the Anbu, you will be team leader." Kakashi nodded in acknowledgement of this. While others like Tsume are of equal rank to the mask wearing Jonin, her leadership specialized in more assault-based mission.
Within the briefing was information on the compound the "Clan" resides in as well as a collection of known methods of fighting the "Clan" used when they still had their kekkei genkai. Out of everyone, Shikamaru was the one not reading his briefing. While it was true he was improving his combat capabilities he did not put as much effort into breaking his lazy streak beyond that area of expertise.
"Your mission is to investigate the Kurama family and either locate the possible assailant and bring them into custody or determine they family is not responsible for the failed attempt against me" explained Tsunade. "Are their any restrictions?" asked Kakashi. Tsunade nodded, "Yes. You are not to antagonize the family and act with the bearing of shinobi representing Konoha and the Hokage. If you feel that some one is moving against you in the shadows you are to use your own discretion to not be in a disadvantageous position in the event a fight breaks out. If anyone attacks you, you have permission to eliminate them as your team matters more than the lives of any that would attack you. But keep the fighting to a minimum" ordered the blonde Hokage. Kakashi nodded at the orders before turning to his team, waiting to see if anyone else had any other questions.
Shikamaru was the next to speak. "Pardon me Hokage-dono but how will we transport the suspect if we do locate them. Since they appear to be a genjutsu based "Clan" there is a high probability that a genjutsu will be cast as me move them. How will we stop that?" The Jonin and Hokage internally frowned at this question. With Naruto's chains making an appearance in the Chunin Exams, it was expected that many of the Clan Heirs would take the initiative to learn what their Clans had discerned about potential threats. Afterall no Clan would willingly disregard the efforts of former generations that did what they could to ensure their family would not be blindsided by another foe. This question meant that Shikamaru hadn't done any research as the member of a shinobi Clan or the Nara had no records on the Uzumaki Clan.
Letting out a sigh, Tsunade gave a brief explanation. "Thanks to Naruto's chains he will be able to restrain your target in the event you locate them and prevent the person bound by the chains from casting any form of jutsu including taijutsu" explained Tsunade. Shikamaru's eyes went up at the implication of the words. I mean that his ability to capture targets is far better than even the combine might of his team.
Before he dwell on this Kakashi spoke. "Alright everyone prepare your gear for this mission. Pack everything you need and some things you don't. You never know when a mission will go south." He then turned back to Tsunade. "By your leave Hokage-dono." Tsunade nodded then dismissed the group, telling them to set out from the North Gate for their mission while Kakashi gave them an hour to be prepared. Naruto stayed behind to check with Tsunade and Shizune that he had what the medic of the team should carry.
Seeing her blonde student still in her office Tsunade asked, "Is something the matter Naruto?" Naruto shook his head but spoke up. "Um actually I was wondering if you can go over my medical pouch and make sure I have everything you think I should have. I mean this is my first mission as a medic and I want to make sure everyone comes back safe" he explained. Tsunade smiled lightly along with Shizune as the pair waved him over. Naruto ran over happily before setting his medical pouch on her desk.
Tsunade opened his pouch and began going through each section. He had a series of vials containing a variety of medical solutions stacked in a double layered case to ensure they didn't bounce around as Naruto fought or ran. He was carrying several small storage scrolls which, according to the labels he placed on the scrolls, carried a variety of materials from bandages to carrying rods for a stretcher. There were even seals containing disinfectants and pain killers but no medication as he had yet to reach the part in his training that went over the amount to administer based on a person's height and weight. And of course, he was also carrying blood and soldier pills in the event anyone on the team would need them. There was another scroll that contained I.V. solutions in the event they are knocked into or unable to consume food or water. He was also carrying surgical tools in the event he needed to stitch a wound shut if, in the event it was left open, it would kill a squad mate.
Aside from his medical materials he was carrying several dozen kunai and shuriken. There were also two spools of shinobi wire, a roll of explosive tags, a small hand full of smoke bombs as well as a tool she insisted he carry, makibishi spikes. When she had told him to add several of these to his pouch Naruto was skeptical at least until she had him walk across them. Needless to say, he saw their usefulness in slowing someone down.
Tsunade ensured everything was put back in his pouches she had a neutral expression on her face as she turned to Shizune who looked at Naruto. Naruto was a little nervous, believing he was missing something until both grew smiles while receiving head rubs from both women. Naruto smiled happily at them as they approved of the contents in his pouch. "This is well packed Naruto, I see you even added a few tools as well." Naruto nodded energetically, "Yeah I got some tips from Kakashi-sensei at least when I asked what weapons I should bring!" Tsunade nodded at his choice, after all an Anbu Captain knew what weapons anyone should have no matter the mission. "I don't think Kakashi was the one to encourage you to carry explosive tags" she said with a raised eyebrow. Shizune looked a little embarrassed behind Tsunade as she scratched her cheek. "Um that was me, Tsunade-sama." Tsunade turned her attention to her first apprentice with a raised eyebrow, questioning why she would suggest him carrying such tags.
"Umm well he could need them to get away from pursuers" she justified weakly. While it was a viable excuse, it wasn't one she was looking for especially with three Jonin on the team for such a mission. But she couldn't be mad as a prepared shinobi is not a dead shinobi. "Well Tsu-chan if I'm not allowed to carry explosive tags then maybe I should have some other ones?" he said hopefully as an attempt to get some of the rare paralysis tags. Tsunade instantly saw what he was up too and put a stop to it. "Not until you can make them yourself" she reprimanded. Naruto pouted as he crossed his arms with a huff. "Oh come on" he whined. "No. You need to improve your fuinjutsu studies and I made a deal with you remember?"
"Yeah yeah. If I can make a paralysis tag then you'll let me get started on my apothecary studies early" the younger blonde whined. He really wanted the new tags so he could experiment with them, especially for medical procedures where he didn't have any anesthetic or to see if he could use them in some rather creative pranks.
Tsunade pulled her young apprentice into a hug as she chastised him. "Now now, I know you are eager but what did I tell you about fuinjutsu?" Naruto returned the hug as he spoke. "That I need to be patent and learn how each brush stroke affects the seal as a whole if I want to be able to make my own." Tsunade then patted his head and gestured for him to continue. "And if I want to be able to apply seals without ink like a true Uzumaki or Tou-san then I need to memorize the seal on every level, from how it is written to how the chakra flows through it to activate it. Tsunade smiled at him as she let him go and flicked him in the forehead. "That's right so why don't you pull out your 'Skeletal Structure: Stress and Small Injuries Unnoticed Effects on a Shinobi' while you wait. Naruto pouted. "Oh come on! I read it a hundred times already!" he protested. Shizune giggled behind her sleeve before she asked teasingly. "Oh? Then what is the number one cause of knee injuries for a shinobi?"
Naruto gained a sly look as he answered. "That's easy! Improper application of chakra to feet and joints when leaping long distances or when bracing one's self from high landings!" Shizune nodded at his answer. "And what is the most common area that is affected by chakra enhanced muscles?" Naruto took a thoughtful pose as he thought. The two women smirked, seeing they had gotten him to stumble. "Well?" prompted Shizune. Naruto scratched his head furiously as he thought. Suddenly it hit him. "It's the cardiovascular system!"
Tsunade nodded. "Good. Why?"
"Because as shinobi we use our chakra to brace our muscles and our bones to an extent. However because of the chakra added to boost our striking power we compress our blood vessels as many shinobi either don't think about bracing the walls of our blood vessels, don't have fine enough chakra control like us …" he sated as he puffed up his chest with pride while the two women rolled their eyes "… to enhance their muscle performance correctly. This can lead to the chakra not being applied evenly and crush the blood vessels in their limbs" Naruto recited with a megawatt smile.
Tsunade turned to Shizune and asked "Well, do you think he is ready for his next book?" Shizune smiled happily as she responded "Yes Tsunade-sama I think he is." Naruto cheered as he bounced around the room as he was getting another text he could read. "Alright settle down Naruto" Tsunade said, Naruto doing so as soon as he was told, though that didn't erase his smile. "You still have some time before you need to head out so why don't you get some shosen practice in." Naruto nodded eagerly as he went with Shizune to another room to practice. Tsunade would not be too far behind as she set up her kage bunshin to do her paperwork.
At the end of the hour time limit, Team Kakashi was gathered at the gate with everyone ready and waiting though Shikamaru was rubbing the top of his head as if he was recently struck there. All the adult who knew of a Nara woman's wrath could easily tell that Shikamaru was on the receiving end of said wrath, though the question is why he would fee such wrath. Questions for later.
"Alright team lets head out" ordered Kakashi as he leapt off, everyone following suit.
While Kakashi and Kurenai were away their Genin were set to work with the Team 10 and Team Guy thanks to both comradery and Kakashi agreeing to do some kind of ridiculous challenge. As she was off duty for a bit, Yugao stopped by to see the Genin her boyfriend had been praising since his return from Nami no Kuni. She did not wear her mask or Anbu vest, instead choosing to wear her Jonin vest as well as tying her hair into a high ponytail.
What greeted the Anbu Captain was an Inuzuka with a white puppy appearing to be angered or annoyed at a blonde with her hair in a bun holder while the sensei seemed to be discussing something. Kakashi's Genin seemed to be working on their own things while the Aburame was reading something. Deciding to make her presence known Yugao made her way over to Kakashi's Genin. As she got closer the two seemed to notice her. "Hello" Sakura said as she bowed to the woman getting some of the other Genin's attention, "I am Sakura Haruno. Who are you?" Yugao smiled at the girl and responded. "Hello I am Yugao Uzuki a close person to Kakashi. I had a few days off and was curious to meet a few of the Genin he had been praising." Sasuke raised an eyebrow at the woman's words. Given Kakashi's lackadaisical attitude he was surprised to hear the man was praising them.
Sakura on the other hand was happy to hear her sensei was proud of her despite her poor performance during the Chunin Exams. While this introduction was going on, Guy and Asuma had finished their plans for how to train so many. As they turned to address the Genin they noticed another had made their way into the field. "Yugao!" called Asuma getting the other Genin's attention in the process. Yugao looked towards Asuma, greeting the man with a wave. "Hello Asuma. I see you have a few extra charges today" commented the Genin. Asuma scratched the back of his head. "Yeah with Kakashi and Kurenai out they asked us to help look after them."
Yugao covered her mouth with her hand, "More like you did a favor for your girlfriend" whispered Yugao. Suddenly Ino popped up in front of the purple haired Anbu. "Hello! How do you know Asuma-sensei? Are you a kunoichi? How did you manage to keep you're figure" asked the blonde in a rapid-fire manner. Before Yugao could reply Sakura acted by smacking Ino in the head as she shouted for her to calm down and not act to weird and like the old Naruto.
Before Ino could retort Guy cleared his throat and began laying out the instruction they would be providing while Kakashi and Kurenai are on their mission.
As Team Kakashi was making their way through the woods to the Kurama family home, Shikamaru decided to break the traveling silence. "Hey Kakashi-tachio." Kakashi looked back to acknowledge the Nara. "I was wondering , why do the Kurama family live outside the village. I mean everyone lives behind the walls for safety and keep intruders out so why did they chose to move out where there are far more dangers for them to have to be on the lookout for?"
Kakashi let out a sigh, this was not a topic that anyone that knew of the former Clan's history like to talk about as it's a rather sad story. "You see Shikamaru, the family moved out of Konoha when they lost their status as a Shinobi Clan." The new shocked Shikamaru. In all his time in the Academy, he didn't recall them mentioning a Clan losing their status. Then again, they also didn't talk about the Clan Naruto was from so maybe using his lessons from such an institution as his only source of information was not the greatest of ideas.
Need to satiate his curiosity, Shikamaru asked how they lost it. This time Tsume answered. "They lost their status because they lost their kekkei genkai. A consequence of attempting to mix two into a single gene line." Shikamaru was shocked. Just what wasn't he aware of? "What do you mean Tsume-san?"
"Think about it pup. Haven't you ever wondered why Clans don't marry those from other Clans?" Shikamaru shrugged his shoulders as he responded "Not really it's to troublesome to think about it." Tsume grumbled about Nara being too lazy. "Well the Kurama became the example of not doing it. In an attempt to give birth to a generation of children that have two kekkei genkai they ended up losing it as the genes for getting a kekkei genkai are canceled out in the event both parents have a kekkei genkai. It is why Clans marry those with no such genes or marry those who's genetic history show that they are fazing out the genes that caused the loss of a kekkei genkai, usually through planned marriages. Though they are often generalized by ensuring the person married someone in the Clan" explained the Inuzuka matriarch.
Though the explanation was short it said a lot. Shikamaru was stunned to learn that a Clan could lose their kekkei genkai. Though it did explain why the Hyuga were so strict about who their Clan fraternized with. However Shikamaru was broken from his thoughts when the group stopped. Looking forward Shikamaru noticed they stopped near the bottom of hill which at the top seemed to be a nine-story castle with a wall that reached toward the third floor. "Guess they chose a castle over a compound" spoke an annoyed Shikamaru.
Kakashi signed for them to be silent before asking Tsume, Kuromaru, and Naruto if there was anyone nearby with gestures. Tsume and Kuromaru began sniffing the air as they kept their ears open as Naruto seemed to be meditating. Naruto saw many silhouettes with his sensing abilities, a lot of whom were approaching Team Kakashi, something Naruto and Tsume were quick to inform their Captain about.
With nothing but another gesture, Team Kakashi was ready for a fight but Tsume and Kakashi seemed to be more relaxed. Coming down the path while more showed themselves as they came from the woods were many Kurama family warriors that surrounded the Konoha shinobi.
The leader of the group, a man of average height with long brown hair that fell to his lower back scowled at the Konoha group. "What do you want Konoha shinobi?" the man bit out. Kakashi merely smiled as he spoke. "We are here on behalf of Hokage-dono to conclude an investigation" the silver haired Jonin replied, much to the ire of the man before him.
"Oh and what is that?" Kakashi merely waved him off as he spoke. "Ma ma that is something you are not privy to. As a citizen of Konoha you are to aid us needed to ensure your safety" Kakashi explained.
The man growled in anger at the Jonin's words but complied as he lead the group to the castle.
As they walked up the trail Shikamaru took notice of how the Kurama family members were looking at them with disdain and harshness that put the Nara heir on edge. 'Just great. I'm surrounded by people that would nothing more than to skin me alive. Damn it Tou-san why did you volunteer me for this?' thought the Nara heir.
The group reached the gate soon enough. Like they had seen, the gate was exactly like one would see around one of the Daimyo's castles. Despite their loss of their Shinobi Clan status they still had their symbol branded into the gate as a mark of defiance to the ruling of Konoha. Kakashi and Tsume took note of this, with Tsume letting out a groan she hoped no one heard. 'Great this is going to make the next meeting a pain to deal with' complained the Inuzuka. However as soon as they are past the gate Tsume notices a familiar scent.
Recognizing why the scent was familiar she discreetly looked to her partner who nodded that he too recognized the scent. With that confirmation, Tsume turned to Naruto. "Hey pup" she whispered to the blonde. "Can you sense if there is anyone familiar on the grounds?" Naruto was confused at the question but figured she wanted him to check. Doing as she was hinting at, Naruto closed his eyes as they walked to where they would meet with the head of the family to tell them why they were on his property. He then saw the silhouettes of people throughout the grounds until his attention was pulled to the top of the castle. Before he could focus on the area however, his concentration was broken by some jeers from some of the kids around his and Shikamaru's age.
The young teens were practicing their shurikenjutsu against a set of stationary targets as they were taunting the Konoha shinobi. Before Naruto could retort to the insults, as Kakashi figured the blonde would, Kakashi ushered the blonde into the castle. No sense in letting the kid who could probably topple the castle in a single strike do so when not necessary just because he was mad.
When they got inside they saw many more guards all of them armed kodachi while they wore robes similar to the Hyuga though theirs were colors were more of cinnabar red with a burgundy embroidery. They wore something resembling hitai-ate's though they had no insignia on the plate showing they still pine for their days when they were shinobi.
They soon were brought to a very long staircase, the sight of which nearly brought Shikamaru to tears at the sight as it was clear that they needed to climb the thing to reach their destination. The lazy Nara felt like he had spent hours climbing the stairs, the one thing preventing him from voicing his annoyance was the death glare from Tsume that reminded him too much of his mothers.
As soon as they reached the top of the stairs they were told they were going to meet the leader of the family Unkai Kurama, though if anyone paid attention to the mans speech they would have heard him nearly refer to Unkai as Clan Head. As they entered into a room that really took after a room where one would meet the Daimyo, including a screen to separate him from his guests. "Well he certainly thinks highly of himself" whispered Naruto. The others had to agree with the blondes statement. Despite her position making her the second most powerful person in Hai no Kuni, Tsunade is nowhere near as vein. In fact none of the pervious Hokage were.
Their guards soon motioned for them to wait as one approached the screen and bowed on one knee. "Unkai-sama" the guard spoke, getting his leaders attention. The voice that belonged to the silhouette was gruff but lacked the strength of someone who is a leader. "Why are their Konoha shinobi on our lands Mourno?" At that Kakashi chose to make himself known but refused to bow to someone who came off as so arrogant to believe themselves above the Daimyo. "Greetings Unkai-san, I am Kakashi Hatake. I am here on behalf of Hokage-sama to follow a lead in an investigation that we believe involves a member of your family."
Based on stiffening the Konoha shinobi could see, the man knew something. This was also evident by how he spoke which showed he was agitated. "That is preposterous! The Kurama Clan has no formal shinobi there for your reason for being here is nothing more than to oppress us as your Nidaime had done so long ago!" the man shouted as he jumped from his seat as he pointed at the screen between him and Kakashi.
Kakashi was unfazed by the outburst, even as the guards in the room prepared to attack as they placed their hands on their weapons. "GET OUT OF MY COMPOUND AND TELL YOUR HOKAGE SHE HAS NO RIGHT TO INTERFERE WITH KURAMA CLAN BUISNESS!" Despite the man's shouting Kakashi, Tsume and Kuromaru appeared to be relaxed, even as those that surrounded them grabbed their weapons. Naruto and Shikamaru however got in their stances, not quite used to the intense atmosphere which was something Kakashi took note of. 'I guess I should get my team used to such a setting since they are cleared for C-rank missions now' thought the Copy-Nin.
Kakashi returned his attention back to Unkai. "Look … Unkai" Kakashi spoke as if he could barely remember the man's name, "We are telling you of our reason for being here as a formality. You have no authority to deny us access especially since you not only hold no power of us as shinobi of Konoha but you have no power within the government of Konoha. If you try to stop us we are allowed to defend ourselves however we will be concluding our duties here" Kakashi said icily, further infuriating the man behind the screen.
Before anymore could be said, Kakashi had his group leave the room further infuriating Unkai. When everyone re-entered the hall that led Naruto wanted to check on the pull he had to the top of the castle. Being on the top floor like he was, it took no time at all to see the layout. Suddenly his eyes shot open catching everyone's attention. "Hm something wrong Naruto?" asked Kakashi. "Kakashi-sensei this isn't the top floor!" That got everyone's attention, though Shikamaru seemed to be calculating something.
Kakashi put his hand to his chin before he spoke. "Tsume-san, are there any paths that Unkai has taken leading from this room?" Tsume and Kuromaru sniffed the air before they started walking. Despite a few stops and evaluations based on where they were, Tsume and Kuromaru located a hidden stairwell leading to Shikamaru groaning in agony at the sight of more stairs.
When they finally reached the top they were met with the sight of a heavy wooden door inscribed with a seal that made Naruto cringe in pain. The seal on the door was poorly drawn and seemed to be created by someone worse than an amateur. Tsume and Kuromaru were suddenly assaulted by a familiar scent. "This area holds the scent of the person we have been trying to track!" spoke the head of the Inuzuka Clan.
Seeing the door and hearing that the person he was chasing was behind it Naruto lost all inhibitions and charged forward. "Well what are we waiting for? Lets go!" he shouted as he ran to open the door. Panicking Tsume reached out and grabbed his shoulder. "Hold on gaki! First we have to deactivate that seal." Naruto looked at the woman confused. "What seal?" Tsume looked at the blonde as if he was an idiot. "That seal" she said as she pointed to the drawing on the door. Naruto followed her finger. "Huh, that? Oh that its just ink. Its so poorly drawn that its nothing more than a fingerpainting" explained the blonde stunning the Inuzuka and the Nara.
Thanks to her stunned mind, Tsume lost her grip on Naruto who continued forward followed by Kakashi and Kuromaru. As the door opened, Tsume and Shikamaru were snapped out of their shock. The door creaked open reveling a dark room with only one window that seemed to have blackout curtains. Near the center of the room was brown haired girl wearing a pink kimono with maroon embroidery held closed by a pink sash painting a picture of some kind. No one could tell what was being painted due to how far away they are.
When the doors were fully open the girl spoke. "Hm? Oh I have some more guest" she said softly. "I wonder if they need me for another painting" she said as she giggled into her hand. Naruto instantly recognized the kimono. Before he could begin shouting Kakashi spoke, using his time in Anbu to guide the conversation. "That's correct. We need you to do another painting of the Hokage." The girl stopped painting as she spoke. "I thought oji-san said to lay low?" she asked as she resumed her painting.
The group were intrigued by her words, setting off several alarms if she is required to "lay low" as she said. Continuing the ruse, as the girl had yet to turn around, "Change of plans you are needed for something." The girl began to clean her paint supplies as Kakashi signaled for Naruto and Shikamaru to prepare to capture her. At their nods everyone waited as the calm before the storm set in.
When she was done, she put her things away, grabbed her carry case and turned to face who she was talking to. The girl also has brown eyes with her hair being parted on her left side, held there by a sports clip that consisted of two circles with a single low hanging braid on the same side. Under her kimono a red mesh armor shirt could be seen as well as her burnt orange shinobi sandals.
"W-w-w-who are you?" she stuttered out, fear being apparent to everyone. Kakashi raised his hands in a jest of surrender. "Stay calm we are not here to hurt you. We …"
"You lie!" she shouted as she attempted to back away from the Konoha shinobi. "You're here to hurt me like everyone else here!" she shouted. That last statement got everyone's attention though for different reasons. "I promise you we aren't here to harm you. We would like it if you came with us to answer a few questions" spoke the feral woman. The girl still appeared fearful of the group. Choosing to try a different approach Naruto asked. "Hey what's your name?" Before she could answer Shikamaru let out a long sigh, "Man this is such a drag, can't we just take her with us?"
This comment earned him a smack to the back of the head by the blonde of the group. "Shut it! We aren't trying to scare her!" responded an irate blonde. This interaction seemed to lighten the mood as the girl seemed to laugh at the interaction between the two youngsters. When the girl's laughter calmed down, she answered Naruto's question. "My name is Yakumo Kurama." Naruto gave his usual beaming smile as he pointed his thumb at his puffed-out chest. "I'm Naruto Uzumaki! Dattebeyo!"
At his words Yakumo flinched despite her smile. "Are you okay?" asked Kakashi. Yakumo nodded nervously. "Okay" Tsume said as she changed the subject. "Yakumo-chan, are you willing to come with us?" Yakumo still seemed scared while interacting with them. As her fear of those before her grew, despite how friendly they seemed, so too did her headache. Her headache grew to a point that she fell to her knees clutching her head and let out a silent scream.
This caused the Konoha shinobi to worry greatly for the health of the girl. Naruto rushed forward to help her, his training as a medic nin and morals propelling him forward. When he reached Yakumo she stopped screaming and was looking towards the ground. "Hey are you okay?" asked Naruto. His response was maniacal laughter that started slow before it culminated into a crescendo of room shaking laughter.
"I'm back!" shouted Yakumo as she raised her head. The first thing that caught Naruto's attention was glowing purple eyes she now possessed. Believing she was experiencing a form of delirium acted quickly and wrapped his chains around Yakumo to restrain her and prevent her from hurting herself. Yakumo did not take too kindly to that as she began violently thrashing around in an attempt to break the chains that bound her.
Much to the confusion of her guests, her personality had done a drastic shift. Kurenai had immediately began scanning the girl for any mind altering genjutsu. She checked from the girl's chakra flow too checking if her if there was a foreign substance in the air. Meanwhile the others moved to question Naruto as he kept Yakumo bound. "Naruto do you know what happened to her?" asked Kakashi. Naruto shrugged his shoulders as he kept his attention on the thrashing, trying to determine what may have caused the girl to change from a skittish girl to someone who was acting like a captured enemy. "I don't know sensei. That's why I bound her, that and keep her from lashing out and hurting any of us" spoke the blonde as he tried to take the girls vitals despite her struggling against him.
Shikamaru thought over the facts he had. The girl was not affected by a genjutsu according to Kurenai, she shifted in her mentality when Naruto got to close. "Maybe she has a split personality" theorized Shikamaru. Everyone gave the Nara's idea some thought. "Maybe" said Kurenai. "We should get her to the hospital for a proper diagnosis" spoke Naruto. The other gave nods of agreement and began making their way out of the Kurama family home.
As they were making their way-out Naruto asked. "Umm Kakashi-sensei, how are we going to get her out of here?" he asked in reference to the struggling Yakumo. This gave everyone pause as the need for a plan made itself known. Kurenai was the one to come up with a plan first. "Genjutsu!" was her near instantaneous reply, getting confused looks from the younger shinobi. "I thought the clan specialized in that?" asked the blonde. Kurenai smiled at Naruto's question. Yes they did however we do not need some elaborate genjutsu. In this instance we are looking for subtlety, the most refined form of the art" explained the crimson eyed kunoichi.
Kakashi, Tsume, and Kuromaru caught on to where she was going with her plan. "I assume you have something in mind?" asked Kakashi. Kurenai nodded, "We can create a genjutsu that makes Yakumo seem docile to everyone else we come across."
Naruto seemed a little confused. "Why the docile one?"
"Because it will make it seem as though she is cooperating rather than fighting us like the one we currently have bound" explained Tsume, getting a nod of understanding from the blonde. Shikamaru was the next to speak, "Should we disguise Naruto's chains? I mean it may be seen as an attack or be called one if they try to stop us." Before Kakashi could answer Naruto spoke to answer the Nara's question, "No, the properties of my chains would dispel the chakra over them." Shikamaru noted to save this information for later.
"What if the Kurama members try to stop us?" asked Tsume. Kakashi gave it some thought before answering. "We tell them she is coming with us as a witness" proposed Kakashi. Before anyone could comment the bound girl shouted out, "I didn't agree to anything!" Despite her outburst everyone ignored her in favor of putting their plan into action.
In Konoha's hospital the team that went to the Kurama family home was in a room joined by Tsunade and Shizune while Tsunade's Anbu were guarding all entrances to the room. Naruto was standing next to the bed they had Yakumo sitting on, keeping her bound with his chains to prevent her from using any genjutsu during the time it would take anyone to bind her with suppression cuffs and a blindfold. On the wall away from the bed Yakumo was bound to was the remainder of the team, all waiting for Tsunade to address them.
Tsunade was going over Yakumo with a fine tooth come, taking into account what she had been told by her second apprentice that lead up to the girl thrashing and cursing in her seated position. Once she was done making her notes on Yakumo she turned her attention to the team that brought her back. "So you told me who she but care to explain why you believe she's the culprit?" The team gave their Hokage their evidence, as circumstantial as it is, as to why the girl before them was their chief suspect.
As the team was giving their report to the Hokage the remainder of Team 7 was brought to the hospital by Yugao, doing so under the pretext that she wanted to get to know her former Captain's new team since she spent the entire time at the training grounds assisting in getting them up to snuff.
Despite the woman's best effort of the Anbu Captain Sasuke was still anti-social, though that may have to do with the fact Yugao spent the entire time kicking him across the field while denying him the use of his Sharingan. Sakura on the other hand spent a lot of time trying to pry into Kakashi's personal life, asking the purple haired woman several questions including how she and Kakashi met. This was replied to with several instances of dodge training, something the older woman picked up from her dango loving friend Anko.
As the three were leaving, after getting Sasuke's arm reset and Sakura getting covered in bandages to the point she looked like a mummy, with Yugao taking mental notes she would bring up to Kakashi. 'The Uchiha seems to be where he should be for his age. His emotional stability still needs work despite Kakashi-kun's best efforts. He should be sent to therapy soon so his emotions don't compromise him in the future, especially if the Curse Seal is whispering in his head if his will falters' she thought grimly. 'That being said his ability to learn new skills is as predicted but that applies to things Uchiha were known for. If he is learning a skill outside his family's background, he takes more time to grasp it as if he were a normal student and not a prodigy.'
Yugao then turned her attention to the pinkette. 'I can see why Kakashi focused on genjutsu with Sakura-san. She picks up the art better then Kurenai did at her age. On that note I should make sure that Kakashi sets up a schedule with Kurenai to get the girl proper tutelage. She has a great grasp on the basics of the art but she would need a more specialized teacher for her to progress even faster. Though their may be another skill she would need to look into for her to reach Chunin' thought the Anbu Captain.
As they were walking around through the hall Yugao noticed the security around one room. Curious she approached the door in a non-threatening manner. Seeing their "teacher" breaking off Sasuke and Sakura were curious as to what she was doing. As she approached the door opened and Sakura and Sasuke were surprised to see Tsunade along with Shizune leaving the room with Naruto hot on their heels. Before they could call out to him Kakashi, Kurenai, and Shikamaru along with a woman that had a strong resemblance to Kiba, the resemblance being cemented by canine following closely behind her.
The two saw Tsunade rub Naruto's head as he smiled widely at her. Sasuke felt a feeling of jealousy creep through him. He remembered the time his mother used to do that for him. He would always shuck her hand off his head. Now however … he missed the feeling. Sakura on the other hand was curious as to what Naruto was doing. Was he back from his mission? Did he get hurt? Well standing around wasn't going to get her any answers.
"Hey! Naruto!" called the pinkette. Naruto, along with everyone else, turned to see who called him effectively ruining Yugao's attempt to surprise Kakashi when she saw him. Naruto waved to his teammates before looking to Tsunade to ensure that she knew he was going off to meet with his team. Tsunade gave him a smile as she placed her hand on his back before she lightly pushed him forward letting him know it was okay to go talk to his team.
Meanwhile Kakashi met with his girlfriend. "Hello Yugao-chan. What brings you here?" asked the Copy-Nin. Yugao smiled up at Kakashi. "Well I was just bringing your team in…" she gestured to Sasuke and Sakura, "… as they had a bit of a difficult time during training." Kakashi looked to where his additional students were only to see one was a mummy while another had their arm in a sling. Worried about his student's health. Yugao waved off his worries, instead drawing the conversation she wanted Kakashi to have with Kurenai about Sakura.
Back with the youngest members of Team 7 Sakura asked the Chunin of their team. "So Naruto how was your mission without us?" Naruto scratched the back of his head. "Well … um … it was kinda boring. I mean we met his guy who was super full of himself. I mean he acted like he was superior to the Daimyo" the blonde said as he crossed his arms and nodded with his eyes closed. The two remaining members of Team 7 really didn't want to believe him but considering they watch a dog literally drag Naruto through a minefield so …. The two pitied Naruto for that. Knowing the blonde, it must have been hard on him to not make a scene.
"Then we ended up meeting this girl that seems to have a split personality. One is really calm but can be skittish when surprised. The other one is really aggressive" explained Naruto. He had to be careful with how he explained his mission as there were many things he couldn't disclose yet. Sasuke was curious about this girl with a second personality. They way the second was described it resembled his Curse Seals voice in a way. Seeing asking Naruto to see her as a quick way of getting denied, he decided to walk in the direction of her room and catch a glimpse of the girl as he walked past. When he looked inside he saw a brown haired girl sitting similar to how he did when he awoke from his time after the massacre, though she had restraints attached to her arms, probably due to her second personality.
"Is that the girl?" asked Sasuke as they walked by. Naruto saw the room number they were passing and he nodded. "Yeah she's the girl we met on the mission" confirmed Naruto. Sasuke turned to Naruto, "Can you tell me about her?" Naruto slowly shook his head. "Sorry but stuff surrounding her is classified" apologized the blonde. That reminded him of how the Sandaime had corralled people from asking questions about the massacre when he was hospitalized.