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Chapter Text

Naruto hissed through her teeth as the wind chakra seared against her palm, the unstable sphere of energy flickering before collapsing into nothing. Her hand stung from the backlash, but she stubbornly clenched her fist, refusing to give up.

Jiraiya had told her once that her father had tried to merge elemental chakra with the Rasengan—an ambition even the Fourth Hokage couldn’t achieve before his death. Kakashi had made the attempt too, his failure giving birth to the technique that would later become known as the Raikiri.

And now, the task had been left to her.

Jiraiya had claimed she was the one who could pull it off, then promptly vanished in the name of “research,” leaving her to wrestle with the impossible on her own.

Naruto scowled at the empty training ground, her hand throbbing. “Thanks a lot, Ero-sennin…”

The two of them were still settled in the forests surrounding the Hidden Hot Water Village, their makeshift camp tucked between tall cedars and steaming springs. This marked the third month of her training trip, and—like always—they had circled back here.

Naruto liked to tell herself it was because the quiet forests made for good training grounds, but Jiraiya was far less subtle. He had already proclaimed, more than once, that the village’s sukiyaki was unmatched across the Five Nations. It had become their unspoken routine: train until her hands blistered, eat until she nearly burst, then rest just long enough to do it all over again

It was March now, and with the turn of the season came the first year of her long training regimen. Jiraiya had laid it out clearly for her—at least, in the way he explained things. The first year would be devoted to the foundations: taijutsu, fūinjutsu, honing her sensory abilities and in whatever spare time she could scrape together, her own stubborn pursuit of the wind-infused Rasengan.

The second year would shift focus to ninjutsu and genjutsu, with the former pushed hard until it became second nature, and the latter drilled just enough that she could counter those who relied on illusions.

And the third year… that was the true test. A year meant for refinement, for weaving together everything she had mastered, for claiming her father’s Hiraishin as her own. But it wasn’t only about power. Jiraiya had promised to open the doors to his spy network, to teach her the subtleties of gathering information, weaving contacts, and keeping a nation’s worth of secrets balanced on her shoulders. He never said it outright, but Naruto understood: if the unthinkable ever happened, if Jiraiya were to fall in battle, she had to be prepared to step in—if not to lead, then at least to preserve what he had built.

Naruto flexed her burnt hand, grit her teeth, and willed the Rasengan back into existence.

If her father hadn’t finished this technique, then she would.

Naruto’s breath hitched. Her senses, sharpened from weeks of grueling drills, flared with warning. Someone was here.

She spun on instinct, chakra prickling at her fingertips—only to find herself face-to-face with a pair of eyes she knew all too well. Dark, unreadable, and carrying a weight that seemed to press against the air itself.

Itachi Uchiha.

For a heartbeat, neither of them moved. The forest was silent save for the faint bubbling of a distant hot spring, the smell of damp cedar heavy between them.

Her right hand twitched, still raw from failed Rasengan practice. She didn’t dare look away.

“…Itachi?” she said finally, her voice uncertain, questioning, as she regarded the man with sharp wariness. The jinchūriki knew she stood no chance of beating Itachi—at least, not as she was now. Against a man like him, she was little more than a child trying to swat down a storm.

Her mind raced. The village was a fifteen–minute sprint away at best, and that was assuming Itachi let her turn her back. She wasn’t foolish enough to believe she could outrun him.

That left her with only one option.

She’d need to bide her time, find the smallest opening, and summon a toad—one of the elder contracts. If she was quick enough, if her chakra didn’t falter, she could have them reverse-summon her straight out of danger.

“It’s rare to find you alone,” Itachi said quietly, his tone unreadable—flat enough to be observation.

Her throat felt dry. She wanted to demand why he was here, what he wanted, but the words caught. For the first time since Jiraiya had left her on her own, she felt painfully aware that she was still just in training.

“…Why are you here?” Naruto asked at last, her chakra already stirring in the pit of her stomach

“Relax,” Itachi said at last, his tone low and unhurried. “I’m not here to take you.”

Naruto blinked, thrown by the words. For a moment, her tension faltered, then came back sharper, coiling tight in her chest.

“Yeah?” she shot back, voice edged with suspicion. “You’ll forgive me if I don’t just… relax. Missing-nin don’t exactly show up in the middle of nowhere to chat over tea.”

Itachi let out a soft huff—almost imperceptible, but it carried a note of amusement. Naruto’s glare sharpened instantly, cheeks burning more from embarrassment than anger.

“I saw you practicing a wind-infused Rasengan,” he said, as if shifting the topic could diffuse the tension lingering between them.

It seemed to work. Naruto straightened instinctively, her eyes narrowing with focus. “What?” she asked, wary but curious.

“You’re overthinking it,” Itachi continued, his tone steady, almost clinical. “Think of the Rasengan as something that rotates clockwise, and the wind chakra as something that rotates anti-clockwise. Then… focus on doing both at the same time.”

He paused, observing her closely. Naruto was more shocked than anything else, as if she hadn’t expected such a simple—yet precise—explanation from a traitor of Konoha.

Her purple eyes flickered with a mix of disbelief and dawning comprehension. “That… that’s it?” she whispered, almost to herself.

Itachi inclined his head, expression unreadable. “It is. Nothing more. Nothing less. The rest is up to you.''

Before Naruto could even form a reply, Itachi’s figure seemed to blur, and in the blink of an eye, he was gone—vanished as silently and mysteriously as he had appeared.

Naruto’s eyes widened, her chest tightening with a mixture of awe and frustration. She swore she had just been on the verge of asking him a dozen questions, and now… nothing. It was painful, seeing him—first in Tanzuku Town, and now here, in the quiet of the forest. Memories clawed their way to the surface, vivid and unbidden. She had been relatively close to Itachi when she was a child.

He had been assigned as one of her guards, one of the few she could count on for serious guidance. Twice a week, he would train her, correcting her stance, showing her how to properly throw kunai and shuriken, pushing her to sharpen both body and mind. Those lessons had left their mark, forming the foundations of the shinobi she was becoming.

Now, watching him vanish so effortlessly after giving her pointers on a technique she had spent months perfecting, Naruto’s emotions tangled—gratitude, confusion, and the faint sting of betrayal all at once.

Why had he done it? Why risk showing her a path forward when he was part of the Akatsuki, a mercenary group actively hunting jinchūriki? The questions gnawed at her.

Naruto clenched her jaw, her purple eyes narrowing as she stared at the empty spot where he had been. She couldn’t reconcile the gentle guidance of her childhood mentor with the cold shadow of a missing-nin who hunted people like her.

And yet… a part of her burned to understand. To figure out the reasoning behind his actions.

Chapter Text

Jiraiya grinned as the wind began to whip and coil around his apprentice’s hand, the unstable chakra sharpening into a high, ringing whistle that cut through the training ground. His hair and robes stirred in the sudden current, but he didn’t so much as blink.

Instead, he was beaming with pride, chest swelling as he watched her stubborn determination finally take form.

The sphere in Naruto’s palm spun wildly, unstable at its edges, threads of wind chakra hissing and snapping like blades desperate to cut free. It wobbled dangerously, the shriek of compressed air nearly deafening—but it held.

Naruto’s purple eyes widened, disbelief flickering across her face. “I… I did it—!”

The orb sputtered once, twice, before bursting apart in a violent gust, tearing shallow grooves into the earth and scattering leaves in all directions. Naruto was thrown back a step, her arm stinging with fresh cuts, but the look on her face was nothing short of triumphant.

Jiraiya laughed, loud and booming, pride thick in his voice. “That’s my student! Heh—it took Minato years to create the rasengan, and you’ve managed to complete it within months.”

Naruto flexed her hand, blood beading along faint scratches, but her grin was wide and unyielding. “Next time,” she said, breathless but determined, “I won’t let it break.”

Jiraiya clapped a heavy hand onto her shoulder, nearly knocking her off balance. “Next time can wait. First breakthrough calls for celebration!”

Naruto blinked at him, then beamed at him. “Really? What kind of celebration? Are you gonna teach me a new jutsu, Sensei?”

“Food,” Jiraiya said firmly, already steering her toward the path that led back to the village. “This is how real shinobi celebrate progress. Hard work, good food, and maybe a drink or two if you’re old enough.”

“I’m not old enough!” she snapped, cheeks flushing.

“Which means more sake for me!” Jiraiya barked out a laugh.

Despite herself, Naruto’s lips twitched, the weight of her frustration easing as the warmth of accomplishment settled in. Her stomach growled at the mention of food, and she sighed, letting him drag her along.

“…Fine,” she muttered. “But you’re paying,”

“As if I ever don’t,” he replied with a smirk.

And just like that, the forest echoed not with the sharp ring of unstable chakra, but with their bickering—sharp, familiar, and far more comforting than silence.

Naruto frowned as she considered the exploding tag in front of her. She and Jiraiya had returned to their camp-site, the faint smell of forest smoke lingering in the cool evening air. Upon arrival, Jiraiya had all but sprawled across his futon, whilst Naruto immersed herself in more training.

Naruto sat cross-legged near the campfire, the flickering light dancing across the parchment in her hands. She could already feel the thrum of chakra woven into the ink of the tag, its pattern dense and tightly bound. To begin her training in fūinjutsu, Jiraiya had given her the task of deconstructing seals and then reconstructing them from memory—a way to understand not just how they worked, but why.

The sealing scrolls had been manageable; repetitive, almost meditative. But now, staring down the complexity of an exploding tag, she realized just how layered and dangerous the art of sealing truly was. Every stroke of ink mattered. Every character carried weight. One mistake in reconstruction and the result wouldn’t be a harmless puff of chakra—it would be fire, shrapnel, and ashes..

“Sensei,” she turned to the man, holding the tag between her fingers. “The kanji for 'explode' is used in exploding tags, but what would happen if a synonym was used? For example, instead of 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘭𝘰𝘥𝘦, if 𝘥𝘦𝘵𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘦 was written. Would it not work?”

Jiraiya cracked one eye open, watching her with the faintest smirk. “Hah. You’ve got a sharp head on your shoulders, kid. Most people don’t even ask that kind of question, they just copy what’s already written.”

He pushed himself up onto his elbow, his hair falling messily over one shoulder. “Here’s the thing: fūinjutsu isn’t just about the word on the paper. It’s about the meaning behind the word, the chakra you pour into it, and how it resonates with the rest of the seal. Kanji are vessels. Some carry the intent perfectly. Some… don’t. If you replace 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘭𝘰𝘥𝘦 with 𝘥𝘦𝘵𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘦, the tag might still work—but the output could be unstable. Maybe it fizzles. Maybe it blows bigger than you wanted. Or maybe,” he grinned wolfishly, “it doesn’t activate at all and leaves you holding a useless scrap of paper.”

Naruto blinked, caught somewhere between fascination and frustration. “So… it’s like a code, then? If the wrong word is used, the rest of the seal won’t understand it?”

“Exactly,” Jiraiya nodded. “That’s why fūinjutsu isn’t just drawing pretty kanji. It’s knowing the language of chakra itself. You’re not just writing—you’re commanding. Remember that.”

Naruto stared down at the tag, her brows furrowed in thought. A whole new layer of complexity had just opened before her, and instead of feeling daunted, she felt a spark of excitement ignite in her chest.

The road wound downward into a valley, the air sharper here, carrying the faint shimmer of quartz dust that clung to the rocks. Jiraiya walked with his usual unhurried gait, sandals scuffing against the dirt path, while Naruto kept a half-step behind, her eyes flicking uneasily toward the smoke trails in the distance.

She finally broke the silence. '‘Sensei… do you think it’s wise to be this close to Iwa’s territory?''

Jiraiya slowed his pace slightly, glancing back at her with a small, wry smile. “Wise? Probably not.''

The red-head tilted her head, studying him. “Then why are we going?”

“Because I have a contact there,” he said simply. “Someone I trust who feeds me information for my network. It’s neutral ground—we’re not here to make waves. Just keep your head down, and you’ll be fine.”

Naruto considered his words, letting them sink in. “And if… they happen to find out about me?”

Jiraiya chuckled softly. “They won’t. They aren't smart enough to piece together clues, there will probably be suspicions of you being an Uzumaki though.”

Naruto nodded slowly, a thoughtful expression settling over her features as the glittering rooftops of the Hidden Crystal Village appeared in the distance.

The village lay nestled in a shallow valley, sunlight catching the veins of crystal embedded in stone, making the rooftops glint like scattered gemstones. A gentle river wound its way through the settlement, its surface sparkling with the same faint shimmer. Smoke curled lazily from chimneys, carrying hints of wood smoke and faint, unfamiliar spices.

Naruto slowed her pace, eyes scanning the streets below. The village felt calm, almost serene—at odds with the reputation of shinobi settlements she knew. Children ran along the banks of the river, merchants called out their wares, and a few guards in glinting armor patrolled casually, their movements precise but relaxed.

“Wow,” Naruto grinned, taking in the atmosphere. “It's so pretty.”

“Yeah,” Jiraiya said, glancing around as they approached the village. “This is a civilian settlement. They specialize in jewelry and, although not very practical, crystal kunai. Mostly it’s sold to nobles—more for show than actual use.”

Naruto followed Jiraiya down a narrow street lined with small workshops, the soft clinking of hammers on metal and the gentle shimmer of crystals catching her eye. One shop in particular stood out—a window display filled with delicate jewelry, from crystal necklaces to ornamental hairpins.

Jiraiya paused, leaning casually against the wooden frame of the shop entrance. “I thought you might like this,” he said with a sly grin, gesturing toward the display.

Naruto’s eyes widened as she stepped closer. “It’s… beautiful,” she whispered, her gaze drawn to a single dangling earring set with a deep blue crystal. The hue was nearly identical to the stone in the necklace Tsunade had once given her, catching the sunlight in tiny flashes as it swayed.

The shop clerk, a kind-faced woman with nimble fingers, noticed her interest. “Ah, that one,” she said, picking it up carefully. “It’s not just for show, you know. This crystal is said to soothe stress and calm the mind.”

Naruto glanced at Jiraiya, who gave her a wink. “I’ll take it,” he said immediately, placing a few coins on the counter. “One earring, please.”

Naruto blinked. “One…?”

“One. You wear it on your left ear. It’ll balance out the necklace, and you don’t want to be weighed down by too much glamour at once, do you?” Jiraiya smirked, clearly enjoying himself.

The clerk chuckled as she carefully handed the small velvet pouch to Jiraiya. Naruto’s fingers brushed against the crystal as he passed it to her, and she felt a strange warmth spread through her chest.

“Thank you… Sensei,” she murmured softly, turning it over in her hand before carefully fastening it to her left ear. The tiny crystal caught the sunlight again, sending a spark of blue across her cheek.

Jiraiya gave her a satisfied nod. “There. Now you’ve got a little something to remind you that even on the toughest days, there’s always a spark worth keeping.”

Naruto smiled, the corners of her lips tugging upward. For a moment, the tension of her training and the unknowns ahead felt a little lighter.

Two hours ago, Jiraiya had slipped away to meet a contact, dropping a small pouch of coins into her hand and summoning a toad as a precaution. “Stick to crowded areas,” he had warned.

By afternoon, she found a small tea house tucked between workshops and decided to rest. Inside, sunlight danced across crystal ornaments on the shelves, and the aroma of herbs and pastries was soothing. Naruto settled in by the window, taking a careful sip of tea, letting herself relax while remaining alert. 𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘷𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘢𝘨𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘲𝘶𝘪𝘵𝘦 𝘱𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘦𝘧𝘶𝘭, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘴𝘦𝘦𝘮 𝘵𝘰 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦𝘪𝘨𝘯𝘦𝘳𝘴.

Naruto was pulled from her thoughts when the entrance bell jingled. Her eyes widened at the figure who stepped inside. 𝘕𝘰 𝘸𝘢𝘺… 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵—

Her suspicion solidified as the man’s gaze swept the room and landed on her. Without hesitation, he made his way to her table and slid into the seat across from her.

“Naruto,” the man greeted, his voice calm and measured. “I won’t harm you. Don’t worry.”

Naruto blinked, her heart skipping a beat. She studied his face, searching for any hint of deception, but his expression remained unreadable, steady. It had been a year since she’d last seen him in the Hidden Hot Water Village, and the encounter had never left her mind. She still couldn’t begin to understand why he had offered her those pointers during training—and had then vanished, leaving her to puzzle it out on her own.

“Itachi,” she said evenly, keeping her voice steady. She refused to let him see that he still unsettled her. “What are you doing here?”

“I had some… unofficial business,” he replied, pausing to thank the waitress who had brought him tea and a plate of dango. Then, almost casually, he added, “Did my advice help you?” 𝘋𝘪𝘥 𝘐 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘵𝘤𝘩 𝘢 𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨-𝘯𝘪𝘯 𝘴𝘢𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘬 𝘺𝘰𝘶?

Naruto considered him for a moment before replying. “It did. After that, it was just a matter of perfecting the form. So… thank you. It really helped.”

A strange sensation twisted in her chest—it felt odd to be thanking a criminal, someone who could have ended her life without hesitation. But she refused to let manners—or the lack thereof—be the reason she risked offending him.

Something flickered in his dark eyes for a brief moment, but it vanished as quickly as it appeared. “I see,” he said softly, reaching into his coat. From the folds, he produced a scroll and placed it on the table. “I have something else for you. A list of poisons…and their antidotes.”

Naruto regarded the scroll warily, her instincts on high alert. 𝘞𝘩𝘺 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘦? 𝘐𝘴 𝘪𝘵 𝘢 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘱? “Uhm… thanks? But if you don’t mind me asking… why give this to me? Wouldn’t someone else from the Akatsuki—or your…‘boy toy’ partner—benefit more from this?”

Itachi’s lips twitched into something that sounded suspiciously like a snort at the term 'boy toy', but he quickly masked it with a deliberate cough. “Don’t worry about it. I think it would benefit you more.”

Before Naruto could respond, he stood, his movements fluid and precise. Leaning slightly toward her, he muttered, almost under his breath, “Be careful, Naruto.”

And then he was gone, leaving only the faint echo of his footsteps and the scroll resting ominously on the table.

Naruto stared at the parchment, heart hammering. Confusion and suspicion warred within her—was this truly a gift, or did he have some other ulterior motive?

Chapter Text

"𝘏𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘺 𝘣𝘪𝘳𝘵𝘩𝘥𝘢𝘺, 𝘯𝘢𝘳𝘶𝘵𝘰."

Naruto grinned as the man ruffled her hair and pulled her into a side hug.

"Thank you, sensei." The two of them were in the Hidden Frost Village—they had stopped by so Naruto could meet some of her friends, and this was the first time she'd seen Jiraiya in a week. She could feel tears brimming in her eyes as the man she considered a father figure hugged her.

"Don’t get all sappy on me, brat. I’ve got some presents for you!" He grinned and unsealed several things from a scroll.

First, he handed her a small bundle of specially-made kunai. “Wind-inductive steel. They’ll respond better to your chakra nature—it should make your techniques sharper.”

Then, more carefully, he set down folded clothing wrapped in protective paper. His expression softened. “And this… this is a replica of something Kushina used to wear. If I remember correctly, she had it on the day Minato finally managed to create the Rasengan.”

Naruto’s breath hitched. Her fingers trembled as she touched the fabric, and the tears she’d been holding back finally slipped down her cheeks. “Sensei…” she whispered, her voice breaking.

Jiraiya awkwardly rubbed the back of his neck, looking away as if embarrassed. “Oi, oi, don’t go crying on me now. It’s your birthday—you’re supposed to smile, brat.”

But even as he said it, his hand came up to gently ruffle her hair again, softer this time, as though to tell her it was okay to cry.

Naruto couldn’t help it—she lunged forward and wrapped her arms around Jiraiya, clutching him tightly. He stiffened for a second, then sighed and returned the embrace, a big hand resting on the back of her head. For a moment, it was easy to forget everything else: the war, the Akatsuki, the weight of her heritage. Right now, it was just her and her sensei.

When she finally pulled back, wiping her cheeks quickly, Jiraiya cleared his throat and reached for the last item he’d unsealed.

"This one’s from Tsunade," he said, holding out a neatly folded flak jacket—the deep green unmistakable. Naruto blinked, confusion flickering across her face until he added, "Congratulations, brat. You’ve been promoted to jōnin."

Her mouth fell open. “Wait—what?!”

Jiraiya chuckled at her reaction. “You remember when we were in the Hidden Grass Village and that group of Iwa men jumped us?”

Naruto nodded slowly, brows furrowed.

"That wasn’t random. It was actually a test Tsunade set up—she wanted to see how you handled yourself in a real, high-pressure situation. You passed, Naruto. More than passed. And besides," he smirked knowingly, "we need you to have jōnin-level clearance for the town we’re about to go to. Makes it easier to move around without drawing the wrong kind of attention."

Naruto stared down at the jacket in disbelief, then back at Jiraiya, a mix of pride and nerves bubbling in her chest. “I… I don’t even know what to say.”

"‘Thank you’ usually works,” Jiraiya teased, though his grin softened as he watched her hold the jacket like it was the most important thing in the world.

They made their way to the next town, nestled on the outskirts of the Land of Rivers. Compared to the scattered villages they’d passed through, this one was far livelier—bustling trade caravans rolled in from every direction, and the air was thick with the scent of spice, parchment, and ink.

Jiraiya explained their destination as they walked. “We’re heading to the library here. Supposedly one of the largest in the world. Records of the Great Shinobi Wars, jutsu, even updated bingo books—you name it, they’ve got it.”

Naruto’s eyes widened slightly. “A library?” she echoed, adjusting the sleeves of the outfit Jiraiya had gifted her for her birthday. It still felt strange on her, not in a bad way—just heavy with meaning.

"Not just any library," Jiraiya smirked, hands tucked into his sleeves. “This one requires jōnin clearance to access the restricted sections. Which is why Tsunade promoted you.”

Naruto grinned faintly, tugging at the fabric. “Yeah, this feels right.”

Jiraiya glanced down at her, a softer expression crossing his features. “You look the spitting image of her when she wore it. It suits you.”

The library towered above the rest of the town, a sprawling structure of stone and polished wood, with intricate carvings of cranes and foxes running along its arches. Its sheer size was enough to make Naruto stop in her tracks.

“Woah… it’s huge,” she breathed, craning her neck back.

“Impressed, huh?” Jiraiya chuckled, pushing the doors open. “This place has been collecting knowledge for centuries. Half the villages in the world send scrolls here to preserve their records.”

Inside, the scent of old parchment filled the air. Rows upon rows of shelves stretched into the distance, some stacked so high that ladders were needed to reach them. Shinobi in flak jackets and scholars in simple robes walked the aisles in silence, the only sound the soft rustle of pages turning.

At the front desk, a sharp-eyed clerk raised a brow at them. “Identification?”

Jiraiya slid forward his credentials, then nodded toward Naruto. “She’s with me. Newly promoted.”

The clerk’s eyes flicked over Naruto. Then, with a curt nod, he handed over two visitor seals. “Restricted clearance confirmed. Welcome to the Grand Archive.”

Naruto pinned the seal to her sleeve, her fingers brushing the crystal earring Jiraiya had given her in the previous town. Her heart skipped. For the first time she was actually excited about being in a library.

Jiraiya smirked at her expression. “Try not to get lost, kid. This place can swallow you whole.”

Naruto trailed after Jiraiya as they moved deeper into the library, past aisles lined with history tomes and war records, until they reached a restricted section marked with the kanji for technique. The shelves here were older, the scrolls tucked neatly into lacquered cases with tags denoting their nature: fire release, water release, taijutsu forms, and even the occasional fuinjutsu theory.

Naruto’s eyes widened. “This is… incredible. It’s like every village’s secrets are all here.”

“Not every village,” Jiraiya corrected, keeping his voice low. “But a lot. Some willingly contributed, others… well, let’s just say wars tend to scatter knowledge around. The Archive collects what it can, then locks it behind clearance levels.”

He guided her toward a row marked wind release. “Thought this might interest you. You’ve got the affinity, and it doesn’t hurt to add more to your arsenal.”

Naruto leaned forward eagerly, scanning the tags. Some were techniques she’d heard of—basic wind cutters, slicing gales—but others were names she didn’t recognize at all. She reached for a scroll labeled Vacuum Palm, only for Jiraiya to tap her wrist.

“Easy, brat. You don’t learn everything in a day,” he said firmly. “Pick the ones that interest you, copy them into a scroll, and we’ll move out in two hours.”

She nodded reluctantly, pulling the scroll free. The parchment was old, the ink slightly faded, but she could already feel her heart pounding with excitement.

Jiraiya chuckled at her expression. “Just don’t blow yourself up this time, alright?”

Naruto shot him a glare, but couldn’t keep the grin from tugging at her lips.

The sun had begun to dip toward the horizon as Naruto and Jiraiya stepped out of the Grand Archive, the heavy doors closing behind them with a resonant thud. The streets of the riverside town were bathed in a warm, amber glow, lanterns flickering to life along the walkways.

Naruto adjusted the strap of the scroll bag on her back, feeling the weight of the day’s work settle pleasantly across her shoulders. Five wind-style jutsu, four fire, two water. She let out a quiet breath, a small smile tugging at her lips. Not bad for a single day.

“Sensei,” she began, glancing at Jiraiya as they walked side by side, “I can’t believe I actually copied all of those in just a couple of hours.”

Jiraiya chuckled, his ever-present smirk tugging at the corner of his mouth. “Like I said, quality over quantity, but you’ve got a knack for this. Keep your head in the game, and you’ll be surprising even yourself.”

Naruto’s eyes flicked down to the scrolls, neatly tucked and secured. She felt a warm pride swell inside her, the kind that came from seeing tangible progress, from conquering something that had once seemed impossible.

As the scent of grilled fish and fresh bread wafted toward them from a nearby eatery, Naruto’s stomach growled, breaking her reverie.

“Dinner,” she muttered, a grin spreading across her face. “Nothing fuels progress like food.”

Jiraiya laughed, looping an arm casually around her shoulder. “You got that right, brat. Let’s eat before you pass out from overworking your brain.”

Naruto matched his laugh with her own, the city lights reflecting off the scrolls in her bag, and for a moment, the weight of the world felt lighter. The path of a shinobi was long, but days like this—filled with learning, laughter, and the quiet thrill of mastery—made every step worth it.

Naruto glanced up at the darkening sky as she made her way toward one of the training grounds. After dinner, she and Jiraiya had split up—she was off to practice some of the new jutsu, while he, presumably, had other… recreational plans.

Naruto arrived at the training ground, the moonlight casting pale silver across the open clearing. She crouched for a moment, gathering her chakra, and then focused on the two new water jutsu she had carefully copied from the library scrolls: Water Release: Water Formation Wall and Water Release: Wild Water Wave.

With a sharp exhale, she summoned forty shadow clones in a swift motion, the wood and stone around her rippling with the sudden surge of chakra. She split them evenly, twenty clones taking position on one side of the clearing, the other twenty on the opposite, each mimicking her every movement with eerie precision.

Satisfied with the arrangement, Naruto sat cross-legged on the ground, brushing her red hair out of her face. She pulled the fūinjutsu scroll from her bag, the parchment slightly creased from her earlier handling, and began reading through it carefully.

The clones moved in unison, forming walls of water that shimmered under the moonlight and sending crashing waves rolling across the clearing, their movements a mirror of the written instructions Naruto had memorized. She watched with focused eyes, occasionally murmuring corrections under her breath as the jutsu’s flow danced between the two groups.

Naruto’s eyes caught a shadow skimming across the moonlit training ground. She looked up to see a solitary crow gliding silently, its wings cutting through the night air, the feathers catching the silver light of the moon. It landed gently on her lap, tilting its head with a patient, deliberate gaze, as if it had a secret to share.

Attached to its leg was a small note. She picked it up, feeling the smooth weight of the paper between her fingers. The words were simple, almost stark in their brevity:

“𝘏𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘺 𝘣𝘪𝘳𝘵𝘩𝘥𝘢𝘺.”

No signature. No flourish. And yet, she knew.

Her fingers traced the edges of the note, curiosity tinged with warmth. She noticed a tiny sealed compartment along the crease. With careful hands, she released the seal. Inside lay a wristband, engraved with intricate fūinjutsu seals. Her chest tightened—a storage band, precise, thoughtful, and unmistakably designed for her. It was Itachi, as meticulous and considered as ever, gifting her not just an object, but a tool to support her growth.

Tears pricked at her eyes as she slid it onto her wrist. It fit perfectly, as if it had been waiting there for her all along. The band hummed faintly with latent chakra, and she marveled at the elegance of the seals, imagining all the possibilities it offered.

For a moment, the world fell silent around her. The distant rustle of leaves, the soft chirping of night insects, and the faint murmur of a river in the distance—all faded beneath the quiet hum of her heartbeat.

She leaned back on the grass, gazing up at the stars scattered across the sky, their pale light reflecting off the band. Her voice was barely a whisper, carried on the gentle night wind:

“Thank you, Itachi.”

The crow fluttered its wings, giving a small, deliberate hop before lifting into the night sky, disappearing into the moonlight. Naruto stayed there for a long moment, alone under the vast expanse of stars—but not lonely. Not really.

Chapter Text

Naruto grinned as the salty tang of the ocean filled her senses, carried by the brisk sea breeze. She and Jiraiya had left the Land of Waves two days ago and were now traveling by boat toward Uzushiogakure—her persistent insistence guiding their course. She had longed to see the home of her ancestors, to walk the streets her family once knew.

This would be their last stop before returning to Konoha after three years of journeys, training, and missions that had shaped her into the shinobi she was now. The rhythmic lapping of waves against the hull was soothing, a gentle cadence that seemed to echo the pulse of the village she had only ever imagined.

The red-head took in a deep breath and leaned over the railing, eyes tracing the horizon where sky and sea met in a perfect, endless line. Her heart swelled with anticipation—and a quiet sense of coming home.

The ruined silhouette of Uzushiogakure slowly came into view, rising from the mist like a ghost of its former glory. Naruto’s breath caught in her throat. From afar, she could see collapsed towers and broken walls, their edges softened by years of wind and sea spray. Ivy and moss had claimed what once stood proud, weaving green into the red stone that had survived the storms.

Jiraiya stood beside her at the railing, his expression uncharacteristically solemn. “It’s been abandoned for decades,” he said quietly, almost as if speaking too loudly would disturb the dead. “But the whirlpools still protect it. No enemy could ever hope to reach this place by sea.”

Naruto’s hand tightened on the railing. 𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴… 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘮𝘺 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘥. 𝘞𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘮𝘺 𝘤𝘭𝘢𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘥. The thought filled her chest with something heavy, equal parts pride and sorrow.

When the boat finally docked, she leapt off before Jiraiya could stop her, sandals hitting the weathered pier with a soft thud. She walked ahead slowly, eyes wide as she took in every detail—the faded clan symbols carved into stone, the cracked streets where laughter once echoed, the faint shimmer of seals etched into the village gates that still pulsed with chakra even after all this time.

“This place…” Naruto whispered, her throat tight. “It’s like it’s waiting for someone to come back.”

Jiraiya gave her a faint smile, one hand on her shoulder. “Then maybe it was waiting for you, brat.”

As Naruto wandered deeper into the streets, her sharp eyes caught something unusual—a faint pattern etched into the ground, almost hidden beneath moss and rubble. Kneeling, she brushed away the debris and discovered an ornate seal, layered with intricate Uzumaki markings that pulsed faintly with chakra.

Her heart skipped. An underground chamber… sealed tight. Only an Uzumaki could unlock this.

Focusing, she traced the patterns with her fingers and murmured the chant Jiraiya had once taught her. Slowly, the air shifted; a low rumble echoed beneath her feet, and the stone hatch slid aside, revealing a staircase leading into darkness.

Torchlight flickered as she descended. The chamber was vast, lined with shelves overflowing with scrolls. Some were filled with gold threads and coins, remnants of Uzumaki wealth. Others contained detailed accounts of her clan’s history—battles, alliances, and the traditions that had kept them alive.

And then there were the technique scrolls. Naruto’s eyes widened as she carefully examined them. Lightning Release, Water Release, Fuinjutsu, and more—skills her ancestors had perfected over centuries. Each scroll radiated latent power.

She picked one up and unrolled it with care, scanning the intricate diagrams and explanations. Her pulse quickened as she realized the depth of the knowledge contained here—preserved for someone who could truly understand it.

Naruto didn’t feel the weight of duty or obligation. Instead, there was only curiosity, excitement, and a hunger to learn. Each scroll she examined, each seal she traced, was a puzzle, a skill to master, a window into the past.

For a long while, she simply explored, absorbed, and cataloged, savoring the rare thrill of discovering her heritage without pressure or expectation.

𝘑𝘶𝘴𝘵… 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨. 𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘵’𝘴 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘐 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘯𝘰𝘸, she thought, smiling softly.

Leaving Uzushiogakure, Naruto felt a serene sense of calm, as if a weight had lifted from her shoulders. She and Jiraiya had stayed for just a day, and after offering a quiet prayer for their fallen comrades, they finally set out for Konoha—after three years, she was finally going back.

She didn’t know how to feel. On one hand, there was excitement—she would see her friends again, laugh with them, and reconnect with the life she had left behind. On the other hand, a knot of unease tugged at her chest. Returning meant being thrust back into the dangers of the real world. The Akatsuki were still out there, and she knew she wouldn’t see Jiraiya as much.

A soft breeze ruffled her hair as she stared out at the horizon, the sun dipping low and painting the sky in warm shades of orange. Change was coming, and she wasn’t sure if she was ready—but somehow, the feeling wasn’t entirely unwelcome.

"Naruto, dinner’s ready!" Jiraiya called, snapping her out of her musings. She walked over and sat beside him. The scent of grilled fish filled the air.

“Sensei,” she began, her tone wary. “I… I’m kind of… scared to go back to Konoha.”

Jiraiya looked up from his plate, eyebrow raised. “Scared for what, Naruto?”

“I don’t know… scared for the future. For you, especially. You have no sense of danger, ya know?”

Jiraiya let out a loud, hearty guffaw. “You're one hundred years too young to be worrying about me, brat! But… if it makes you feel better, I’ll try my best to stay out of trouble, okay?”

Naruto couldn’t help the small smile tugging at her lips. Somehow, no matter what the future held, she knew she could count on him.

Naruto poked at her fish absently, her mind still drifting. “It’s… strange, you know? Three years away, and now going back… I don’t know if I’m ready.”

Jiraiya leaned back against a crate, arms crossed, eyes scanning the horizon as the sun dipped low. “Naruto… you’ve grown a lot these past years. You’ve faced things most shinobi twice your age couldn’t handle. You are ready. You just don’t know it yet.”

Naruto sighed, staring at the rippling waves. “I hope so… I just… I’m going to miss this. Us. Training like this, traveling… no one else understands like you do.”

Jiraiya smirked, reaching over to flick her forehead lightly. “Oi, don’t get all sentimental on me, brat. You’re gonna make me cry over fish now.”

She chuckled, shaking her head. “It’s not like that… I just…” She trailed off, smiling softly. “I just hope I can make you proud.”

He ruffled her hair once more, warm and steady. “You already do, Naruto. Every single day. Now finish your dinner before it gets cold, and try not to worry so much about the future. That’s my job, not yours.”

For a moment, the two of them sat in comfortable silence, listening to the gentle slap of waves against the hull. The sun’s final light glimmered on the water, and for the first time in days, Naruto felt a small, steady peace settle in her chest.

Tsunade sighed, leaning back in her chair and rubbing her temple. The paperwork in front of her seemed insignificant compared to the nagging worry gnawing at her. Jiraiya and Naruto were supposed to be back five days ago.

She glanced out the window, the afternoon sun casting long shadows across the Hokage office. “Where the hell are those two?” she muttered, more to herself than anyone else. The thought of the pair wandering the lands unsupervised made her stomach tighten.

Her fingers drummed impatiently on the desk. Jiraiya’s carefree streak and Naruto’s relentless curiosity weren’t exactly a recipe for punctuality. But five days… that was pushing it.

A knock at the door pulled Tsunade from her thoughts. “Come in,” she said, pushing a few papers aside to clear space on her desk.

Her eyes widened in surprise as the two figures stepped through the doorway. There were a dozen things she wanted to say, but the only words that escaped were, “There’s no way the two of you used the door.”

Jiraiya let out a booming laugh, his shoulders shaking, and Naruto couldn’t help but giggle along, the sound bright and infectious in the quiet office.

Tsunade’s stern expression softened as she took in the sight of the two of them. Her eyes lingered on Naruto, noting how she had grown into the perfect blend of her parents. Her red hair flowed past her mid-thighs, and her eyes held a fierce determination and confidence that far exceeded what they had when Tsunade first met her.

“Alright, where the hell have you two been? You were supposed to be back a week ago!” she grumbled, though the edge in her voice had dulled slightly.

Naruto’s grin widened. “I didn’t know you were so eager to see me, Granny! Sensei and I went to Uzushiogakure.” She bounced slightly on her heels, then held out a small bundle. “And I’ve got some presents for you!”

Tsunade blinked, momentarily taken aback. “Uzushiogakure? You didn’t even tell me you were going there!”

Jiraiya let out a loud laugh beside her, shaking his head. “Brat insisted, Hime. Wanted to see her ancestral home before coming back to Konoha.”

Tsunade raised an eyebrow, her frown softening into a small smile. “You went all the way there, and you brought me gifts? What am I, a child?”

“Granny,” Naruto teased, “you 𝘢𝘳𝘦 like a kid sometimes. Besides, you’re the Hokage. You deserve it!”

Tsunade unfolded the cloth, and her eyes widened in exaggerated surprise. “This is…” Her gaze darted to Naruto, who was grinning cheekily, then back to the bundle.

“Yeah, that’s right! Uzumaki fermented sake—the best in the business, ya' know!” Naruto said proudly.

Tsunade’s face broke into a huge smile, and before Naruto could react, she scooped her up into a tight glomp. “Naruto! You are the best person ever!”

Naruto grinned against Tsunade’s chest, warmth blooming in her heart. Despite all her earlier uncertainties, in this moment, she was simply glad to be 𝘩𝘰𝘮𝘦.

Naruto stretched her arms high over her head, a satisfied sigh leaving her as she strolled through the familiar streets of Konoha. The evening air was cool, lanterns flickering to life as villagers bustled about. She turned the corner toward her apartment when a familiar figure appeared, hands tucked in his pockets, face half-hidden behind his mask and hitai-ate.

“Kakashi-sensei,” Naruto called out, her grin breaking wide.

Kakashi’s visible eye crinkled in amusement as he stopped in front of her. “Well, look who finally decided to come home.”

Naruto tilted her head up to meet his gaze. “Tch, don’t make it sound like I was on vacation. I worked my butt off for three years, ya' know.”

Kakashi chuckled softly, pulling a small orange book from his vest but not opening it. “Oh, I don’t doubt that. You’ve grown stronger—anyone with eyes can tell.” His tone softened just slightly. “Welcome back, Naruto.”

Her grin faltered for a heartbeat, replaced by something gentler. “...Thanks, sensei. It’s good to be back.”

Kakashi fell into step beside her as they headed down the familiar streets of Konoha. The evening air was cool, lanterns flickering to life along the shopfronts.

“It feels weird,” Naruto admitted after a pause, her gaze wandering over the village she’d once known like the back of her hand. “Like everything’s the same… but different, ya know?”

“That’s how home works,” Kakashi replied, hands tucked in his pockets. “It stays here, waiting, while you go off and change. Then you come back and realize you’re not quite the same person who left.”

Naruto hummed, considering that, before her lips quirked up. “Heh, guess that means I’ll have to make the village get used to the new me.”

Kakashi’s visible eye curved slightly in amusement. “I’d say the village is in for a surprise. Not many people know you made jōnin while you were away… in fact, I think I’m the only one who does.”

Naruto blinked, then grinned proudly. “Heh, really? Then I guess I’ll get to show off when everyone least expects it.”

“Mm,” Kakashi mused, his tone light but approving. “That does sound like you.”

By the time they reached her apartment building, some of the tension she’d been carrying eased from her shoulders.

“Thanks for walking with me, Kakashi-sensei,” she said sincerely.

“Anytime,” he replied, giving her a lazy wave before turning down the street.

Naruto watched him go for a moment, then turned toward her door, a nagging feeling in the back of her mind.

When Naruto woke up that morning, something still felt… off. She pushed the unease aside, got dressed, ate a quick breakfast, and settled down with a fuinjutsu scroll. Tsunade had told her to stop by the office around noon, so she had time to kill until then.

That plan ended the moment her danger sense flared. A masked figure materialized in her room, and she nearly reached for a kunai—until she recognized the chakra. Just an ANBU. 𝘋𝘪𝘥 𝘎𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘯𝘺 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘥𝘦𝘤𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘐 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘱𝘢𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬?

“Hokage-sama requests your presence immediately, Uzumaki-san,” the operative said curtly.

Naruto nodded once, and in the next heartbeat, they vanished in a swirl of leaves.

The instant she stepped into the Hokage’s office, her gaze swept the room. Sakura was already there, standing stiffly by Kakashi’s side. Both turned when she entered. But what caught Naruto’s attention most was Tsunade’s expression—grim, carved in stone.

Her stomach sank. 𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘪𝘴 𝘨𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘯?

“Good. You’re all here,” Tsunade began, her voice matching the weight in her eyes. “I’ll keep this short—the Kazekage has been taken from his village. All signs point to the Akatsuki being responsible.”

Naruto’s eyes widened, her breath hitching. 𝘎𝘢𝘢𝘳𝘢’𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦𝘯 𝘢𝘭𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘺? They’d only gotten back yesterday. And the Akatsuki had already made their move.

Chapter Text

Naruto’s thoughts were a tangled mess as they moved swiftly through the forests of Hi no Kuni. They had been traveling since dawn, and now the sun was already beginning its slow descent beyond the treeline, painting the sky in shades of gold and crimson. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t shake the gnawing dread in her chest—the fear that they were already too late.

They had come across Temari not long ago, her expression sharp with worry. Sakura and Kakashi had quickly explained the situation as they moved, filling her in on what Tsunade had told them. Temari hadn’t wasted a breath before falling into step beside them, her pace urgent and her fists clenched. Now the group pressed on toward Sunagakure.

Kakashi held the official position of team leader on this mission, his seniority placing him above Naruto. However, should Sakura find herself paired with either of them during the operation, she was to follow their lead without question. Sakura was taken aback—she hadn’t even realized Naruto had made chūnin, let alone jōnin. Rather than feel discouraged, Sakura felt a surge of anticipation. She was eager to see just how much Naruto had improved over the years—and just as eager to prove that she hadn’t been slacking off either.

Rushing into Sunagakure, the group didn’t even pause to acknowledge the gate guards, ignoring the startled calls of “Temari-sama!” as they sped past. Their destination was clear—the hospital. As the mission report had stated, Kankurō had been poisoned while trying to fend off the Akatsuki.

The moment they arrived, Sakura hurried inside without hesitation, already pulling supplies from her pouch as she prepared to treat him. Kakashi and Naruto remained in the waiting area, tense and silent, while the muffled sounds of hurried footsteps and medical orders echoed from behind the doors.

Outside the hospital, Kakashi crouched and pressed a bloodstained scrap into his palm. With a puff of smoke, his ninken appeared, tails wagging as they waited for instructions. The scent had been taken from Kankurō during his desperate clash with the Akatsuki.

Kakashi couldn’t help but give the Suna shinobi credit—injured and poisoned as he was, Kankurō had still thought far enough ahead to leave them a trail. He probably knew Konoha would come.

The masked shinobi felt a surge of concern for Naruto. He knew she was strong—exceptionally so—but that didn’t change the fact that she was a marked target of the Akatsuki, and sending her on this mission was a huge gamble. He heard Pakkun’s bark before catching sight of him. The little dog gave a sharp nod, and Kakashi responded with a subtle, acknowledging nod of his own. Pakkun had located the scent. They would be facing the Akatsuki soon.

Chiyo, one of the Sand Village’s elders, had joined their mission to rescue the Kazekage. He cast a quick glance at his team—Naruto moved in near silence, her eyes burning with restrained anger, while Sakura kept a steady stream of conversation going with the elder. Kakashi focused ahead, letting the rhythmic crunch of their footsteps drive him forward, and silently pushed himself to quicken the pace.

Naruto held up a hand, signaling the group to halt, and they landed silently in a small clearing. Her eyes widened in shock. 𝘐𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵… 𝘐𝘵𝘢𝘤𝘩𝘪? Extending her chakra senses, a jolt of realization hit her—but something didn’t add up. 𝘞𝘢𝘪𝘵… 𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘰𝘦𝘴𝘯’𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘮𝘺 𝘴𝘦𝘢𝘭. Her purple eyes narrowed, sharp with suspicion.

The man before them wasn’t Itachi. 𝘞𝘢𝘴 𝘪𝘵 𝘢 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘴𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘫𝘶𝘵𝘴𝘶? Her instincts screamed no—she wasn’t sensing even half of his chakra. The rest… belonged to someone else entirely, a foreign presence woven into the illusion. Naruto’s fists clenched. 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘺'𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘳𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘶𝘺 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦.

“Don’t look into his eyes! He can cast genjutsu with just a glance. Keep your eyes down—if you get caught, it’s over,” Naruto heard Kakashi’s calm voice warn Chiyo and Sakura from beside her. Naruto subtly glanced at Kakashi, sending a silent, 𝘓𝘦𝘵 𝘮𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘭𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴.

Kakashi raised a single eyebrow, his visible eye narrowing. 𝘈𝘳𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘦?

She inclined her head confidently. With a resigned nod, Kakashi stepped back to stand beside Sakura, giving her the space she needed.

Naruto spoke up, her voice steady despite the tension. “This isn’t the real Itachi.”

Sakura stammered from beside Kakashi, keeping her gaze low, her fear barely contained. “W-what do you mean, Naruto? Is it a transformation jutsu?” 𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘮𝘢𝘯… 𝘩𝘦’𝘴 𝘚𝘢𝘴𝘶𝘬𝘦-𝘬𝘶𝘯’𝘴 𝘣𝘳𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘸𝘪𝘱𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘳𝘦 𝘤𝘭𝘢𝘯 𝘪𝘯 𝘢 𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘭𝘦 𝘯𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵… 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘬𝘪𝘭𝘭… she gulped, her heart hammering.

“A variation of sorts, I guess,” Naruto explained, her eyes scanning the figure intently. “It seems that, despite appearances, most of the chakra here isn’t Itachi’s. Only about thirty percent belongs to him.”

“A diversion tactic…” Chiyo muttered, realization dawning.

“As expected of you, Naruto,” the calm, eerily composed voice of Itachi—real or not—cut through the air.

Naruto would have grinned—if the situation weren’t so tense. The Itachi-clone’s Sharingan flickered subtly, a clear warning that she couldn’t afford even a moment’s carelessness.

The clearing was tense, the air thick with anticipation. The Itachi-clone lunged at Naruto with blinding speed. She twisted sideways, her hair whipping around her face, landing lightly on the balls of her feet. Leaves rustled underfoot, stirred by the sudden movement.

He struck first—a quick punch grazed her shoulder. Naruto stumbled slightly but recovered instantly, grinning. Itachi had once disagreed to sparring with her, citing that the surge of chakra would likely alert his partner, Kisame, a sensor of unusual acuity.

She flowed into a counterattack, striking with precision. The clone parried, spinning to land a swift kick to her side. She absorbed it with a subtle shift of her weight, barely slowed

Itachi surged forward again, but Naruto’s movements were fluid, precise, almost effortless. She sidestepped a quick kick and delivered a spinning backhand, narrowly avoiding his counter. Her eyes flickered with focus, analyzing his rhythm as if reading an open book.

“You’ve improved,” Itachi said, voice carrying a hint of pride while parrying a strike. 𝘛𝘰 𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘮𝘶𝘤𝘩 𝘪𝘯 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘦𝘦 𝘺𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘴. 𝘐'𝘮 𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘮𝘦 𝘢𝘵 𝘧𝘶𝘭𝘭 𝘱𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘳 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘢 𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘥 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘩𝘦𝘳.

Naruto smirked, circling him lightly. “I’m not a child anymore Itachi, I can't rely on you anymore.”

In a sudden blur, Itachi landed a swift punch to her side, a clean hit that made her stumble back a step, though her footing remained solid. She grinned, brushing off the minor setback.

“Don't get cocky, Naruto.” he warned her.

Naruto didn’t respond, instead striking again, forcing him to retreat backwards. She used the opening to press forward, and in the middle of a high kick, she brushed her palm along his back. In that instant, a faint Hiraishin seal blinked into existence.

He barely had time to notice before she landed and spinned into another strike. He blocked, then countered with a sharp elbow that grazed her shoulder. Another quick hit, a knee to her side that made her stumble slightly—but she was already in motion again, spinning away and grinning.

“Be careful, Naruto. The two you’ll be facing are far more dangerous than this clone,” Itachi murmured, his voice low enough for her alone to hear, narrowly avoiding another rapid flurry of strikes.

“You won’t be there?” she asked, ducking beneath a high kick. Her movements were smooth, precise, and faster than he had expected.

“No,” he admitted. “There will be Sasori, a puppeteer who wields deadly poisons, and Deidara, a master of explosives.”

Naruto said nothing, her focus sharpening. With a quick, fluid motion, she slipped back inside his guard. Another rapid exchange of blows followed—Naruto landing several precise strikes, while Itachi managed to connect with two hits that tested her reflexes, causing a brief stumble. She quickly recovered, eyes narrowing in focus.

In the middle of a flurry, she tapped lightly on his back, activating a gravity seal. Itachi’s eyes flickered with surprise as the weight pulled him down slightly, slowing his movements. If this had been the real Itachi, she knew it wouldn’t have even fazed him.

Taking a step back to create distance, Naruto formed a Rasengan in her right palm. With a blur of motion, she vanished in a flash and reappeared behind him, slamming the spinning sphere into his back with pinpoint precision.

Sakura’s jaw hung slightly open. “What… what was that jutsu?”

The force of the hit sent him sprawling forward, the Rasengan dissipating as he hit the ground. Naruto landed lightly beside him, breathing evenly, her face grim.

Kakashi’s eye widened. 𝘛𝘰 𝘮𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘚𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘦𝘪'𝘴 𝘫𝘶𝘵𝘴𝘶 𝘪𝘯 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘦𝘦 𝘺𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘴, 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘭𝘺 𝘪𝘴 𝘢 𝘮𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘰𝘧 𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘥 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬.

Chiyo leaned forward, eyes narrowing, disbelief clear in her expression. “That’s… that’s the Fourth Hokage’s technique… but…” Her voice trailed off, astonished.

They watched in astonishment as Itachi’s form twisted and shifted, settling into a new figure. Chiyo’s eyes widened. “That’s Yura… a man from the Jōnin Council,” she breathed, barely able to contain her shock.

Kakashi’s visible eye narrowed, a mix of surprise and calculated curiosity crossing his features. “So that’s the trick,” he murmured, his mind already analyzing the technique. "This Yura... they used him?" he muttered under his breath, fists tightening.

Naruto’s own anger simmered quietly, her purple eyes narrowing. 𝘛𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘤𝘦𝘥 𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘬𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘢𝘯 𝘪𝘯𝘯𝘰𝘤𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘰𝘣𝘪 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘨𝘰𝘵 𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘶𝘱 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴… 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘈𝘬𝘢𝘵𝘴𝘶𝘬𝘪 𝘣𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘥𝘴. Her jaw clenched, a cold determination settled over her as she prepared for the next move.

“A Five-Seal Barrier,” Kakashi muttered, eyes fixed on the massive rock before them. After the fight with Itachi, they pressed onward toward the Akatsuki hideout, hidden deep in the northern reaches of the Land of Rivers. 𝘋𝘢𝘮𝘯 𝘪𝘵, he thought. 𝘛𝘦𝘢𝘮 𝘎𝘶𝘺 𝘩𝘢𝘴𝘯’𝘵 𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘥 𝘺𝘦𝘵. There were only four of them, and the barrier required all five tags to be removed simultaneously—using a clone was impossible.

Naruto stepped forward, crouching slightly to examine the seal. 𝘈 𝘍𝘪𝘷𝘦-𝘚𝘦𝘢𝘭 𝘉𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘳, 𝘩𝘶𝘩… 𝘸𝘦 𝘥𝘰𝘯’𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘸𝘢𝘪𝘵 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘛𝘦𝘢𝘮 𝘎𝘶𝘺. 𝘊𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘐 𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘣𝘺 𝘮𝘺𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧? Her mind flicked back to the Chunin Exams, when Orochimaru had layered a Five-Elements Seal atop her Eight Trigrams Seal.

“𝘌𝘳𝘰-𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘯𝘪𝘯… 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘴𝘦𝘢𝘭 𝘖𝘳𝘰𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘶 𝘶𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘯 𝘮𝘦?” 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘴𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘑𝘪𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘺𝘢 𝘳𝘦𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘵, 𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘣𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘩.

“𝘐𝘵’𝘴 𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘍𝘪𝘷𝘦-𝘌𝘭𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘴 𝘚𝘦𝘢𝘭,” 𝘤𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘱𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘦. “𝘞𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘪𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘌𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵-𝘛𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘮𝘴 𝘚𝘦𝘢𝘭, 𝘪𝘵 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘳𝘶𝘱𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘬𝘳𝘢 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘳𝘰𝘭. 𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘢𝘯 𝘰𝘥𝘥-𝘯𝘶𝘮𝘣𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘴𝘦𝘢𝘭 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘴 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘢𝘯 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯-𝘯𝘶𝘮𝘣𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘯𝘦, 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘴 𝘯𝘶𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘪𝘦𝘥.”

Naruto’s eyes narrowed as she approached the jagged contours of the Five-Seal barrier. She took a deep breath, centering herself. One by one, she flowed through the 12 hand signs—Rat, Ox, Tiger… all the way to Boar—her movements precise and unyielding.

Then, with a sudden, decisive motion, she slammed both hands flat against the barrier. Her fingertips ignited in a brilliant blue, veins of energy crawling outward in intricate geometric patterns. The barrier shuddered violently under the impact, the five seals splintering like cracked glass as the blue light from her hands seeped into every corner, unraveling the ancient fuinjutsu. Smoke hissed from the remaining tags as they nullified, their hums fading.

A humming vibration filled the air, rising to a high pitch, before the energy collapsed inward, leaving the original barrier shattered and inert. Naruto jumped back, her hands still glowing faintly as the remnants of her own Four-Cornered Seal shimmered and faded.

Kakashi gave a subtle nod, signaling them to move forward. As they stepped into the clearing, Naruto froze. A faint but unmistakable pulse of chakra rippled before her eyes—weak, uneven, strained. She narrowed her gaze, heart hammering and her teeth gritted at the sight that greeted her.

There. On the ground, lay Gaara. Completely motionless. Two figures in the Akatsuki cloak were perched menacingly atop him.

𝘞𝘦 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘰𝘰 𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘦...

Chapter Text

“Itachi,” a gruff voice began, “what is the Nine-Tails Jinchūriki like?” Sasori asked, his puppet-like eyes boring into Itachi’s projection.

Itachi cursed silently. On one hand, refusing to answer would be suspicious—most of the members present could probably sense that something was off. On the other, he couldn’t risk revealing any of Naruto’s abilities that might lead them to develop countermeasures.

He was confident their team could handle the threat. Kakashi alone was enough to deal with Deidara, and Naruto could likely take Sasori. He wasn’t entirely sure of the pink-haired kunoichi or the Sand Elders’ abilities, but he trusted in Naruto and Kakashi. That was enough.

“She’s the one with red hair,” he said, his voice deceptively calm. Every word risked drawing suspicion, yet he couldn’t allow Naruto to be captured. Even if revealing this put him squarely in their sights, protecting her came first—everything else was secondary.

“Kakashi, Sakura! Go after the other one. Naruto and I will handle Sasori,” Chiyo ordered as Deidara soared away, Gaara in his grasp.

Naruto glared at the man in front of her, revealed to be Chiyo's grandson. She could feel the anger running through her veins but she reigned it in. She would not let Gaara's death be in vain.

“A tiny girl and an old lady,” Sasori drawled, his tone laced with contempt. “And here I was hoping for a real challenge. For a supposed Kage, that One-Tails host was laughably weak.”

𝘏𝘦'𝘴 𝘵𝘳𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘢𝘶𝘯𝘵 𝘶𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘤𝘢𝘱𝘪𝘵𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘻𝘦 𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘎𝘢𝘢𝘳𝘢, Naruto thought, her eyes narrowing.

“You’ve saved me the trouble of hunting you down myself, Nine-Tails,” he continued, voice cold and measured. “And if you must know, I hate waiting—so let’s get this over with.”

The puppet’s tail lashed toward her like a striking snake, but she vaulted just in time to evade it. Summoning a kunai mid-air, she infused it with wind chakra, sharpening it into a searing wind blade. She landed atop the tail in a blur of motion, sprinting toward the main body, and with a single, precise swing, she sheared through the metallic limb, it clanged on the floor with a resounding thud.

Chiyo’s eyes widened in surprise. She was about to step in, but it quickly became clear the girl had everything under control—even without her intervention.

Sasori’s glare sharpened, if possible, as he realized she had sliced off Hiruko’s tail. “So it seems you aren’t just a lost cause, Jinchūriki. No matter. I will end this now,” he said. He removed the mask covering his mouth, which opened almost mechanically, and unleashed thousands of poisoned senbons at his opponents.

Naruto grinned, teeth flashing. “The only way this fight ends is with your head at the bounty office, you bastard!” 𝘐𝘧 𝘐𝘵𝘢𝘤𝘩𝘪 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦, 𝘩𝘦’𝘥 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘣𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘺 𝘴𝘤𝘰𝘭𝘥 𝘮𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘢𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘯 𝘢𝘭𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘺 𝘦𝘯𝘳𝘢𝘨𝘦𝘥 𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘮𝘺 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘬𝘪𝘥𝘯𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴, she thought.

Reacting in a heartbeat, she blurred through the storm of senbons. With a swirl of chakra, 𝘞𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘚𝘵𝘺𝘭𝘦: 𝘚𝘸𝘪𝘧𝘵 𝘞𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘞𝘢𝘭𝘭 erupted around her, the slicing gusts extending outward to envelop Chiyo as well. The senbons slammed into the wall, sparks and shards flying, but the wall held firm.

Kakashi watched as Deidara soared above them, Gaara’s body lying limply in the bird’s mouth. He had to admit—they were at a disadvantage. Both he and Sakura excelled at close-range combat, while their opponent clearly favored long-distance attacks, keeping to the sky and never letting them get close.

“Sakura, buy us some time. I need to get my Kamui ready,” Kakashi ordered, lifting his headband to bare his Sharingan. The crimson eye glinted sharply.

“Yes!” Sakura replied, her pace quickening, gaze locked unwaveringly on Gaara.

“Kakashi of the Sharingan… un!” Deidara hissed, anger and disbelief radiating from him as he adjusted his flight, ready to strike.

Deidara’s clay hands trembled with restrained fury as he glared at Kakashi. “That cursed Sharingan… always predicting, always seeing through everything! No matter how perfect my art is, it’s useless against eyes like yours. I hate it! I hate relying on luck while you fight like you already know my next move!”

"Please, spare us the lecture—your so-called art is useless anyway!" Sakura shot back, her tone biting. At Kakashi’s subtle signal, Sakura darted into the cover of the trees. 𝘐 𝘩𝘰𝘱𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬𝘴… 𝘩𝘦’𝘴 𝘵𝘰𝘰 𝘣𝘶𝘴𝘺 𝘳𝘶𝘯𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘮𝘰𝘶𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘰 𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘦, she thought, eyes narrowing.

With a twist of her hips, she planted her feet and wrapped her arms around the trunk of a massive tree. Muscles bunched beneath her skin as the ground trembled, roots snapping and dirt flying in all directions. In one explosive motion, she wrenched it free and hurled it toward the sky.

The towering shadow cut across Deidara’s path.

"W-what the hell!? You crazy woman! Are you trying to kill me, un?!" Deidara yelped, his clay bird lurching as he swerved wildly to avoid the hurtling mass.

Kakashi seized the opening. "Kamui," he murmured, Mangekyō blazing as his gaze locked on the bird’s head. The construct warped and twisted under the pull of his eye, collapsing just as Sakura dashed forward to catch Gaara before he could crash to the ground.

"Tch! Just because you’ve gotten the Kazekage back doesn’t mean you’ve won, un!" Deidara snarled, molding more clay to reform his bird’s head.

𝘐𝘥𝘪𝘰𝘵, Kakashi thought coolly. 𝘏𝘦’𝘴 𝘵𝘰𝘰 𝘤𝘰𝘤𝘬𝘺, 𝘵𝘰𝘰 𝘣𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘺 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘰𝘨𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘻𝘦 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘷𝘶𝘭𝘯𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘪𝘴. His eye spun again as he prepared another Kamui.

Naruto grunted, batting aside another volley of Sasori’s senbon, Chiyo matching her movements at her side. The needles seemed endless, each one laced with deadly poison—just a single graze could be fatal. 𝘏𝘦’𝘴 𝘵𝘳𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘬𝘦𝘦𝘱 𝘶𝘴 𝘢𝘵 𝘢 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦, she realized. 𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘣𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘢𝘨𝘦 𝘪𝘴𝘯’𝘵 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘰𝘮—𝘪𝘵’𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘦 𝘯𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘤𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘦. 𝘏𝘦’𝘴 𝘢 𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨-𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦 𝘧𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘦𝘳. 𝘏𝘦 𝘭𝘦𝘵𝘴 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘱𝘶𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘵𝘴 𝘥𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨.

𝘛𝘤𝘩… 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺’𝘳𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘰𝘧 𝘮𝘺 𝘮𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘴, Sasori scowled inwardly. 𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘑𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘩ū𝘳𝘪𝘬𝘪 𝘪𝘴 𝘧𝘢𝘳 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘴𝘬𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯 𝘐𝘵𝘢𝘤𝘩𝘪 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘒𝘪𝘴𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘥.

Naruto exhaled in quiet relief as Sasori’s relentless senbon barrage finally ceased, though her stance remained taut, every sense on edge for the slightest shift. She knew the key to ending this fight wasn’t weathering his attacks—it was destroying the puppet that housed his true body.

Naruto turned to Chiyo, their eyes meeting in silent understanding. 𝘐 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘤𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘰𝘺 𝘏𝘪𝘳𝘶𝘬𝘰. 𝘊𝘢𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘵 𝘩𝘪𝘮?

Chiyo gave a subtle nod before raising her voice at Sasori. "Your own grandmother stands before you, yet you cower inside that puppet. Is this all you’ve become, Sasori? A hollow shell too afraid to face his own blood?"

Sasori’s eyes narrowed lazily at her. "You wouldn’t understand, Granny. Art is eternal… unlike a relic past her prime."

Naruto let the rest of their conversation fade, focusing her chakra into a spinning 𝘞𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘚𝘵𝘺𝘭𝘦: 𝘙𝘢𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘨𝘢𝘯 in her right palm. A high-pitched whine cut through the air, drawing both Sasori and Chiyo’s gaze.

"What do you intend to do with that, Jinchūriki? You’re too far away," Sasori sneered. Naruto had enough of his yapping.

She only smirked. Earlier, when she had severed Hiruko’s tail, she had placed a Hiraishin marker on it—puppet users often linked their chakra strings to anything nearby. The discarded tail now lay forgotten beside Sasori.

In a sudden flash of red, she vanished and reappeared behind him. His eyes widened in surprise before he could react. Naruto’s Rasengan tore into Hiruko’s back, spinning violently as the puppet shuddered under the force. Wood splintered, metal twisted, and the entire structure groaned under the impact. A shockwave rippled outward, rattling debris and throwing Sasori’s concentration off balance.

Sasori’s mechanical movements faltered, and for the first time, a flicker of panic crossed his face. 𝘐𝘮𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘣𝘭𝘦… 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘥𝘪𝘥 𝘴𝘩𝘦—

With a final, grinding crack, Hiruko’s body shattered. Pieces of the puppet flew in every direction, and from the chaos, Sasori’s true body leapt free. The real man’s eyes blazed with fury as he landed nimbly, chakra flaring around him in anticipation.

"So you’ve finally chosen to show your face after all these years, Sasori," The Sand Elder said, her voice steady but edged with years of restrained emotion.

Tsunade paced her office, unease knotting in her stomach. She hadn’t received any word from Team Kakashi yet. She trusted their strength, but that didn’t stop the worry from gnawing at her.

“Tsunade-sama, please calm down!” Shizune called, her voice sharp with concern.

“Shizune! How can I be calm!? They haven’t given us any updates at all!” Tsunade snapped, her frustration evident. Neither Naruto nor Kakashi’s summons had brought any news.

“It’s your duty as Hokage to remain composed! Have faith in Kakashi-san’s team—they’re likely in the thick of battle right now,” Shizune replied, keeping her tone steady despite the rising tension.

“Team Guy is returning from a mission at the moment. I could send them out immediately once they arrive,” Shizune suggested.

Tsunade sank into her chair behind the desk, taking a deep breath. Shizune was right—she couldn’t afford to act recklessly. “Very well. I want you on this immediately, Shizune.”

“Yes, Tsunade-sama!” Shizune responded, bowing sharply.

“Should we move out?” Kankuro asked, addressing the team assembled before him. Both he and Temari were sick with worry over Gaara.

At the chorus of resounding “yeses,” he led the group toward the Akatsuki hideout. They had tried to kill him, and now they were after his brother. Rebuilding their bond with Gaara had taken years, especially after their father’s insistence on ignoring him, and Kankuro would be damned if he let anyone take his younger brother away again.

𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘴… 𝘚𝘢𝘴𝘰𝘳𝘪? Naruto wondered. 𝘏𝘦 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘴 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘮𝘺 𝘢𝘨𝘦, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘎𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘯𝘺 𝘊𝘩𝘪𝘺𝘰 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥 𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘦𝘧𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘷𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘢𝘨𝘦 𝘢𝘵 𝘧𝘪𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘦𝘯—𝘵𝘸𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘺 𝘺𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘴 𝘢𝘨𝘰. 𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘩𝘪𝘮… 𝘢𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘳𝘵𝘺-𝘧𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘯𝘰𝘸!

The same thought seemed to flicker across Chiyo’s mind. Her voice trembled with disbelief as she asked, “Sasori… you… how is it that you haven’t aged…?”

“There’s no point in explaining to those who are about to die,” Sasori replied coolly, drawing a scroll from his sleeve. As he unraveled it, his eyes gleamed with anticipation. “This… is the most powerful puppet in my possession."

Chiyo’s eyes widened as she caught sight of the kanji on the scroll. “Three… The Third Kazekage. He was hailed as the strongest shinobi in the history of the Sand. Sasori… to think you’ve sunk so low as to be involved in the deaths of not one, but three of our Kazekage…”

“The Third Kazekage…” Naruto murmured under her breath. She didn’t know much about the leaders of other villages, but Jiraiya had once told her about the man’s terrifying mastery of Iron Sand—said to be even better than Gaara's control. But the puppet shouldn't be able to use those abilities, right?

“Enough talking! Die!” Sasori snarled.

Naruto’s instincts screamed at her as the puppet of the former Kazekage shot forward with blinding speed. She barely managed to leap back in time, skidding across the ground. 𝘚𝘰 𝘧𝘢𝘴𝘵! she thought, her pulse quickening.

Team Guy sped through the Land of Rivers. The thought that Naruto had only just returned, only to be thrust into a battle against the Akatsuki, weighed heavily on them.

“You guys! Pick up the pace!” Guy urged, his voice full of urgency and fire. 𝘔𝘺 𝘌𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘙𝘪𝘷𝘢𝘭....𝘸𝘢𝘪𝘵 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘮𝘦, he thought, his fists clenching as he pushed forward.

“Sakura!” Kakashi shouted as he watched the swarm of explosive clay insects rain down from above. Deidara seemed to be ignoring him entirely, choosing instead to target the kunoichi and the Kazekage.

𝘐 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘳𝘪𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘮𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘩𝘪𝘴, Kakashi thought grimly, his gaze sharpening. Relief flickered through him when he spotted Sakura shielding Gaara beneath a massive slab of rock.

Without wasting another second, Kakashi activated his Mangekyō. “Kamui,” he muttered under his breath, focusing the warped space directly on Deidara’s right arm. The air twisted unnaturally, space itself seeming to distort, and Deidara jerked violently to avoid being swallowed whole.

Even so, he wasn’t fast enough. A portion of his right shoulder vanished in the warped void, torn away in an instant. The Akatsuki member screamed in agony, shouting profanities.

Kakashi staggered slightly, one hand brushing against his knee. 𝘋𝘢𝘮𝘯 𝘪𝘵… 𝘵𝘸𝘰 𝘪𝘴 𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘮𝘺 𝘭𝘪𝘮𝘪𝘵.

Naruto leapt aside as another slab of iron sand came crashing toward her, the sheer weight of it gouging the earth where she’d stood. Chiyo had managed to briefly disarm the Third Kazekage puppet, but Sasori had immediately shifted tactics, pressing them with relentless precision.

𝘏𝘰𝘸 𝘥𝘰 𝘐 𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘳𝘪𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘴𝘢𝘯𝘥? Naruto thought, gritting her teeth. Chiyo was in no condition to help—her puppet arm had been disabled, and her remaining hand was pinned beneath a boulder from Sasori’s earlier assault. 𝘐 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘱 𝘎𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘯𝘺 𝘊𝘩𝘪𝘺𝘰.

“You’re impressive for your age, little girl,” Sasori’s voice rang out, cold and detached. “But then again, Konoha is notorious for breeding monsters. Don’t worry—once the Nine-Tails is extracted, I’ll make sure your talent isn’t wasted… when I preserve it inside your puppet body.”

“As if I’d let you, bastard!” Naruto spat back, fury twisting in her chest. The thought of him hollowing out people, turning them into empty shells, boiled her blood. How could anyone be that heartless?

Her hands blurred through seals, crimson chakra bleeding from her as she called on the fox’s power. She slammed her palms toward the writhing net of iron sand above her.

“𝘓𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘙𝘦𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘦: 𝘌𝘭𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘳𝘰𝘮𝘢𝘨𝘯𝘦𝘵𝘪𝘤 𝘔𝘶𝘳𝘥𝘦𝘳!”

Bolts of searing lightning arced upward, infused with the Nine-Tails’ chakra, magnifying their strength. 𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬, she thought, her eyes locked on the deadly mass.

The Iron Sand crackled violently as the current surged through it, grains vibrating under the force. Then, with a hiss, the particles fused together into molten clumps, crashing uselessly to the ground.

Naruto’s lips curved into a sharp grin of satisfaction. 𝘎𝘰𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶.

Naruto wasted no time. She surged forward in a blur, chakra flooding into her right fist until it glowed with raw power. With a fierce battle cry, she drove her punch straight into the puppet.

The force detonated on impact—wood splintered, metal screeched, and the Third Kazekage’s body erupted into fragments. The puppet was blown apart, its remains scattering violently across the clearing in a storm of shattered limbs and broken weapons.

𝘛𝘤𝘩… 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘣𝘳𝘢𝘵. 𝘒𝘪𝘴𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘤𝘭𝘢𝘪𝘮𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘬 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘚𝘩𝘢𝘥𝘰𝘸 𝘊𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘑𝘶𝘵𝘴𝘶. 𝘐 𝘯𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘪𝘮𝘢𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘴𝘩𝘦’𝘥 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘮𝘶𝘤𝘩 𝘪𝘯 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘦𝘦 𝘺𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘴, Sasori thought darkly, his gaze narrowing as he watched the red-haired girl vault across the battlefield to free Chiyo.

"DYNAMIC ENTRY!" Lee and Guy shouted in unison, their coordinated strike sending Deidara tumbling from his clay bird.

Kakashi let out a quiet sigh of relief at the sound of Gai’s voice—thankfully, reinforcements had arrived.

"Oh? Looks like you’ve taken quite a beating, my Eternal Rival!" Gai called out, a wide grin on his face.

"I’m glad your team showed up, Guy," Kakashi replied, allowing himself a small, grateful smile.

"I’ll always show up for you, Kakashi!" Guy’s voice rang out, determination mixed with worry. His eyes swept over the scene—Sakura kneeling beside Gaara, Lee, Neji, and Tenten at the ready. "Is Gaara…?" His words caught in his throat, dread creeping in as he saw the Kazekage’s still form.

Kakashi’s fists clenched, knuckles whitening. His gaze fell to Gaara, and for the first time in a long while, frustration and helplessness weighed heavily on him. "Yeah," he said quietly, the word bitter on his tongue. They had failed.

“Neji! Use your Byakugan—find Naruto! Lee, you’re with him!” Kakashi barked, his gaze sharp, every muscle tensed as he wondered if it was going okay on Naruto's side.

“Our target’s gone, Kakashi-san!” Neji shouted, scanning the area. There was no sign of Deidara anywhere.

“Shit,” Kakashi muttered under his breath, frustration evident. They had let the enemy slip through their fingers.

The first wave of puppets lunged. Naruto ducked under a spinning blade, twisting midair to deliver a palm strike to a puppet’s back, sending it tumbling into another. Sparks flew as the metal collided, and a chain-wrapped puppet swung wildly at her head—but one of Chiyo’s puppets blocked it, absorbing the blow and spinning it away.

She didn’t pause. Every jump, flip, and dodge was timed to perfection. A flurry of spinning legs sent two puppets crashing together, and she rolled behind another to deliver a devastating spinning back kick. Chiyo’s puppets moved like extensions of her own body, intercepting a dozen more attacks and opening paths for Naruto to move through the storm.

Sasori’s voice cut through the chaos, menacingly sharp. “Your speed won’t save you, little Jinchūriki. How long can you survive against my art?”

Naruto gritted her teeth. “We’ll see about that!” With a burst of speed, she vaulted onto a fallen tree trunk, using it as a springboard to strike down two puppets in a single spinning strike. Another attempted to crush her with a swinging arm, but Chiyo’s puppet intercepted, knocking it aside just enough for Naruto to evade.

The metal storm seemed endless, but Naruto’s taijutsu was a dance of anticipation. She weaved between spinning blades, somersaulted over chains, and struck with precise, lightning-fast blows. Chiyo’s puppets, though limited in their number, coordinated perfectly, forming temporary barriers and distractions, giving Naruto openings to strike with surgical efficiency.

Even when a dozen puppets attempted to trap her from all sides, Naruto’s reflexes and agility let her flip and spin through them, leaving her opponents sprawled and groaning on the ground. Chiyo’s puppets formed a protective ring around her, deflecting strikes and creating openings for follow-up attacks.

Naruto’s chest heaved with exertion, bruises forming, sweat dripping down her brow—but her eyes burned with determination. She landed in a crouch, fists ready, as Chiyo’s puppets positioned themselves around her like silent guardians.

Naruto’s lungs burned and her muscles screamed, but she refused to slow. The last of Sasori’s puppets lay scattered around her, broken or flung aside. The path to the real body was open—if only for a few seconds.

Naruto surged forward, her movements a blur of taijutsu, spinning and striking to keep any remaining obstacles at bay. Each fallen puppet was a stepping stone, each leap a chance to close the distance.

Sasori’s eyes narrowed. “So persistent… still trying to reach me,” he muttered, attempting to reposition—but Naruto was already on him.

With a powerful jump, she soared over the final mechanical arm, landing with cat-like precision. From her pouch, she withdrew a Hiraishin kunai, tossing it casually to his side. Sasori’s gaze flickered to it, a faint smirk forming. 𝘚𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘥, 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦? he thought, dismissing it.

She summoned another kunai, sharp and precise, ready for a single, lethal strike. Before he could react, she vanished in a red flash, appearing directly in front of him. With lightning speed, she plunged the wind-infused kunai straight into the hollow where his heart would be, the chakra cutting like a blade through his puppet body and heart.

Sasori’s eyes widened in shock, the faint mechanical whirring of his body faltering. “Impossible…” he whispered, coughing up blood, he dropped to the floor.

The Jinchūriki’s gaze dropped to Sasori’s motionless form. Chiyo had been struck by one of his poisoned puppets and lay farther away. 𝘐 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘰 𝘚𝘢𝘬𝘶𝘳𝘢, Naruto thought, heart pounding.

“Heh… to think I was beaten by a mere girl,” Sasori smirked, disdain dripping from his words.

Naruto barely had time to react as Hiruko’s tail suddenly plunged into her back, the tip piercing forward through her chest. She collapsed to her knees, coughing up blood.

“To think… you had one last trick,” she gasped, eyes wide in disbelief.

“I’ve grown fond of you during our battle, little girl,” Sasori replied. “The least I could do is take you with me—so the others can’t get to you.”

“Sorry to break it to you, but I’m not dying here, bastard,” Naruto rasped, blood streaking her lips.

“The poison I concocted… even a Jinchūriki can’t counter it,” he said smoothly. “You won’t make it to an antidote in time.”

“My teammate made one for Kankuro—I’m sure she can help me. Sorry, Sasori, but I’m not joining you today,” Naruto retorted, gritting her teeth.

“Persistent girl,” Sasori muttered, annoyance finally creeping into his tone. “Reach into my pocket. The ingredients for the antidote are there… maybe you can get help in time.”

Naruto’s eyes narrowed. 𝘐𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘱? she thought warily.

“Why?” she asked cautiously.

“I don’t know,” he admitted honestly. “Tell Granny Chiyo that... I-I'm sorry… and y-you, don’t die...Naruto.”

With that, Sasori of the Red Sand exhaled his final breath.

Naruto stared solemnly at the fallen S-rank criminal, her mind struggling to comprehend his last words. They made no sense… and yet, they were oddly human.

For a moment she stayed still, then, wincing as the tail of Hiruko remained lodged in her, she reached into his pocket. Her eyes widened as she scanned the ingredients scrawled on the paper. 𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴… 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘰𝘪𝘴𝘰𝘯 𝘐𝘵𝘢𝘤𝘩𝘪 𝘨𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘮𝘦… 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘥𝘰𝘵𝘦 𝘐 𝘢𝘭𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘺 𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘺!

With practiced speed, she tapped her sealing bracelet, and the antidote slipped free. In one fluid motion, she yanked Hiruko’s tail from her body and injected the antidote into her thigh.

“Granny Chiyo!” she called. Chiyo, lying flat but conscious, tilted her head toward Naruto.

“Catch this! It’s the antidote!” Naruto shouted, tossing it with precision. Chiyo snatched it midair and immediately administered it, while Naruto collapsed face-first onto the ground beside Sasori, the adrenaline and the battle’s toll finally catching up with her.

𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘬 𝘺𝘰𝘶, 𝘐𝘵𝘢𝘤𝘩𝘪.

When Naruto awoke, she was still lying in the cave, wincing as the bright light pierced her eyes. A dull throb in her abdomen reminded her of the battle.

“Naruto-san!” a familiar voice called.

𝘓𝘦𝘦? 𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦?? she wondered, pushing herself upright. That’s when she noticed another figure lying beside her—Granny Chiyo.

Her eyes widened in shock. 𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘎𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘯𝘺 𝘊𝘩𝘪𝘺𝘰 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘦 𝘐 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘶𝘯𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘤𝘪𝘰𝘶𝘴? She pressed her fingers to Chiyo’s pulse. Nothing. Not a flicker.

Another figure stepped forward, and Naruto’s breath caught in her throat. 𝘎𝘢𝘢𝘳𝘢. He had died from the extraction—how was he alive?

“Gaara…?” she whispered.

“Granny Chiyo gave her life for mine,” he said, his voice heavy with grief.

“Her life… for yours…?” she murmured, disbelief and sorrow mingling in her voice. She closed her eyes, overwhelmed by the grief, the anger, and the gratitude all at once.

Naruto accepted Gaara’s hand and rose slowly, her eyes lingering on the still forms of grandmother and grandson lying side by side. Such peace in death could not erase the pain of loss, but she clung to the hope that, at last, they had been reunited with Sasori’s parents in the afterlife.

Chapter Text

Itachi stood at the edge of the lake, his gaze fixed on the endless expanse of water, lost in thought. Naruto had killed Sasori.

When Pain had spoken of the puppet master’s defeat at the hands of the Jinchūriki, Itachi had been shocked—but not truly surprised. Deep down, he had always known she could do it.

Her growth over the past three years had been nothing short of remarkable, exceeding even his quiet expectations. The reckless, brash girl who once charged headlong into danger without a second thought had become someone far more formidable—tactical, disciplined, yet still burning with that same unyielding fire. Her determination had only sharpened with time, forged into strength that could no longer be dismissed as mere bravado.

Now, Itachi could say with certainty: she was no longer just words. She was proof of her heritage. He was suddenly relieved that she was on his side.

Naruto moved through her apartment building with the practiced ease of someone who had done this a thousand times before. Her steps were light, casual, deliberately relaxed, though she could feel it—the faint prickling at the edge of her senses.

Someone had been trailing her ever since they returned from Sunagakure. Whoever it was, they were careful, masking their chakra with skill. Suppression was good—impressive, even—but not good enough for her.

She let her gaze drift lazily over the hallway as she unlocked her door, letting her fingers linger over the handle as though she were preoccupied with the latch. In reality, she was gauging the flow of chakra in the air, teasing it out from its hiding place.

A faint, almost imperceptible ripple brushed her awareness—there it was again. The watcher. Still suppressed, still cautious.

Naruto gave a soft, humorless chuckle to herself. Amateurs, she thought. Then she smiled faintly, stepping inside and letting the door click shut behind her, deliberately loud enough to draw attention yet masking any true awareness.

She moved about her apartment as though she didn’t know—pouring herself tea, brushing her hair, setting down the groceries from earlier. But her senses never left the faint pulse that lingered just beyond the edge of perception.

"Naruto!" she spun around, a surge of relief flooding her at the familiar voice. She hadn’t even sensed Neji approaching; her attention had been entirely consumed by the ominous figure lurking in the shadows.

“Neji,” she said, letting a small, nervous smile slip. “How are you? We didn’t really get a chance to catch up because of the mission.”

“Yeah, that’s exactly why I came looking for you,” Neji replied, a faint smile tugging at his lips. “Shall we grab something to eat?” He held out his arm.

“Ichiraku’s, of course!” she laughed, looping her arm through his. “I haven’t been there since I left, ya' know!”

The two of them walked to Ichiraku, keeping the conversation light. Naruto shared stories of her travels, while Neji filled her in on everything that had happened in her absence. She was quietly relieved he had shown up—ever since the mysterious 'watcher' had appeared, she hated being alone. At times, she would sleep at Tsunade’s or Kakashi’s apartment, careful to make it seem natural, so her shadow wouldn’t suspect she knew of their presence.

“Naruto,” Neji began, once they were seated and their orders placed. He leaned slightly closer, his gaze sharp, worry etched into every line of his face. “Are you aware that you’re being watched?”

Naruto froze for a moment, considering his words. Of course he would’ve noticed—he probably saw it with his Byakugan.

“Yeah,” she answered softly. “I know about it.”

Neji’s eyes narrowed. He had seen the tension in her shoulders as she walked through the village, the way her gaze kept flitting toward rooftops, alleyways, and treetops. When he activated his Byakugan earlier, he had detected a lone figure perched in a tree about thirty meters away, watching her every move.

Who could be watching Naruto? In her own village, no less.

Naruto made her way toward Kakashi’s apartment, aware of the figure lingering just out of reach behind her. Tsunade had called her there, along with a few others, under the guise of a friendly welcome-back dinner. But Naruto wasn’t fooled—this wasn’t about food or pleasantries. She knew something else was at play.

When she arrived, everyone was already gathered around Kakashi’s table, the low murmur of conversation filling the room. From the kitchen came the sound of sizzling oil, where Kakashi and Genma were working side by side to finish the meal.

“Naruto, you’re late,” Tsunade grumbled half-heartedly, already spooning steaming rice into a bowl for her. With a flick of her hand, she signaled Jiraiya, who immediately began weaving the silencing seals around the apartment.

Naruto grinned as she slid into the seat beside Neji. “You guys only said evening dinner—nobody clarified an exact time, ya’ know.”

Genma smirked as he set a few side dishes on the table before dropping into a seat beside Jiraiya. “She’s not wrong. I showed up around four and somehow got drafted into kitchen duty.”

The Byakugan user finally spoke, an exasperated look tugging at his features. “No one would have said a word if you’d been the last to arrive, Genma-san—you live right next door.”

The kitchen echoed with laughter as everyone joked with one another. Kakashi finally carried the main dishes to the table, setting them down with a sigh.

“He’s the worst neighbor you could have,” Kakashi said, nodding toward Genma. “I’m pretty sure he only came over earlier to annoy me—didn’t expect to get roped into cooking duties.”

“I think it’s time I told you the real reason I called all of you here,” Tsunade said, her tone serious. Instinctively, everyone straightened, sensing the weight of her Hokage presence.

“The reason I’m holding this meeting here instead of my office,” she continued, “is because the Hokage Tower is currently being watched.”

As their gasps and shocked expressions subsided, Tsunade continued, “It’s not just my office—Naruto is being watched as well. I believe there are three operatives in total: two in the Hokage Tower, and one trailing Naruto.”

"Someone keeping tabs on both the Hokage and the Jinchūriki, huh?" Genma mused, chewing on his senbon thoughtfully. "There's only one person I can think of who would do that."

"Yeah," Jiraiya replied, a hint of anger seeping into his tone. "Danzō."

Tsunade’s gaze swept across the room—Kakashi, leaning back but alert; Neji, composed but watchful; Genma, frowning faintly as his senbon shifted between his teeth. “You all need to understand the scale of what we’re about to attempt,” Tsunade began. “This mission will not last days or weeks. It will take months. We’re dismantling Danzo, Root, and the Elders themselves. And we’re doing it from the shadows.”

Genma raised a brow. “That’s… no small task, Tsunade-sama. They’ve had roots in this village longer than most of us have been alive.”

“Yes,” Tsunade said, voice hard. “Which is why we have to rip them out by force. Quietly, but decisively.”

Kakashi’s visible eye narrowed. “And the Council will let us?”

“They won’t have a choice,” Jiraiya said, breaking his silence. His tone was graver than usual, lacking its familiar humor. “Because once the truth comes to light, not even the Council will be able to shield Danzo.”

Neji frowned. “The truth?”

Naruto’s fingers clenched tightly in her lap. She drew in a slow breath. “About the Uchiha massacre.”

The room stilled.

“What are you saying?” Kakashi asked, his voice low.

Jiraiya leaned forward, setting his cup down. “It wasn’t just Itachi. He didn’t act on free will. Danzo orchestrated it—and forced the hand of a boy barely old enough to be a man.”

Naruto swallowed hard, forcing herself to speak. “He forged the Third Hokage’s signature. Made it look like Sarutobi-jiji himself authorized the massacre. Itachi agreed, thinking it was the only way to avoid a civil war.” Her voice wavered, but she pressed on, her purple eyes blazing. “But it was a lie. Danzo used it to wipe out the clan he saw as a threat.”

Silence pressed heavy over the table.

Neji’s fists curled at his sides, his voice tight. “So the Leaf—our village—forced Itachi Uchiha into butchering his clan… to protect the Elders’ ambition?”

Genma exhaled slowly, his usual grin nowhere in sight. “No wonder the kid looked like he was carrying the weight of the world. We all just… thought it was his choice.”

Kakashi’s voice was sharp, colder than they had ever heard it. “All these years… I cursed him for abandoning the village, abandoning Sasuke. And the truth was—he was protecting us from the shadows.”

Naruto bit her lip, feeling the lump rise in her throat. “He was protecting me too. The only reason I survived against Sasori's poison was because Itachi gave me the antidote a year before."

Tsunade didn’t flinch at their reactions, only let the storm of their anger and shock wash over the table. “Now you understand why this stays in this room. If word leaks before we’re ready, Danzō will bury us all.”

The sake cups sat untouched now, the heavy silence of revelation wrapping around them. Kakashi’s knuckles were white around his cup, Neji’s pale eyes burned with disbelief, and Genma’s usual smirk was gone.

Tsunade broke the silence, her voice iron. “It's clear why we cannot allow Danzo, Root, or the Elders to remain in power. They’ve warped this village from the shadows for decades. It ends now.”

She leaned forward, folding her hands together. The weight of the Hokage was in her tone, every syllable deliberate.

“This won’t be fast. It won’t be clean. It will take months, and each of you has a role to play.”

Her gaze settled first on Kakashi. “Kakashi, you’re our infiltrator. You know Root better than most, and they won’t suspect you as much as others. I need you to track their movements, their hidden bases, their recruits. No one slips past you.”

Kakashi’s eye hardened, a silent nod his only response.

Tsunade turned to Neji. “Neji, I need your Byakugan. Root thrives in shadows, in places others can’t reach. You’ll be our scout, our eyes where no one else can go. If they hide, you’ll find them. And if they’re watching Naruto, I want to know the moment they move.”

Neji bowed his head slightly, voice firm. “I’ll see what others cannot, Tsunade-sama.”

Her gaze moved next to Genma. “Genma. Your skill with information is as sharp as your senbon. You’ll handle disinformation and counter-intelligence. Spread rumors, plant doubts, weaken Root’s influence in the ranks. And you’ll dig up anything you can on the Elders’ dealings—especially Homura and Koharu. They’re Danzo’s shield. Break that shield.”

Genma chewed his senbon slowly, then smirked grimly. “Guess it’s time I earned my keep. Consider their reputation already cracked.”

Finally, Tsunade turned to Naruto. Her expression softened only slightly. “Naruto, you and Jiraiya already know the truth. You’ll act as our hammer when the time comes. But until then, your job is to keep Itachi alive, and work on a way to remove the cursed seal Danzo places on his subordinates. Do you understand?”

Naruto’s throat tightened, but she nodded firmly.

“And Jiraiya,” Tsunade added, “you’ll gather intel from the outside, take care of any third parties involved with Danzo and feed him false information."

The Toad Sannin inclined his head, his usual grin absent. “Consider it done.”

Tsunade rose from her seat, towering over them, her presence filling the room. “We’ll gather evidence piece by piece—documents, testimonies, Root’s movements. And when the moment is right, we’ll make it public. Danzo will admit the truth before the entire village, or he’ll die with it in his throat. Either way, Root ends.”

The air was thick with resolve. Each shinobi at the table knew their task, and more importantly, the cost if they failed.

Tsunade’s voice lowered, but it carried the full weight of command. “This is not just about avenging Itachi. This is about the soul of Konoha. For once, we do not fight to protect the village from outsiders—we fight to protect it from the poison within.”

One by one, they nodded, sealing their fates. The war against the council had begun.

Chapter Text

“𝘕𝘢𝘳𝘶𝘵𝘰, 𝘐’𝘷𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘧𝘦𝘤𝘵 𝘰𝘱𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘵𝘶𝘥𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘶𝘳𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘴𝘦𝘢𝘭 𝘶𝘱 𝘤𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘦,” 𝘛𝘴𝘶𝘯𝘢𝘥𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥, 𝘴𝘸𝘪𝘳𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘣𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢 𝘴𝘭𝘰𝘸 𝘴𝘪𝘱. “𝘚𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘵𝘦𝘢𝘮 𝘪𝘴 𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘳𝘵 𝘢 𝘧𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘵𝘩 𝘮𝘦𝘮𝘣𝘦𝘳, 𝘋𝘢𝘯𝘻𝘰 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘰𝘩-𝘴𝘰-𝘨𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘴𝘭𝘺 𝘰𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘮𝘰𝘴𝘵 ‘𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘥’ 𝘴𝘶𝘣𝘰𝘳𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘴.”

“𝘚𝘰, 𝘪𝘯 𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘥𝘴, 𝘩𝘦’𝘴 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘵𝘦𝘢𝘮 𝘵𝘰 𝘢𝘤𝘵 𝘢𝘴 𝘢 𝘴𝘱𝘺?” 𝘕𝘢𝘳𝘶𝘵𝘰 𝘢𝘴𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘧𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘭𝘺.

“𝘔𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦𝘭𝘺,” 𝘛𝘴𝘶𝘯𝘢𝘥𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘱𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘥, 𝘴𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘤𝘶𝘱 𝘥𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘢 𝘲𝘶𝘪𝘦𝘵 𝘤𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘬. “𝘙𝘰𝘰𝘵 𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘴 𝘤𝘢𝘯’𝘵 𝘧𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘰𝘸 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘰𝘶𝘵𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘷𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘢𝘨𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘶𝘴𝘱𝘪𝘤𝘪𝘰𝘯. 𝘉𝘺 𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 ‘𝘚𝘢𝘪’ 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘵𝘦𝘢𝘮, 𝘋𝘢𝘯𝘻𝘰 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘬𝘦𝘦𝘱 𝘵𝘢𝘣𝘴 𝘰𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘦𝘧𝘧𝘪𝘤𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘭𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳.”

“𝘚𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘫𝘰𝘣 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦𝘧𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘣𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘰 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦, 𝘕𝘢𝘳𝘶𝘵𝘰,” 𝘛𝘴𝘶𝘯𝘢𝘥𝘦 𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘤𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘮𝘭𝘺. “𝘈𝘤𝘤𝘰𝘳𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘠𝘢𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘰’𝘴 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘭, 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘚𝘢𝘪 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘋𝘢𝘯𝘻𝘰’𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘶𝘮𝘣 𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥𝘩𝘰𝘰𝘥, 𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘰𝘦𝘴𝘯’𝘵 𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘶𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘥 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘪𝘯 𝘩𝘪𝘨𝘩 𝘳𝘦𝘨𝘢𝘳𝘥. 𝘐𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺, 𝘋𝘢𝘯𝘻𝘰 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘮𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘴𝘶𝘣𝘰𝘳𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘴.”

“𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘣𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘥,” 𝘕𝘢𝘳𝘶𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘶𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘢 𝘴𝘤𝘰𝘸𝘭. “𝘞𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘚𝘢𝘪 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘪𝘤𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦, 𝘨𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘯 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘤𝘵 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘐𝘵𝘢𝘤𝘩𝘪 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘦 𝘥𝘢𝘮𝘯 𝘯𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘣𝘭𝘦.”

“𝘠𝘦𝘢𝘩… 𝘐’𝘮 𝘴𝘰𝘳𝘳𝘺, 𝘕𝘢𝘳𝘶𝘵𝘰, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘺𝘰𝘶’𝘭𝘭 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘰 𝘑𝘪𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘺𝘢,” 𝘛𝘴𝘶𝘯𝘢𝘥𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘢 𝘴𝘪𝘨𝘩.

“𝘐𝘵’𝘴 𝘯𝘰 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘣𝘭𝘦𝘮, 𝘎𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘯𝘺. 𝘐 𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘪𝘵,” 𝘕𝘢𝘳𝘶𝘵𝘰 𝘳𝘦𝘱𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘥, 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘺 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘢𝘴 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘧𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘴 𝘵𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘴.

“𝘎𝘰𝘰𝘥. 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶’𝘭𝘭 𝘮𝘦𝘦𝘵 𝘚𝘢𝘪 𝘵𝘰𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘳𝘰𝘸 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨. 𝘒𝘢𝘬𝘢𝘴𝘩𝘪 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘚𝘢𝘬𝘶𝘳𝘢 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘢𝘭𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘺 𝘣𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦. 𝘋𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘣𝘦𝘴𝘵, 𝘕𝘢𝘳𝘶𝘵𝘰—𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘨𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘭𝘶𝘤𝘬.”

Naruto headed toward Training Ground 7, where the team was scheduled to meet. She deliberately arrived later than the set time, fully aware Kakashi would show up even later. The moment she stepped into the clearing, the shadow tailing her melted away—no doubt leaving the task of watching her to Sai instead.

"Naruto!" Sakura greeted with a smile as she stepped forward. Naruto immediately noticed the tension rolling off her—her whole demeanor radiated irritation, and even that smile looked uncomfortably forced.

"Sakura," Naruto greeted, a small smile tugging at her lips. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed Sai’s body angled subtly toward them. 𝘏𝘦'𝘴 𝘢𝘭𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘺 𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘦𝘴.

Turning her attention to the newcomer, she said, “You must be our new teammate. It’s a pleasure to meet you…”

“Sai,” he supplied, a faint, almost sinister smile curving his lips. “The pleasure is all mine, Naruto Uzumaki. I’ve heard plenty about your exploits.”

𝘐’𝘮 𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦, Naruto thought darkly.

"While I’m sure I’m not worthy of replacing your old teammate, Sasuke Uchiha, I hope we can work well together. At the very least, I can assure you—I am not a traitor," Sai said, his smile still perfectly in place.

Naruto’s eyes narrowed. 𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘨𝘶𝘺 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘵?

Sakura visibly bristled, anger flashing across her face. "Don’t talk about Sasuke-kun like that! You know nothing about him!"

"Don’t speak of a traitor… being a traitor?" Sai tilted his head innocently.

Sakura grabbed his collar, preparing to strike, her elbow drawn back—until Kakashi appeared in a pop of smoke. "Maa, Sakura, I don’t think he meant anything bad, right, Sai? Seems he’s just a little shy around my two cute students."

"Who would be shy around Ugly and Tomato, Kakashi-senpai? Don’t misunderstand me," Sai replied, deadpan.

𝘛𝘰𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘰… 𝘪𝘴 𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘶𝘯𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘭, Naruto thought, wincing as she noticed Sakura’s imminent crime in the middle of the village. She gently took Sakura’s arm in her own, ignoring Sai’s jab. "What’s the mission, Sensei?"

“It’s an A-rank mission,” Kakashi began, his tone serious. “We’ll be traveling to the Hidden Hot Water Village. The village leader reports that several women—mostly teenagers and young adults—have been going missing every week. This has been happening for about five weeks. So far, the total number of missing individuals is around eighty-three, all between the ages of fifteen and twenty-one.”

"Human trafficking..." Sai muttered, his voice not betraying his thoughts.

"If so many women have already gone missing, why did they only decide to report it now, Sensei?" Sakura asked, frowning.

"I'm not sure," Kakashi admitted. "Tsunade-sama was wondering the same thing. She sent us not only to investigate, but also to detain any potential threats. Be warned—caution is essential. We don’t yet know what we’re walking into."

At the three collective nods, he continued, “We’ll depart after sunset. Make sure to bring enough supplies to last at least three weeks.”

The sun had dipped low, painting the horizon in streaks of orange and violet as Naruto, Sakura, Sai, and Kakashi made their way through the winding forest paths. The air was crisp, carrying the faint scent of pine and the distant sound of flowing water. Their footsteps were quiet, deliberate, each member scanning the shadows as they moved. Kakashi led the way, Naruto on his weak side and Sakura on his strong, with Sai bringing up the rear.

Something felt off. Kakashi couldn’t shake the unease, a familiar tension creeping in—like the Land of Waves mission all over again. He glanced at Naruto, sensing she noticed it too.

She nodded subtly, gesturing toward her nose. There was a strange smell in the air.

𝘚𝘰 𝘪𝘵𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘮𝘦 , he thought, letting the silent exchange pass between them. They’d reach the village in thirty minutes, and already, things were starting to go awry.

Kakashi signaled for the team to halt, and they landed in a small clearing.

“Before we reach the village, I’ll go over the plan,” he said. “We need to enter quietly. If the kidnappers are ninjas, they can’t know we’re here.”

“We’ve already gathered some intel from the village’s police department,” Kakashi said, taking a measured breath. “A young girl and her friend were searching for work. In this village, civilian women aren’t exactly forbidden from working, but it’s heavily frowned upon. Both girls had sickly parents and younger siblings, so the responsibility of being the breadwinner fell on their shoulders.”

He paused briefly before continuing. “A man approached them, claiming he had work available. Desperate, they followed his directions to the location—a weapons shop. The man at the entrance apparently ‘sized them up’ and told one of the girls to leave, which suggests they were choosing based on attractiveness. Concerned for her friend, the remaining girl peeked into the room—and watched her friend vanish before her very eyes.”

“So for this mission, Sakura and I are acting as bait?” Naruto asked, narrowing her eyes.

“Exactly,” Kakashi replied. “Apparently, there are pirates currently operating in the village. Combine that with the missing girls, and it’s likely—”

“They’re cargo,” Sakura finished, her tone grim. “Most likely to be taken out to sea.”

“Then what will the two of us do, Senpai?” Sai asked, tilting his head slightly.

“We’ll provide backup,” Kakashi replied. “We strike once they set out to sea—that’s when we know all the girls will be with them.”

"I see… you two want to work here?"

"Yes," Sakura replied with a shy smile, a faint blush coloring her cheeks. "We heard the pay is really good!"

The man hummed, his gaze lingering on them a little too long. 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘴𝘦 𝘵𝘸𝘰... 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺'𝘳𝘦 𝘶𝘯𝘣𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘷𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘺 𝘣𝘦𝘢𝘶𝘵𝘪𝘧𝘶𝘭!. A slow grin spread across his face. "Very well. We’d be delighted to have you. Please, wait in this room. The manager will be with you shortly."

Naruto shot a quick glance at Sakura. This was it—once they stepped inside, they’d likely be taken straight to wherever the other girls were being held. The two entered the room, and the man shut the door behind them, an odd gleam flickering in his eyes.

Sakura opened her mouth to whisper something, but before she could, the floor gave way beneath them. Both kunoichi dropped into darkness, the trap swallowing them whole.

Both of them froze in shock at the sight before them—dozens of girls crammed into the small, dimly lit room, their ages ranging from barely teenagers to young adults. Another man had roughly shoved Naruto and Sakura inside, barking a curt order to “𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘺 𝘲𝘶𝘪𝘦𝘵.”

Sakura’s hands curled into trembling fists, fury sparking in her chest. 𝘛𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬… 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘶𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘤𝘳𝘶𝘦𝘭 𝘦𝘯𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘵𝘰 𝘥𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴.

The room grew tense as the sound of heavy footsteps echoed closer. A tall, broad-shouldered man with dark hair stepped inside, his lecherous gaze sweeping over the captives.

He let out a booming laugh. “Excellent! Absolutely excellent! These girls will make us richer than ever before!”

“Jiro-sama! What is the meaning of this? We came here looking for work!” a girl in the back cried out, her voice wavering between fear and anger.

“Work?” Jiro sneered, his lips curling into a wicked grin. “Don’t worry, little one. Work is what you’ll get—the most 𝘱𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 kind of work in the world.”

His eyes caught on Naruto and Sakura, lingering on the flash of crimson hair. He stepped forward, looming over Naruto before fisting a hand in her hair and yanking her up.

“Oh? Red hair? Don’t tell me…” His grin widened. “You’re an Uzumaki, aren’t you?”

𝘔𝘺 𝘩𝘢𝘪𝘳! Naruto winced, teeth gritting as she thought bitterly, 𝘔𝘺 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘪𝘰𝘶𝘴 𝘩𝘢𝘪𝘳!

Jiro’s eyes gleamed with cruel satisfaction. “I thought that clan was wiped out years ago. To think survivors still exist… oh, yes—you’ll sell for a 𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 fine price.”

With a manic laugh, he threw Naruto back to the ground and strode out, the heavy door slamming shut behind him, leaving the room steeped in tension and fear.

They were herded toward the docks under heavy guard, blindfolds pressed over their eyes and coarse ropes biting into their wrists. Neither Naruto nor Sakura spoke a word to the other girls in their group—revealing themselves now could risk everything, and they couldn’t afford to give false hope. Anything could happen.

Surprisingly, none of the captors seemed to suspect they were shinobi. Even after Jiro had called out Naruto’s heritage, the men were too arrogant, too assured in their own strength to realize the danger sitting right under their noses.

Sakura held her breath as the creaking sound of wood and the faint salt tang of the sea hit her senses. They were being led onto the ship. Once shoved into a cramped chamber below deck, Sakura made quick work of snapping her binds and tugging the blindfold free. Beside her, Naruto did the same with quiet efficiency.

“When should we move?” Sakura whispered, keeping her voice low so only Naruto could hear.

Naruto’s eyes narrowed, a scowl darkening her expression. “Once we’re far enough from shore. That way we can burn this whole ship down with them inside.”

A small laugh slipped past Sakura’s lips at Naruto’s bluntness, though the edge in her tone mirrored her teammate’s. “I agree. Just give me the signal when it’s time to fire the flare.”

“Yeah. I will,” Naruto murmured. The flare—the signal Kakashi and Sai were waiting for. Once it lit the sky, they’d know it was time to swoop in and rescue the captured girls.

About thirty minutes later, Naruto leaned close to Sakura. “Sakura, I’m going to take these guys down. Stay here, alright?”

Sakura nodded, but her eyes were sharp. “Don’t worry, I’ll hold the fort. If anyone tries to come near these girls, they’ll regret it.”

Naruto smirked at her teammate’s resolve before slipping away into the corridors. Behind her, Sakura moved quickly, untying the captives and tending to their wounds, every muscle taut and ready should any enemy come through the door.

Naruto padded silently down the dim corridor, nose wrinkling at the stench of sake and cheap cigars clinging to the air. 𝘜𝘨𝘩, 𝘮𝘦𝘯. 𝘋𝘪𝘴𝘨𝘶𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨! she thought, lips curling in disgust. Then, without warning, her mind betrayed her with a stray thought: 𝘐𝘵𝘢𝘤𝘩𝘪 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘯𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳—

She froze, heat rushing to her face. 𝘞-𝘞𝘩𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘢𝘮 𝘐 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘐𝘵𝘢𝘤𝘩𝘪 𝘢𝘵 𝘢 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴!? Shaking her head violently to clear it, she pushed open the nearest door.

A dozen pairs of eyes snapped toward her in surprise.

“Jiro-sama! One of the gi—”

The man never finished. Naruto was on him in a blur, her fist sinking into his gut and folding him to the floor unconscious.

“No one likes a snitch, ya know!” she quipped, flashing a fox-like grin.

Fifteen men lunged at the same time, shouting and scrambling. She weaved through their attacks, fists and feet flying in sharp, precise strikes. One by one they crumpled, groaning as she knocked them out cold. In minutes, the room was littered with unconscious bodies. Humming to herself, Naruto dragged them into a pile and tied them up like bundles of firewood.

The boss isn’t here, she realized, narrowing her eyes. Stepping back into the corridor, she spotted a door marked with crude brushstrokes: 𝘋𝘰 𝘕𝘰𝘵 𝘌𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳.

𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘢 𝘤𝘰𝘳𝘯𝘺 𝘨𝘶𝘺! She shoved it open without hesitation.

Inside, Jiro sat at the center like some petty king, three sword-wielding men flanking him. His face twisted into a scowl as he recognized her.

“So, you planned this from the beginning, Uzumaki?” he spat.

Naruto rolled her shoulders, smirk never faltering. “You should’ve killed me the second you found out who I was, 𝘑𝘪𝘳𝘰-𝘴𝘢𝘮𝘢. Guess it’s too late now, huh?”

“Get her!” Jiro roared.

The three men rushed her at once, blades raised. Naruto sprang forward, using the middle guard’s shoulder as a springboard. Her legs snapped out in opposite directions, heels cracking against the skulls of the other two. They dropped like stones. She twisted midair, bringing her forehead crashing into the third’s face as she landed. He collapsed in a heap.

“𝘑𝘪𝘳𝘰-𝘴𝘢𝘮𝘢’𝘴 finest, huh?” Naruto mocked, brushing dust off her yukata.

Jiro’s bravado shattered. His eyes widened as he trembled in fear, sweat trickling down his temple.

“P-Please! Spare me! I’ll give you anything—money, clothes, power—just don’t kill me!”

Naruto’s grin faded, replaced with a cold edge. “There’s nothing I want from scum like you. You never should’ve kidnapped those girls in the first place.”

Sakura fired the flare into the night sky. Within minutes, Kakashi and Sai swooped in on Sai’s ink bird, the great creature cutting through the air and descending toward the ship in less than two minutes.

“Talk about a dramatic entrance,” Sakura grinned.

“Sakura,” Kakashi said, adopting his most serious tone, “these girls need to view me as their knight in shining armor. Don’t ruin my moment, please.”

He turned to the rescued captives, flashing them what he considered his most dazzling eye smile—only to watch, horrified, as every single girl squealed over Sai instead.

Kakashi’s visible eye twitched. 𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘭? 𝘌𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘢 𝘣𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘰𝘯 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘴𝘦𝘦 𝘐'𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦!

Sai tilted his head innocently. “I don’t understand. I didn’t even try to smile properly yet. My books said women preferred kind expressions, but this is just my neutral face.”

The girls swooned even harder.

Kakashi nearly facepalmed. 𝘕𝘦𝘶𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘭 𝘧𝘢𝘤𝘦?! 𝘈𝘳𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘬𝘪𝘥𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘦!?

“Sai, get to work,” Kakashi ordered, needing to redirect attention and neutralize the… distraction.

“Understood, Senpai,” Sai replied calmly, as if oblivious to the situation. He immediately unfurled his scroll and began sketching, elegant brushstrokes bringing forth more ink birds to carry the rescued girls—and their team—to safety.

“I can’t believe you didn’t leave any for us,” Kakashi grumbled as Naruto stepped out of the cabin.

“Not like you’d be of much help, anyway,” she shot back with a grin.

One of the rescued girls finally spoke, her voice shy. “U-Uzumaki-san! Thank you so much for helping us. Is there any way we can repay you?”

Naruto directed a boisterous grin at Kakashi. 𝘚𝘦𝘦? 𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘴 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘢𝘥𝘪𝘦𝘴, 𝘒𝘢𝘬𝘢𝘴𝘩𝘪, she thought, smirking at his crestfallen expression as he mounted his ink bird—a look she knew would stick in her mind forever.

“No, thank you for offering. We’re quite alright,” Naruto said, her smile warm as she nodded to the timid girl, then climbed onto another bird beside Kakashi, Sakura, and Sai.

As their birds soared higher above the waves, Naruto and Kakashi exchanged a sharp, knowing glance. Without a word, they both formed hand seals, the air around them shimmering with the heat of their chakra.

“Now,” Naruto whispered, and with perfect timing, both unleashed 𝘍𝘪𝘳𝘦 𝘚𝘵𝘺𝘭𝘦: 𝘎𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵 𝘍𝘪𝘳𝘦𝘣𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘛𝘦𝘤𝘩𝘯𝘪𝘲𝘶𝘦.

The massive torrents of flame erupted from their mouths, crashing down onto the pirate ships below. The sails caught fire instantly, black smoke curling into the sky, and the wooden decks groaned and splintered under the inferno. The pirates screamed, but it was too late—the fire was consuming everything in its path.

From above, Naruto’s eyes gleamed with a mix of triumph and fury. She could hear Sakura and Sai coordinating the rescue, guiding the girls toward safety with the ink birds. The waves below reflected the blazing chaos, and the smell of smoke and burning wood filled the salty air.

𝘔𝘪𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘊𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘦𝘵𝘦

Chapter Text

“Then, I assign you a new mission,” Tsunade said firmly. Her amber eyes held his, unflinching. “Itachi Uchiha, I, Tsunade Senju—the Fifth Hokage of Konohagakure—hereby order you to stay alive. And to trust that when you decide to return, your name will be cleared.”

Itachi’s eyes widened, surprise flickering across his usually unreadable expression. He hadn’t expected this when she summoned him—it had taken immense effort just to arrange their meeting, which was why it had never happened before. “Tsunade-sama…?”

She exhaled a long, weary sigh. “Itachi, you of all people should understand… not all the seeds planted by those before us were good ones. Tobirama’s decision to place the Uchiha in charge of the Police Force—it only fueled suspicion, taught the village to scorn them as enforcers rather than kin. Sarutobi-sensei was no better. He let his advisors hold the reins far too often. And Minato—” her voice softened, wistful now—“he might have been the one to mend that rift. But fate was cruel, and he died far too young.”

Her jaw tightened, resolve hardening in her voice. “That’s why I intend to fix what they could not. My only regret is that your burden ever had to exist in the first place.”

She leaned back slightly, the edges of her lips curving into a faint, almost bittersweet smile. “So, Itachi, I order you to stay alive—if only for Naruto’s sake. God knows, if you died, that girl would drag you back from hell just to kill you again. Stay alive… and when the time comes, stand at her side. Stand with her when she wears this hat.”

Itachi was silent for a long moment, weighing her words carefully before giving a single, deliberate nod.

“Understood, Tsunade-sama. I accept this mission. And… please—stay safe. You, Neji-kun, Kakashi-san, Genma-san, Jiraiya-sama, and Naruto. Danzo is not someone to be taken lightly.”

Tsunade’s lips curved into a small, wry smile. “Yeah, I got it, Itachi. Don’t worry—I’m not about to let that old war hawk get the better of me.” She straightened, brushing a hand through her hair. “Now go. I’m sure Shizune’s already tearing the tower apart looking for me.”

Her gaze softened as she gave him one last nod.

“Stay safe, Itachi. …See you.”

Itachi inclined his head in silence before turning to leave. As the shadows swallowed him, a rare flicker of warmth stirred in his chest. 𝘛𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦 𝘪𝘵𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧… 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘴𝘵 𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘱 𝘵𝘰𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘥 𝘳𝘦𝘥𝘦𝘮𝘱𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯.

Naruto was flipping through her mother’s old sealing journal when a knock sounded at her door. Her senses prickled. This chakra…

“Jiraiya-sensei!” she beamed, swinging the door open wide.

“Naruto,” he greeted with an easy smile. “I’ve got a present for you, brat.”

“Really?” She accepted the wrapped bundle he held out, unravelling it with eager hands. Her eyes widened. “This… is…” A complete sealing set—ink, calligraphy brushes, and a rare, high-grade paper.

Delight burst across her face as she threw her arms around him. “Thank you so much, Sensei! I’ve always wanted this, ya know!”

Jiraiya chuckled, hugging her back. “Hmph! Of course I knew. Am I not the best godfather ever?”

Naruto gave him a sidelong look before releasing him and heading into the kitchen. While she put on tea, she noticed out of the corner of her eye that he had quietly reactivated the privacy seals in the apartment. By the time she returned with a tray, the air had shifted.

“Are you doing okay, Naruto?” Jiraiya asked, referring to her 'stalker'. He knew she could handle herself, but that didn’t make him worry any less.

“Yeah,” she said, setting the tea down between them. “It’s unnerving at times, but… they haven’t made a move. Just watching. Gathering information.”

Jiraiya’s jaw tightened. “Danzo probably wants to pull you to his side. He knows how loyal you are to Konoha. You know, Sarutobi-sensei once told me—when you were still a kid—Danzo wanted to take you in. No doubt to twist you into one of his loyal little soldiers.”

The Jinchuriki's expression hardened, though her voice stayed light. “I know. Before I even joined the Academy, he tried approaching me. But you always told me to stay away from strange men, so… I kicked him in the balls and ran off.”

For a second, Jiraiya stared—then burst into a booming laugh. “Ha! I can’t believe that actually worked on him. Considering how old he is, I’d have thought—”

“Please,” Naruto cut in flatly, raising a hand. “Do not finish that thought. I do not need the mental image of Danzo’s… assets.”

Jiraiya snorted into his teacup, shoulders shaking.

The two made their way toward Tsunade’s office. The Fifth Hokage had summoned Naruto, but Jiraiya decided to tag along—partly out of curiosity, and partly because it had been too long since he’d seen Tsunade. They slipped in through the window, both of them ducking just in time to avoid the paperweight Tsunade had hurled.

“Jiraiya. Naruto,” she greeted calmly, as if she hadn’t just tried to take their heads off.

“Granny, you’ve got a mission for us?” Naruto asked, waving at Team Asuma when she noticed them standing nearby.

Tsunade’s expression hardened. “Yes. Two members of the Akatsuki were sighted in the Fire Capital yesterday. Six casualties so far—all of them Twelve Guardian Ninja.” She tossed a scroll toward Naruto, her tone leaving no room for jokes.

Jiraiya scoffed, annoyance lacing his tone. “Tch, they’re on the move again.” He skimmed the scroll Naruto handed him, muttering aloud. “‘One wearing a mask with a Takigakure headband… the other, gray slicked-back hair with a Yugakure headband…’” His eyes widened as recognition clicked. “If memory serves, those two are—”

“Hidan and Kakuzu,” Tsunade finished flatly.

Asuma frowned, puzzled. “How can you be so sure, Hokage-sama?”

Jiraiya ignored the question entirely, lips curling in irritation. “The so-called Zombie Duo, huh?”

“The Zombie Duo?” Shikamaru repeated, brow arched.

“One’s supposedly immortal,” Naruto explained before Jiraiya could. “A Jashinist. He uses some kind of ritual blood technique—if he gets your blood, it’s over. Any injury he inflicts on himself transfers to you. The other has multiple hearts—you’d have to destroy all of them to kill him for good.”

The room fell silent at her blunt explanation.

“How do you know so much about them, Naruto? And how can you be sure that information’s even correct?” Ino asked, suspicion slipping into her voice.

Naruto grimaced, scrambling for a lie. She couldn’t exactly say 𝘐𝘵𝘢𝘤𝘩𝘪 𝘵𝘰𝘭𝘥 𝘮𝘦.

Luckily, Jiraiya cut in smoothly. “I told her. Got it from a reliable contact of mine. Or are you saying you doubt my sources, Yamanaka?” His sharp look made Ino stiffen.

“O-of course not, Jiraiya-sama! I didn’t mean it like that!” Ino quickly bowed.

Satisfied, Jiraiya leaned back, dropping the issue.

Tsunade refocused them with a firm voice. “Team Asuma, and you, Naruto. You leave tomorrow. Prepare thoroughly, and remember—if the situation seems impossible, you retreat immediately. Understood?”

A resounding “Yes!” echoed from everyone before Team Asuma filed out.

“You know how much I hate sending you against Akatsuki,” Tsunade admitted, her voice softer now. “But I trust your judgment. I trust that you’ll know when you’re overpowered and when to fall back.”

Naruto grinned, waving her concern off. “I’ll be fine, Granny. Don’t go giving yourself more wrinkles worrying about me!”

That earned a laugh from Jiraiya and a sharp retort of “𝘐 𝘥𝘰𝘯’𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘸𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘬𝘭𝘦𝘴, 𝘣𝘳𝘢𝘵!” from Tsunade.

But Jiraiya’s amusement faded quickly. He turned serious, eyes on Naruto. “That said… I’m worried about this Hidan. If he gets even a single drop of blood, it’s over.”

“Yeah,” Tsunade agreed grimly. “Disarm him if you can. Itachi mentioned that’s the key to his technique—without that, he’s not particularly skilled in other areas.”

“Got it.” Naruto gave a sharp nod, already climbing onto the windowsill. “I’ll go over strategy with the team tomorrow. Later, Granny, Ero-sennin!”

And just like that, she was gone in a flash of red and gold, leaving the office quiet behind her.

Team Asuma walked in silence for a while after leaving the Hokage’s office, the weight of their assignment pressing heavily on their minds.

Asuma finally broke the silence, sliding a cigarette between his lips but not lighting it yet. "Akatsuki… this is no small mission. Hidan and Kakuzu—if it really is them—we’ll have our hands full."

Shikamaru exhaled slowly, brows drawn together. "Two enemies with abilities like that… it’s a nightmare. One’s immortal, the other has multiple lives. Even if we know their weaknesses, exploiting them will be… troublesome."

Ino folded her arms tightly across her chest. "At least we’re not going in blind. If Naruto hadn’t spoken up, we wouldn’t know half of what we’re walking into."

Chōji nodded. "Yeah. And she’s not just anyone. She took down Sasori of the Red Sand… one of the strongest Akatsuki members. If she’s with us, that’s a huge advantage."

Asuma hummed in agreement, flicking his lighter but holding the flame a second too long before snapping it closed again. "True. She’s proven herself. Still, that doesn’t mean we get careless. Hidan and Kakuzu aren’t opponents you underestimate and live to tell about."

Shikamaru’s gaze sharpened. "Which means we can’t treat this like a standard mission. Every move needs to be calculated. One mistake against enemies like this…" he trailed off, shaking his head.

Ino looked at the ground, lips pressed into a thin line. "We’ll just have to cover each other and fight smart. That’s what we’ve always done."

Chōji placed a hand on her shoulder, giving her a reassuring nod. "We’ll be fine, Ino. We’ve been through tough battles before. As long as we stick together, we’ll manage."

Asuma looked at his team, pride flickering behind his serious eyes. "Exactly. Watch each other’s backs. No heroics, no unnecessary risks. If it looks impossible, we pull back. Understood?"

The three of them answered in unison, firm and resolute: "Understood."

Team 10 and Naruto moved swiftly through the dense forests of Fire Country, the canopy above breaking just enough to let streaks of sunlight filter through. Only a few kilometers remained before they reached the capital, and Naruto led at the front, her senses stretched out like a net.

“Say, Naruto,” Chōji spoke up, his tone curious but tinged with concern. “Do you know anything else about these two?”

Naruto furrowed her brows, thinking. “Hmm… Hidan’s the one from Yugakure. He wields a scythe—likes to toy with his opponents. As I said, he’s the immortal one. Kakuzu’s from Takigakure. The only thing I know for sure is that he has multiple lives. Beyond that…” she trailed off, shaking her head. “Not much else.”

“Tch. Sounds like some troublesome bastards,” Shikamaru muttered, hands stuffed in his pockets.

“Yeah. We’ll have to proceed with caution,” Ino agreed, before glancing sideways at Naruto. “By the way, isn’t this the first time we’ve actually seen you since you got back?”

“You’re right, Ino,” Chōji said. “I only heard Naruto was back from Neji.”

Naruto rubbed the back of her neck sheepishly. “Sorry, you guys. Ever since I returned, Granny’s been sending me on missions nonstop. Barely had time to breathe.”

Asuma chuckled around the cigarette between his lips. “That sounds about right. Your name’s always on the jōnin roster. You ought to take a break once in a while.”

Ino blinked in surprise. “Wait—hold on. You’re a jōnin, Naruto!? I thought you were still a genin—the last one from our year! When did that even happen?”

Naruto grinned sheepishly. “Heh, yeah. Got promoted when I was fifteen, I think.”

“Figures,” Shikamaru muttered, though there was a note of respect under his usual laziness.

Naruto’s expression shifted, suddenly serious. She slowed her pace, eyes narrowing. “Anyway—we’re almost there. I can sense two powerful chakra signatures, about five hundred meters ahead.”

The forest seemed to grow quieter around them as the weight of her words settled over the team. The air thickened with anticipation.

The group slowed their pace, fanning out instinctively as the chakra signatures grew clearer. Naruto raised a hand, signaling them to halt.

“They’re close,” she murmured, eyes narrowing. “Get ready.”

A voice cut through the silence, low and mocking. “Well, well. Looks like the Leaf sent us a welcome party.”

From the shadow of the trees ahead, two figures emerged. The first dragged a massive, triple-bladed scythe lazily behind him, crimson eyes glinting with manic amusement. Silver hair framed his face, his Yugakure headband slashed with a deep line. The other stood tall and imposing, stitched seams visible along his face and arms, his Takigakure forehead protector marred with a cross-cut.

Kakuzu’s sharp eyes scanned the group, his expression as calculating as it was cold. They lingered on Naruto, narrowing slightly. “Interesting. The Nine-Tails jinchūriki… and Asuma Sarutobi. That’s quite the bounty walking right into my hands.”

Naruto’s jaw tightened, but she didn’t rise to the bait. Asuma stepped forward, blade already drawn, his voice steady. “So you’re the ones responsible for the Guardian casualties.”

Hidan threw his head back with a bark of laughter. “Those weaklings? That wasn’t even a warm-up. But you—” his scythe swung lazily in Asuma’s direction “—you look like you’ll give me a good ritual.”

Naruto stepped up beside Asuma, her kunai already wrapped in faint wind chakra. “Doesn’t matter what you’re after,” she said coolly. “You’re not getting it.”

Kakuzu flexed his hands, the stitches along his arms twitching unnaturally as threads began to unravel. “Then you’ll die here.”

Hidan grinned wide, spinning his scythe with a wild laugh. “And I’ll make sure it’s slow.”

The forest floor trembled as the two Akatsuki charged, scythe and threads lashing out like predators unleashed.

The clash had begun.

“Come in,” Tsunade called.

The door opened, and her jaw nearly tightened into a scowl at the sight of the man who stepped inside. She was already restless, worrying about Naruto and Team 10’s mission, and the last thing she needed was Danzo Shimura darkening her office.

“Hokage-sama,” Danzo greeted firmly, his one visible eye sharp. “What is the meaning of sending the jinchūriki after the Akatsuki? You are aware that she is their target, no?”

“The 𝘫𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘩ū𝘳𝘪𝘬𝘪 has a name, Danzo. You’d do well to use it,” she snapped, patience already fraying. “And who I send on missions has nothing to do with you. 𝘐 am Hokage. You are a mere advisor—a man who never managed to claim this seat. Remember who you’re talking to. I am not Sarutobi-sensei.”

Danzo’s face stiffened, but he dipped his head slightly. “My apologies, Hokage-sama. I did not mean to question your judgment.”

Tsunade’s glare could have cut steel. “Then if that’s all, leave.”

The War Hawk straightened, cane tapping once against the floor. “Very well. I’ve warned you. If something happens to the jinchūriki, consider it your responsibility.”

The door shut with a heavy click.

Tsunade leaned back in her chair, fists tight at her sides. 𝘐'𝘥 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘤𝘢𝘯𝘦 𝘶𝘱 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘮𝘦𝘥𝘥𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘴𝘴 𝘪𝘧 𝘐 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥, 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘢𝘪𝘵... 𝘋𝘢𝘯𝘻𝘰..

Hidan’s scythe whistled through the air, a blur of red steel aimed straight for her neck. Naruto ducked low, her sandals skidding across the dirt as the blade carved into the tree behind her, splitting the trunk with a sickening crack.

“Tch, fast little brat,” Hidan sneered, yanking the weapon free with a single tug. “This’ll be fun.”

“Fun’s not exactly the word I’d use,” Naruto muttered, surging forward. Her kunai, sharpened with wind chakra, met the shaft of his scythe with a metallic clang, sparks flying from the force.

Hidan grinned wide, pressing down with strength that belied his wiry frame. “You’ve got bite. I’ll enjoy tearing you apart for Jashin.”

Naruto’s lips curled into a grin of her own. “You talk too much.” With a sudden burst of chakra, she pushed him back, spinning and slashing at his side. The kunai grazed his cloak, cutting fabric but not flesh.

“Damn brat!” Hidan hissed, retreating a step before swinging his scythe in a wide arc, forcing her to leap backward. The blade tore through the ground, leaving a deep furrow in the dirt.

Kakuzu stood unnervingly still, stitched body towering over Asuma and his team. His gaze lingered on Naruto’s distant chakra signature for a beat before returning to them.

“You're worth a fortune,” he said flatly, voice devoid of emotion. “Asuma Sarutobi and the Kyubi Jinchuriki, with a high bounty of her own. I’ll be collecting both.”

Choji’s fists clenched. “Like hell you will!”

“Stay sharp,” Asuma warned, twin trench knives humming with wind chakra. “He’s not bluffing. Keep your focus on survival first.”

Kakuzu finally moved, his arm stretching unnaturally as black tendrils of thread shot out, lashing straight for Choji.

“Move!” Asuma barked.

Choji bulked up just in time, arm swelling with Partial Expansion Jutsu as he swatted the tendrils aside. The impact cracked the ground, but Kakuzu didn’t flinch. His arm simply retracted, threads sliding back under his skin.

“Troublesome…” Shikamaru muttered, shadow tendrils already creeping toward Kakuzu’s legs. “He’s sewn together like some kind of puppet. Cutting him won’t be enough.”

“Then tear him apart completely,” Asuma gritted out, charging forward.

His blades slashed across Kakuzu’s chest, slicing through stitches—only for the wound to split wide, exposing writhing tendrils beneath instead of blood.

Ino gasped. “What the—?!”

Kakuzu’s voice was calm, almost bored. “Pointless. Do you think a simple cut will kill me?”

Before Asuma could pull back, Kakuzu’s mask detached from his back, the grotesque face floating into the air. Its mouth opened wide, gathering chakra.

“Get down!” Asuma roared, yanking Ino with him just as a massive fireball tore across the field, scorching trees and sending debris flying.

Shikamaru’s shadow barely caught Kakuzu’s ankle for a heartbeat before threads snapped it apart. He grimaced. “His body’s not normal… and those masks are like separate shinobi themselves.”

Kakuzu advanced a step, both stitched eyes narrowing. “You won’t last long. But I’ll take your hearts before I take hers. That’s only efficient.”

Choji dropped into a ready stance beside Asuma. “We’ll just have to outlast you, then!”

Naruto grimaced as she barely dodged Hidan’s scythe, the blade grazing through a few strands of her hair. 𝘛𝘤𝘩, 𝘩𝘦’𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘯𝘰𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘭𝘺 𝘴𝘬𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨, she thought, brushing hair from her face.

Hidan’s eyes burned with rage as he watched the jinchūriki evade every attempt at his ritual. She clearly knew his tactics, and his frustration grew with each failed strike. 𝘓𝘰𝘳𝘥 𝘑𝘢𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘯 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥𝘴 𝘢 𝘴𝘢𝘤𝘳𝘪𝘧𝘪𝘤𝘦 𝘴𝘰𝘰𝘯… 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘧 𝘐 𝘤𝘢𝘯’𝘵 𝘥𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘳? he muttered to himself, seething.

“Stay still, you annoying brat!” he barked suddenly, lunging forward.

𝘏𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘯’𝘵 𝘬𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘮𝘦, Naruto realized mid-thought. 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥 𝘮𝘦 𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘹𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯. A sly grin spread across her face as a plan began to form.

Before Hidan could close the distance, she launched a punch with precision and strength, sending him skidding back several meters before he slammed against a tree.

“You—bitch! I’ll kill you!” Hidan roared, staggering to his feet and charging at her again.

Hidan’s scythe cut through the air with a whistle, each swing aimed to end the fight in an instant. Naruto danced back and forth, her feet barely touching the ground, narrowly avoiding the gleaming blade. Every strike he made was precise, calculated—and yet, there was a hint of impatience creeping into his movements.

“You really are something, aren’t you?” he growled, circling her like a predator. Naruto’s eyes tracked him calmly, masking the rapid calculations running through her mind. Her pulse thrummed with the rhythm of the fight, each dodge and counterstrike measured to the tiniest fraction of a second.

Hidan’s scythe sliced through the air again, Naruto felt the tiniest nick open along her forearm, a bead of blood dripping down. Her eyes narrowed, and for the first time, she allowed herself to react just enough to draw his attention.

Hidan’s eyes lit up with glee. “Finally… your blood!” he hissed, tightening his grip on the scythe as he traced the circle on the ground.

Asuma grimaced, narrowly dodging another of Kakuzu’s writhing tendrils, each one aiming straight for his chest. Two of the enemy’s masks had already been destroyed, leaving three still active and ready to strike. His chakra reserves were dwindling fast, and judging by the exhausted expressions of his teammates, they were all running dangerously low. Every movement now required perfect precision—one misstep could be fatal.

“Asuma-sensei! Naruto is—!” Ino’s voice pierced through the chaos. Asuma’s eyes widened in horror as he caught sight of Naruto, clutching her shoulder, pain etched across her face.

Hidan snarled, his eyes glinting with perverse anticipation. He thrust the scythe into his own shoulder, completing the connection. Pain flared through Naruto like a white-hot fire, rippling down her body. Every nerve screamed, every muscle tensed, but she didn’t let out a sound.

Asuma’s hand shot forward instinctively, but the distance was too great. “Naruto! Move!” he shouted.

Hidan laughed cruelly, thinking the ritual complete. “Soon, the gods will reward me!”

Naruto’s hand twitched slightly, and suddenly two shadowy forms flickered into existence behind him. Without warning, one clone shoved Hidan violently out of the ritual circle, while the other moved with unnerving precision, fingers flashing through the hand seals before pressing firmly against his chest. The intricate lines of 𝘜𝘻𝘶𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘪 𝘚𝘵𝘺𝘭𝘦: 𝘊𝘳𝘪𝘮𝘴𝘰𝘯 𝘉𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 began to etch themselves across him. Hidan’s movements slowed, jerky and panicked, as he thrashed violently against the powerful seal, struggling in vain.

Naruto’s gaze hardened. She began forming the 𝘙𝘢𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘨𝘢𝘯, the sphere of spinning chakra humming and growing in her palm. Her muscles tensed, each breath measured as she concentrated, every motion deliberate.

Hidan thrashed, trying to free himself from the mysterious restraining forces, unaware that the seals were locking him down. He screamed in frustration, striking out blindly, but the clones held him firmly.

Naruto launched herself forward, the 𝘙𝘢𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘨𝘢𝘯 spiraling violently in her hand. She hit Hidan with precision, the energy crashing into his body like a storm. He let out a roar of pain, struggling, but couldn’t escape. With a swift follow-through, she decapitated him.

"You bitch! Removing my head won't kill me!" Hidan shrieked, his rage echoing through the clearing.

"You're annoying. Shut up," Naruto said coolly. She grabbed his severed head and sealed it away, the parchment snapping shut with a crisp sound. She then strode to his body and sealed it into a separate scroll, a grimace on her features. 𝘊𝘢𝘯 𝘐 𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘢 𝘵𝘢𝘭𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘢𝘴 𝘥𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯? she wondered.

"Oh? Hidan’s gone and got himself killed," Kakuzu commented casually, as if discussing the weather.

"You don’t care? He was your comrade, wasn’t he?" Choji shouted, narrowly dodging a jet of fire jutsu.

"Comrade is a stretch," the masked man replied, voice flat. "We just happened to be partners with aligned goals."

Choji grit his teeth, fury bubbling beneath the surface—𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘯𝘰 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘢 𝘴𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘬 𝘰𝘧 𝘴𝘢𝘥𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘢𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘯𝘦𝘳’𝘴 𝘥𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘩…

"Enough talk, it’s about time I wrapped this—"

He never got the chance to finish. With a blur of motion, Naruto appeared on the battlefield, her foot connecting solidly with his face. Kakuzu skidded several meters back, hitting the dirt hard.

Naruto landed in a crouch, her long red hair fluttering behind her.

“Asuma-sensei, what’s happening?” she asked, concern lacing her voice.

“We managed to take down two of his masks, but he just merged with the remaining three,” Asuma replied, eyes never leaving the enemy, body tense.

“I see,” she said, a hint of resolve in her tone. “That actually makes things a bit… easier.”

Without hesitation, she surged forward, weaving through Kakuzu’s flailing tendrils with precise, fluid movements. Every feint and strike he threw was met with calculated dodges, her agility keeping her just out of reach while she closed the distance.

The Uzumaki grinned as the taijutsu duel unfolded, weaving under spinning kicks and countering with a sharp left hook. Every strike he threw was met with precision; she dodged, slipped, and parried, moving fluidly as if anticipating his next move.

“She’s damn slippery,” Kakuzu muttered, knocking her arm away as she aimed a precise strike at his stomach. A sudden rush of wind made him pause, his senses screaming as the air twisted violently around him.

Shock painted his features as his gaze landed on the source. 𝘐’𝘮 𝘥𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘪𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘪𝘵𝘴 𝘮𝘦, he thought, instinctively kneeing the girl in the stomach. Blood spattered from her mouth, and before he could follow up, she vanished in a puff of smoke.

𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵!? he roared, staggering back. 𝘐 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘧𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘥𝘰𝘸 𝘤𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘦 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦?!

Nearby, Ino’s voice trembled in awe. “What… is that jutsu?”

“That… might be the most refined form of wind manipulation I’ve ever seen,” Asuma added, his tone a mix of admiration and concern.

The shadow clone beside Naruto dispersed, leaving the real her free. She sprinted toward Kakuzu, the spinning Rasenshuriken whirling dangerously in her right hand. Kakuzu leapt high, attempting to evade the deadly sphere.

𝘐𝘥𝘪𝘰𝘵, she thought, her grin sharp. 𝘐’𝘷𝘦 𝘢𝘭𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘺 𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶.

In an instant, she vanished in a streak of crimson light, reappearing directly behind him. Without hesitation, she slammed the Rasenshuriken into his back, the chakra sphere whistling through the air with lethal precision.

The spinning wind blades tore through the air like a hurricane, shredding the remaining three masks in a shower of sparks and fragments. Kakuzu screamed in pain, stumbling forward as the energy lanced through his body, a line of blood trailing down his spine.

Shikamaru’s brow furrowed deeply. “…That’s insane. One strike… it destroyed all three masks?”

Team 8's Sensei's eyebrows shot up. 𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘫𝘶𝘵𝘴𝘶… 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵’𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘍𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘵𝘩 𝘏𝘰𝘬𝘢𝘨𝘦’𝘴…

Naruto allowed herself a small, satisfied grin at the effect of her attack before collapsing to her knees. Blood trailed from multiple wounds along her right arm, dripping steadily onto the ground.

“Naruto!” Ino called, rushing forward. “Are you okay?” She immediately began channeling chakra to heal the wounds along Naruto’s arm.

“I’m fine,” Naruto replied, wincing slightly but ignoring the dull ache in her shoulder from Hidan’s earlier strike. “I’m just glad it’s over.”

“Me too,” Choji said, cracking a small smile. “So, what do you say, Naruto? When we get back, barbecue’s on us.”

Chapter Text

"It seems you have a bingo book entry," Itachi said evenly, his dark eyes fixed on Naruto.

They sat together on Mount Myōboku, waiting for the rest of the newly dubbed 𝘋𝘢𝘯𝘻𝘰 𝘈𝘴𝘴𝘢𝘶𝘭𝘵 𝘛𝘦𝘢𝘮. Jiraiya was off consulting with the Great Toad Elders, leaving them in the quiet of the mountaintop. It had taken no small amount of persuasion—begging, really—for the elders to allow Naruto’s reverse summoning them here, since normally only a toad contractor was permitted. Jiraiya had argued this was the only place secure enough for their debriefing. To prepare, Itachi had left behind a reinforced shadow clone stabilized with one of Naruto’s seals, one that drew from her chakra reserves instead of his own. The others would be doing the same.

“Bingo book?” Naruto tilted her head.

“You’re listed. S-rank. Flee on sight,” Itachi said plainly. His tone carried no praise—only quiet concern. “This is dangerous, Naruto. It will draw more hunters to your trail. You already have enough targets on your back.”

Naruto blinked, then shrugged almost casually. “Honestly, I didn’t even know until Kakuzu brought it up. Probably because of that fight with those Iwa shinobi—when I used the Hiraishin.” She scratched her cheek thoughtfully, then brightened. “Wait, wait—S-rank and flee on sight? That’s so cool!” Her grin split wide, eyes sparkling.

Itachi’s expression did not shift, though his sigh was audible. “…It’s not ‘cool.’ Iwa despised your father. The moment they realize you inherited his jutsu, your identity will spread faster than you can imagine.”

But Naruto wasn’t listening. She leaned back with a smug little chuckle. “Still—flee on sight. I mean, come on! The only other person with that order was my dad! That means I’m the second! Wow!” She stretched the word out in awe, practically vibrating with pride.

Itachi closed his eyes briefly, suppressing the exasperation tugging at his composure.

"What happened to your arm?" he asked instead, changing the topic.

Naruto glanced down at the bandaged limb, her usual grin slipping into a faint frown. “It’s from a new jutsu,” she admitted. “Turns out… whatever damage I dish out with it comes back to my right arm, too. Kind of a nasty side effect.”

“Let me see,” Itachi said gently, extending a hand toward her. His tone carried no command—just quiet insistence.

Naruto hesitated for a moment, her lips pressing into a thin line. She hated showing weakness, even to him. Still, she sighed and slowly unraveled the bandages.

The skin of her forearm was mottled with angry red burns, the flesh around her knuckles still raw despite Ino’s earlier healing. Thin lines of dried blood trailed down to her wrist, and her fingers twitched involuntarily every few seconds.

Itachi’s dark eyes sharpened as he took in the damage, though his expression stayed composed. “This isn’t just strain,” he murmured, carefully lifting her wrist to examine the worst of it. “It’s backlash. Your chakra pathways in this arm have been stressed to the brink.”

Naruto winced when his fingertips ghosted over the swollen flesh but didn’t pull away. “I can handle it. I just need a little time to adjust—”

“This isn’t something you ‘adjust’ to,” Itachi cut in quietly, his tone brooking no argument. He reached into his pouch, pulling out a small salve container, and began applying the cool ointment with precise movements. “A technique that harms its own user is a double-edged sword. Push too far, and you’ll cripple this arm permanently.”

Naruto blinked at him, momentarily taken aback. “…You sound like Granny right now,” she muttered, though her voice softened.

For a moment, silence stretched between them, broken only by the soft rustle of cloth and the distant croak of toads across the mountain.

“You should be more careful with yourself,” Itachi said at last, rewrapping the bandages neatly. “Power means nothing if you burn yourself out before the battle is won.”

Naruto stared at him, her usual grin dimming into something smaller, quieter. “…You worry too much.” But her voice lacked its usual bite.

It was an hour later when everyone had gathered, and after brief exchanges of greetings, they settled into a circle for the debriefing. The air atop Mount Myōboku was quiet, save for the occasional croak of a distant toad, and the weight of what they were about to discuss settled heavily between them.

“I have… troubling news,” Neji began, his expression hard, voice taut with restraint. His usually calm features were drawn into a grimace. “While scouting one of Danzō’s hidden bases, I activated my Byakugan to monitor the area. That’s when I saw him.”

The shift in the group was immediate. All eyes fixed on him, expressions tense.

Itachi’s gaze sharpened, unreadable but piercing, already bracing for what was to come. He knew—instinctively—that whatever Neji had witnessed, none of them would leave this meeting without its shadow.

Neji inhaled slowly, steadying himself before speaking the words. “Danzō… possesses a Sharingan in his right eye socket. And more than that—” he paused, the weight of it evident in his tone, “—he has at least ten Sharingan implanted into his right arm.”

The silence that followed was suffocating. Even the toads nearby seemed to hush.

Genma’s senbon nearly snapped between his teeth. “Fucking hell,” he spat, his usual lazy drawl gone, voice sharp with disgust. “He’s walking around with an arm full of stolen eyes? And no one in Konoha has noticed? That’s beyond twisted.”

Jiraiya’s jaw was tight, eyes shadowed beneath his brow. “So he’s sunk this low… to desecrate the dead for power.” His tone was heavy, laden with both fury and guilt. “And all under the same banner of protecting Konoha.”

Even The Copy Ninja’s composure cracked; his frown deepened, voice cold as steel. “Those eyes once belonged to your kin, Itachi. To your clan. That kind of desecration is unforgivable.”

Finally, all eyes turned to Itachi. He hadn’t moved, hadn’t spoken—but the faint tremor in his fingers betrayed him. When he spoke, his voice was soft, low, and terrifying.

“Danzō will answer for this.”

“Have you told Granny about this, Neji?” Naruto asked, her voice tight with urgency.

Neji shook his head, his expression grave. “No. Not yet. The number of Root operatives stationed near her office has increased significantly. Delivering this information directly would be… risky.”

Itachi’s gaze sharpened, though his voice stayed calm. “If Neji’s report is accurate, Danzo’s arm alone could rival entire clans in raw ability. And if he’s bolstering his security around the Hokage… Tsunade-sama may already be a prisoner in all but name.”

“And we’re not even sure of the extent of his abilities,” Jiraiya said grimly, his gaze narrowing on Itachi. “Tell me, how many Uchiha ever awakened the Mangekyō, besides you?”

Itachi’s expression darkened. “Only two. Shisui Uchiha… and my father. My father asked me to take his eyes before the massacre. Danzo couldn’t have gotten those. But Shisui… he entrusted one eye to me. The other…” He paused, his voice hardening. “The other Danzo stole. Meaning he should only possess a single Mangekyō.”

Kakashi frowned. “But you sound like you’re holding something back. Why does that one eye worry you so much?”

“Because,” Itachi said quietly, “Shisui’s Mangekyō may be the most dangerous ability of them all.”

Genma leaned forward, brows furrowed. “What do you mean?”

“Shisui’s eye can implant thoughts and commands into a target’s mind so subtly that the victim believes those thoughts are their own. They act accordingly… never realizing they were under genjutsu in the first place.”

The entire group stiffened at that.

“That kind of jutsu…” Jiraiya muttered, “…you could manipulate entire nations without them ever knowing.”

“But something that overpowered has to have a weakness, right?” Naruto pressed, almost desperately.

“You’re correct, Naruto,” Itachi replied, his tone low. “Normally, Shisui’s ability can only be used once every ten years. But…” His eyes darkened further. “…there are certain ways to bypass that limit.”

The Hyuga caught on. “Cheat codes.”

Itachi gave a small nod. “If the user possesses the cells of the First Hokage, the cooldown is drastically shortened. Perhaps even eliminated.”

For a moment, the air was utterly still.

Then Jiraiya’s eyes widened, the realization slamming into him. “The First Hokage’s cells… Orochimaru has access to them. Don’t tell me—”

“I do,” Itachi cut him off sharply. His voice was flat, final. “It’s not far-fetched at all to think that Danzo and Orochimaru are working together.”

The group went silent, the weight of that possibility sinking like a stone in their chests.

“Enough scheming, you brats!” Shima barked sternly. “It’s time for lunch.”

Jiraiya and Naruto both grimaced, though their shared expression went unnoticed by the rest of the group.

Shima clapped her hands again, clearly pleased with herself. “Now, don’t be shy! These little critters are packed with protein!”

Genma peeked into his bowl and almost screamed. The crickets were wriggling. “Uh…Shima-san…they’re moving!”

“Of course! Fresh is best,” Shima said cheerfully.

Jiraiya groaned loudly. “I’ve fought in two Shinobi Wars and even against Kakashi when there was no new Icha-Icha volume… and yet I feel like dying right now.”

Itachi picked up a cricket with his chopsticks, staring at it with polite precision. “It has… a firm exoskeleton. Texturally fascinating,” he said, chewing slowly as if savoring it.

Genma, ever optimistic, gave a shaky thumbs-up. “Not… bad, I think. Just… lively.”

Naruto forced a grin, popping a cricket into her mouth. “Mmm… crunchy? Yes… crunchy is good. Very… nutritious.” She grimaced internally, praying that the protein claims were true.

Kakashi tilted his head, mask hiding his expression. He gently blew on a cricket like it was a tiny flame. “Interesting seasoning… very… earthy,” he muttered, eyebrows twitching.

Suddenly, one particularly large silkworm slipped off Neji’s chopsticks and flopped onto Naruto’s tray. She squeaked and smacked it back onto the table. It wriggled back up. “Nope. Not today, worm. Not today.”

Jiraiya’s spoon betrayed him, scooping a cricket mid-air that jumped straight back onto his lap. “Curse you, insect! You dare challenge a Sannin!” He dramatically waved his spoon like a sword.

Shima clapped again. “Wonderful enthusiasm! That’s the spirit!”

The room devolved into polite chaos. Neji’s attempt at composed chewing failed when a cricket jumped into his sleeve. Kakashi quietly tossed a worm onto Naruto’s tray with a flick of his finger, silently muttering, 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘥𝘦𝘢𝘭 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘪𝘵.

Naruto glared at him but couldn’t help snickering. “I see how it is, Sensei.”

Meanwhile, Jiraiya had started muttering threats to the entire insect kingdom under his breath, crouching low like a ninja about to pounce.

Genma tried to sip his “broth,” only to realize a cricket was riding a bubble straight into his mouth. He coughed violently, waving his arms.

Naruto was now stealthily flicking crickets at Itachi and Neji under the table, while they returned fire with their miso-soaked silkworms.

Shima clapped once more. “Excellent! I knew you’d all love it! Finish your bowls, or next time it’ll be tarantulas!”

And so, the lunch ended not with a meal, but a quiet, mutual understanding: survive this cooking, and maybe order pizza next time.

“Naruto!” Kiba’s voice cut through the air, sharp and accusing.

She halted mid-step, turning with a bright smile when she spotted him—and the rest of Team 8 standing just behind.

“Hi, you guys!” she greeted cheerfully, waving.

Kiba crossed his arms, scowling. “What’s the deal with you? You’ve been back in the village for three months and we haven’t seen you even once!”

“N-Naruto-chan has been busy, Kiba-kun… I’m sure she wanted to,” Hinata murmured, her voice soft but certain.

“Hinata’s right,” Shino added evenly. “Even if she wished to meet us, her schedule likely hasn’t permitted it.”

Naruto giggled at their dynamic. It was true—she had wanted to see them. But between the constant missions and the secret plotting she had been doing against Danzō, she was rarely in the village for more than a couple of days at a time.

“I’m sorry, you guys,” she said at last, a little sheepish. Then her grin brightened. “How about I make it up to you with lunch, huh?”

“So,” Naruto began once they were settled into their booth, the smell of sizzling meat already filling the air. “What have you guys been up to while I’ve been gone?”

Kiba leaned back with a toothy grin, clearly pleased with himself. “Plenty! We’ve been taking missions left and right. Honestly, Team 8’s been killing it.”

“Yeah? What kind of missions?” Naruto asked, genuinely curious.

“Tracking missions, of course,” Kiba said, puffing his chest a little. “Nobody’s better than us at that. We tracked down a missing-nin all the way into Lightning’s borderlands last month. Took a while, but—he didn’t stand a chance once we cornered him.”

Akamaru barked proudly from his spot on the bench beside Kiba, and Naruto laughed, reaching over to scratch behind the pup’s ears.

“That’s awesome! You guys are seriously leveling up.”

Kiba preened at the praise, but Shino spoke up, his voice calm and measured. “We’ve been expanding our teamwork as well. It’s not just about tracking. We’ve been training in ambush coordination and fast-strike tactics.”

“Which means he’s been making us sit in trees for hours waiting for targets to move into position,” Kiba cut in with a groan.

Naruto giggled, covering her mouth. “Sounds like torture.”

“It works,” Hinata murmured softly, tending the grill. She placed a few slices of meat onto Naruto’s plate. “We’re… getting stronger together.”

Naruto’s smile softened. “That’s amazing. You three are turning into a scary team.”

Kiba smirked, but his expression shifted, a flicker of challenge in his eyes. “Yeah, well… scary’s one thing. But don’t think we haven’t heard about you, Naruto.”

Naruto tilted her head, feigning innocence. “Me?”

“Don’t play dumb,” Kiba leaned forward, voice rising a little. “You’ve fought Akatsuki. Three of them! And won!”

The table went quiet. Hinata’s chopsticks froze halfway to her mouth, her pale eyes wide. Shino, though calm, turned his full attention to Naruto, his gaze sharp behind his glasses.

Naruto paused, meat halfway to her lips, then gave a crooked smile. “You guys hear everything, huh?”

“You don’t deny it,” Shino observed.

Hinata’s voice came out small but urgent. “N-naruto-chan… is it true? You really fought them… and…” She trailed off, not sure if she wanted the answer.

Naruto exhaled, shoulders relaxing. “Yeah. I fought them. And yeah, I’m still standing.” She grinned, but it didn’t reach her eyes. “Guess I’m tougher than I look, huh?”

Kiba slammed his chopsticks down. “Tougher than you look? Naruto, you beat three Akatsuki members! That’s insane! Do you know how many people would kill for that kind of record?”

“More like how many would die trying,” Shino said quietly.

Hinata swallowed hard, her hands tightening around her chopsticks. “You… must have been hurt.”

Naruto’s grin softened, just slightly. “Heh. You know me. I don’t back down. Even if it hurts.”

For a moment, the heaviness lingered over the table. Then Naruto clapped her hands together, forcing the mood lighter. “But enough about me! I wanna hear all the good stuff I’ve missed. Who fell asleep during a mission? Bet it was Kiba.”

“What—hey! No way!” Kiba barked. “That was one time—”

Naruto burst into laughter, Hinata’s quiet giggle following soon after. For the first time in months, she felt like she could just breathe, surrounded by her friends, without the weight of the world pressing down on her shoulders.

Chapter Text

Naruto wiped the sweat from her brow as Team 7 trekked toward the Land of Grass. The sweltering heat was relentless, heavier than usual for the season, and she could tell it was wearing on the rest of her team just as much as it was on her.

The team had been dispatched to Kanabi Bridge, a vital trade artery, after alarming reports surfaced of entire caravans being incinerated—leaving no survivors. The request had come directly from the Fire Daimyō himself. Kanabi Bridge was a lifeline between the Land of Fire and the Land of Rivers, and any disruption to its flow of commerce could prove disastrous.

“It’s so hot!” Sakura groaned, fanning herself with one hand as she trudged beside Naruto. Kakashi walked a few paces ahead, unfazed as ever. “This heat wave is unbearable!”

“Tell me about it!” Naruto huffed, tipping back her canteen for another gulp. “It’s even worse out here than it was back in the village. At least there we had shade!”

Kakashi glanced over his shoulder, eye narrowing in a mock glare. “How about you two stop whining and pick up the pace? We’re almost at Kanabi Bridge. If you can manage to walk ten more minutes without melting, there’s an inn waiting with cold drinks and a roof.”

Sakura leaned toward Naruto, lowering her voice just enough. “I wonder how he’s not overheating under that mask.”

Naruto snickered, eyes gleaming with mischief. “Oh, I’m sure the stick up his ass has some kind of cooling function.”

Kakashi sighed heavily, shoulders slumping. “You do realize I can hear you, right?”

Naruto clapped a hand over her mouth to stifle a laugh, while Sakura wasn't even trying to hide her mirth.

The Kanabi Bridge loomed faintly in the distance, its silhouette half-shrouded by shimmering waves of heat. Team 7 moved cautiously along the charred trail, the acrid scent of smoke and burnt flesh still clinging stubbornly to the air.

Naruto wrinkled her nose. “Ugh… this isn’t bandit work. Bandits don’t leave the ground looking like melted glass.”

Kakashi crouched beside the remains of a scorched wagon wheel, his single visible eye narrowing. He brushed his fingers across the warped metal. “No… this is the aftermath of high-level fire jutsu. Precise. Controlled. Whoever did this knew exactly what they were doing.”

Sakura’s throat tightened as she glanced at the bodies—blackened husks barely recognizable as human. “So… not bandits. Then what were they after?”

Naruto stilled suddenly, her eyes narrowing. She pressed her palm against the ground, chakra flaring just faintly. “Wait. There’s something… faint traces… chakra.” Her brow furrowed as she focused harder. “It’s buried deep. Suppressed, like someone didn’t want it being noticed.”

Kakashi’s head lifted at that. “Suppression jutsu.” His voice was grim. “That’s not something amateurs pull off. Organized shinobi were here.”

Sakura’s fingers curled around her kunai pouch, unease prickling along her skin. “But if they went this far to cover their tracks…”

“Then they don’t want witnesses.” Kakashi’s tone left no room for doubt.

Naruto stood, brushing soot from her hands, her expression unusually serious. “So we’re not chasing bandits. We’re tracking a squad of shinobi strong enough to wipe out a convoy like it was nothing… and careful enough to bury their chakra so no one notices.”

“Exactly.” Kakashi’s voice was low. He turned his back to the carnage and began scanning the ground beyond, where scorched earth began to blend back into untouched soil. “And the only question left is—who hired them, and why here?”

“Say, Kakashi-sensei,” Sakura spoke up suddenly, her voice a little hesitant, “when’s the next caravan supposed to pass through here? Do you know?”

Kakashi didn’t take his eye off the charred ground as he replied, voice calm but edged with thought. “There should be one moving through this route by tomorrow. That gives us a narrow window.” He straightened, dusting his gloves. “For now, we head back to the inn. Rest up, keep sharp. Our real work begins tomorrow.”

“What’s that, Naruto?” Sakura asked, leaning curiously over her shoulder.

They had settled into their inn room for the evening. Kakashi was tucked away in his corner with a book, Sakura had one open on her lap, and Naruto was hunched over a sealing scroll, brush moving quickly across the paper.

Naruto’s hand paused for a fraction of a second. 𝘐 𝘤𝘢𝘯’𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘴… She forced a casual shrug. “It’s an Uzumaki forbidden fūinjutsu,” she said, voice steady. “One that summons the Shinigami. Jiraiya-sensei and I dug it up in Uzushiogakure.”

Sakura’s eyes widened. “Oh! That sounds… fun!” she said, though her brow furrowed as she stared at the complicated symbols. Honestly, I can’t make heads or tails of this stuff… “Should we order some food instead?” she asked quickly, changing the subject.

“Great idea, Sakura,” Kakashi chimed in, not looking up from his book. “I’ll handle it. Anything specific you two want?”

“Ramen!” Naruto called out immediately, grinning.

“Anmitsu!” Sakura added brightly.

Kakashi gave a mock sigh. “Okay, okay. They should be up in about fifteen minutes.”

A knock at the door broke the quiet, and Kakashi rose to answer. The innkeeper’s daughter wheeled in a cart laden with trays—steam rising from bowls of ramen, grilled fish, and a glossy dish of anmitsu.

Naruto leaned back from her seal work, letting out a small sigh of relief. “Finally. I didn’t realize how hungry I was.”

Kakashi set the dishes on the low table, and the three of them gathered around. Sakura passed Naruto a pair of chopsticks before taking her own share.

“This looks good,” Naruto said, her tone warm but even. She twirled noodles slowly, savoring the first bite instead of inhaling it. “Almost makes up for walking in that heat all day.”

Sakura smiled faintly, picking at her dessert. “Almost. I thought I was going to melt back there.”

“You both held up well,” Kakashi said approvingly. He broke apart his fish with practiced motions. “Don’t underestimate how draining weather can be on missions like this.”

"Ne, Sensei, did you order spicy ramen?" Naruto asked, pausing mid-bite.

"Hmm, I didn’t. I ordered your usual miso. But… my mouth does feel like it’s burning," Kakashi mused, resting a thoughtful hand on his chin.

Sakura’s chopsticks wobbled in her fingers. Her head felt suddenly heavy, her vision narrowing at the edges. “You… idiots. We… let our guard down,” she murmured, voice slurred. She clutched the edge of the table as a wave of dizziness swept over her.

Naruto frowned. “Sakura? You okay?” Her hand reached for her friend, but her own arms felt sluggish, and her heartbeat was suddenly erratic.

“Something’s… off.” His eyes flicked toward the bowls of food, then back to Sakura as she swayed. A cold realization hit him, and he set his chopsticks down—but before he could move further, a haze clouded his vision.

The bowls of food looked like hazy shapes, steam curling into ghostly forms. Naruto took a deep breath, forcing herself to focus on her breathing, willing her body to obey. But her limbs grew heavier with every heartbeat.

Kakashi’s mask shadowed a face pale and strained. He tried to shift, to steady himself against the table, but his legs gave way. He sank to the floor with a soft grunt, sliding beside Sakura as the world tilted around him.

Naruto’s chest heaved, a desperate effort to fight the pull of the poison. “Not… now…” she gasped, teeth gritted. But the darkness creeping from the edges of her vision was relentless. Her knees buckled completely, and she collapsed forward, hitting the floor with a dull thud beside her friends.

The room fell silent, except for the soft clinking of fallen chopsticks and the hiss of steam curling from the untouched bowls. Naruto, Kakashi, and Sakura lay unmoving around the low table, the color draining from their faces.

The innkeeper’s daughter stood in the doorway, hands gripping the cart tightly. She tilted her head, eyes glinting with a cold calculation as she watched them struggle against the poison. A small, almost imperceptible smile curved her lips.

“So much for Konoha's strongest team,” she murmured under her breath, stepping forward. The cart wobbled slightly, sending a tray clattering. “They didn’t even notice until it was too late.”

When Naruto came to, the first thing she registered was the burn. Her insides felt like they were on fire, every vein scalding, while her skin was ice-cold and clammy against the damp air. She forced her eyes open, blinking against the pounding in her head.

Kakashi and Sakura knelt beside her in the same position—hands wrenched above their heads, bound by thick chakra-suppressing chains that glowed faintly in the dark. More coils pinned their ankles to the slick floor, locking them in place.

The room itself was nearly black, the only shapes distinguishable from the faint glimmer of water pooling around them. Somewhere in the corner, water dripped at steady intervals into a rusted bucket, each plink echoing far too loudly in the silence. A lone desk sat against the far wall, shrouded in shadow.

𝘚𝘩𝘪𝘵. 𝘞𝘦 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘰𝘰 𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘴. Naruto grit her teeth, chest heaving. How had none of them caught this? Kakashi with his sharp senses, Sakura with her medical instincts… and her—someone with a natural tolerance for poison. None of it had saved them.

She coughed, the sound tearing her throat raw, and spat blood onto the wet stone. The metallic tang coated her mouth, thick and bitter. Her head was burning, her thoughts sluggish, but the chains biting into her wrists reminded her of the reality: she had been caught.

And this time, it wasn’t just her life on the line.

She turned toward the door at the sound of approaching footsteps. It swung open in a wide arc, and two men and a woman stepped inside.

"Naruto Uzumaki," one of the men sneered. His hair was wild and unkempt, and he wore no forehead protector. "As expected of you—not even our poison could keep you down for long."

"Who… are you?" she croaked, her voice scratchy. Her vision was clouded, the figures before her barely distinguishable.

"Naruto Uzumaki, Kakashi Hatake, Sakura Haruno," the woman said, ignoring her question. "Three prominent figures of Konoha in your own right—the Jinchūriki of the Kyūbi, the Fourth Hokage's daughter, the Copy-Ninja, Son of the White Fang, and Sakura Haruno, apprentice of the Slug Sannin and Fifth Hokage. It's laughable how easily the three of you fell."

Naruto's eyes widened at the mention of her parentage. Only a select few in Konoha knew that secret.

"That poison…" the man continued, "was an unfinished project of Sasori-sama—the one you killed. It works at the cellular level: once consumed, it integrates into the body like nutrients, slowly dismantling every mechanism and function. Your vision will blur first… can you feel it already? It’s begun."

The man laughed, watching Naruto squint against the creeping haze in her vision. His statement had been true—but he wasn’t finished. "Don’t worry," he said, his voice dripping with malice. "We won’t let the poison kill you… not when we have the honor of doing it ourselves. No, we’ll let it weaken you just enough to make finishing you… effortless."

“Yusuke, that’s enough. We’re leaving,” the woman said. She turned toward Naruto, tossing a slice of bread across the room. “We’ll be back tomorrow, Jinchūriki. Try to stay alive until then.” With that, they left, the door slamming shut with a loud thud that echoed through the otherwise silent room.

𝘚𝘢𝘴𝘰𝘳𝘪-𝘴𝘢𝘮𝘢? Naruto wondered, wincing as she heaved again, blood dribbling down her chin. 𝘚𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘴, 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘯… 𝘴𝘰 𝘮𝘶𝘤𝘩 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘚𝘢𝘴𝘰𝘳𝘪 𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘺 𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘦, 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘬𝘦𝘺𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘮𝘱𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘬𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘮𝘦.

But how did they know all of that? Sure, Kakashi being Sakumo’s son and his reputation as a Copy Ninja were widely known, and her Jinchūriki status wasn’t exactly a secret—but that didn’t explain how he knew she was the Fourth Hokage’s daughter, or that Sakura was Tsunade’s apprentice. Not to mention, their motives were unclear. Why target all three of them instead of just one?

Naruto shook herself, forcing her thoughts away. 𝘙𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘯𝘰𝘸, 𝘐 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬 𝘰𝘧 𝘢 𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦.

She glanced to her right, where Kakashi and Sakura still hung limp in their chains. Their peaceful expressions didn’t match the dire situation at all—it almost looked like they were sleeping.

𝘒𝘺ū𝘣𝘪, she begged silently, 𝘱𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘦… 𝘭𝘦𝘯𝘥 𝘮𝘦 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘬𝘳𝘢.

For a few agonizing moments, nothing happened. Then—like a floodgate opening—the bright, burning chakra surged through her veins. The suppression seals were useless against it; she’d broken down their design before. They couldn’t touch a secondary chakra source.

“I hope this works,” she muttered under her breath. Her right hand shook as she forced her fingers through the sequence of seals, clumsy but deliberate. She dragged her thumb across her pointer to draw blood, then pressed that same palm firmly against the crown of her head. “Summoning Jutsu!”

A soft pop split the silence, and relief washed through her as Gamakichi appeared, perched on her head.

“Yo,” he greeted casually—until he noticed the chains.

“Gamakichi,” Naruto rasped, gritting her teeth. “Read the room, will you?”

“Shit—where the hell are we?”

“There’s… no time,” she wheezed, her chest tight. Even this small summon had drained nearly all the chakra the fox had given her. “Summon Gamatatsu for me. Please.”

Without another word, Gamakichi slammed through the seals with practiced speed, his forelimb hitting the ground. Another puff of smoke, and his younger brother appeared—mouth already opening to ask about snacks before a sharp look from Gamakichi shut him up.

“Gamakichi,” Naruto said, eyes locked on him. “Head east. Bring 𝘩𝘪𝘮 here. You know who I mean?”

The look she gave him made Gamakichi’s eyes widen. He swallowed hard, then nodded. “Got it.” He leapt toward an air vent, disappearing into the shadows.

“Naruto?” Gamatatsu frowned, his round face scrunching with worry. “Are you okay?”

Naruto let out a humorless laugh that ended in a cough. “Clearly not,” she said, forcing a small smile for his sake. “But don’t worry about me. Just… help me get out of these chains, yeah?”

“I can’t believe our plan actually worked,” Yusuke laughed. “Those Konoha shinobi always come running like dogs.”

“True,” his brother Daichi agreed with a sly grin. “Once we kill them, Konoha will be considerably crippled. Three of their most valuable gone in one stroke. Right, sister?”

Chika sneered, crossing her arms. “Hmph. You two are acting like this was your victory. Don’t forget—it was my trap that caught them.”

“Sorry, sorry!” Daichi chuckled, raising his hands. “But don’t worry—we’ll handle the dirty work. You can rest, Sister.”

“As if!” Chika snapped, eyes flashing. “They’re my prey. That means their deaths are mine too.”

“Now, now,” Yusuke said, half-chiding, half-amused. “There are three of them and three of us. No need to fight over it.”

“Fine then!” Daichi smirked. “Dibs on the Copy Ninja!”

“No way!” Yusuke shot back immediately. “I want him!”

Naruto exhaled in relief as Gamatatsu’s 𝘞𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘉𝘶𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘵 finally sliced through the chains. She collapsed forward, hitting the floor face-first with a dull thud. Gamatatsu hurried to free Sakura and Kakashi, droplets splattering the damp stone as the chakra-forged bindings shattered one by one.

𝘐 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘶𝘱. Gritting her teeth, Naruto pressed her palms into the slick floor. Pain tore through every inch of her body as she forced herself upright, her movements shaky and slow. The fox’s chakra was nearly gone—she could feel it flickering at the edges—and she prayed it would hold long enough for Gamakichi to return with help.

“Gamatatsu,” she called once her teammates were unbound. Her hands trembled as she tore a strip from her jacket, then channeled chakra into her fingertip. With a hiss, she carved a deep gash into her thigh, blood welling hot and fast. She pressed the fabric into it until it was soaked through, then held it out to him.

“Take this to Granny. Tell her to make an antidote—it’s a priority. But… don’t ask her to send backup.” Her voice was hoarse but firm, her eyes cold with resolve. “She’ll know why.”

If Danzō caught wind of this, and if their captors didn’t finish the job, he definitely would.

Gamatatsu hesitated, eyes flicking between her pale face and the bloodied cloth, before finally nodding. “Okay…” He took it carefully, his usual levity gone. Just before leaping toward the vent, he glanced back at her.

“Be safe, Naruto,” he whispered.

“I can’t believe… I got poisoned by fucking 𝘳𝘢𝘮𝘦𝘯,” Naruto muttered, pushing herself shakily to her feet. Blood from the deep gash in her thigh dripped steadily to the floor, each drop falling almost in rhythm with the ceiling leak plinking into the bucket nearby.

She pressed a trembling palm against the door, reaching out with her senses for any seals or traps. There was no way their captors would be reckless enough to leave three Konoha shinobi in a room for an entire day without precautions.

She was right. A faint pulse of chakra thrummed against her palm—the weave of a low-level barrier, layered with a crude fire trap.

𝘊𝘰𝘤𝘬𝘺 𝘢𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘶𝘳𝘴, she smirked, even in her sorry state. Just like the chakra suppression seals earlier, these were sloppy, half-finished work at best.

Her fingers blurred clumsily through the hand seals, each movement heavier than it should have been. With a dull shimmer, the barrier cracked and dispersed, the fire trap unraveling with it.

Even so, the small victory cost her dearly. The poison burned through her veins, making her head pound and her vision blur. She sank back onto her haunches, chest heaving, sweat dripping down her temple. Dispelling two shoddy seals shouldn’t have drained her this badly—but her poisoned body was betraying her.

Naruto forced herself back onto unsteady feet, the only thing driving her forward now the need to secure Kakashi and Sakura’s safety. She shoved the door open with a trembling hand and stumbled toward them. Both were slick with sweat, breaths shallow, their faces pale and fever-stricken. They didn’t stir, didn’t even twitch.

Biting down hard, she hooked her arms under theirs. The weight of their bodies nearly dragged her back to the floor, but she grit her teeth and hauled forward anyway. Every step felt like her body was splintering apart, yet she dragged them on, leaving the darkness of the room behind.

Naruto squinted as the harsh light stabbed at her senses the moment she stumbled out of the cabin. The structure was small and crude, little more than the single room they’d been chained in, a cramped bathroom, and a makeshift kitchenette. From the way the sunlight broke through the trees, she could tell the cabin sat in the middle of a secluded clearing, cut off from everything else.

She dragged Kakashi and Sakura to the nearest tree, propping their limp bodies carefully against the trunk. Stripping off her jacket, she tore it into two strips before tapping the seal on her bracelet. A canteen of water dropped into her hand, and she soaked the fabric until it was heavy and cool. With shaky fingers, she pressed the damp cloths to their burning foreheads, hoping it would bring them some relief.

“Naruto Uzumaki,” the voice cut through the clearing. She froze, heart hammering at the familiarity of it. “To think you managed to escape… even in that state. The rumors don’t do you justice,” he said, his tone a mix of half praise, half sneer.

Naruto whirled around—and came face to face with her three captors, their expressions cold and calculating, as if they had been waiting for this moment.

Naruto let out a humorless chuckle, forcing herself to her feet and bracing against the tree for support. “Those seals couldn’t even keep a three-year-old out,” she said, her voice steady despite the pain coursing through her body.

The woman’s lips curved into a cold, cruel grin as she twirled a kunai effortlessly between her fingers. “Do you still intend to fight us?” she asked, eyes glinting with amusement and challenge.

Naruto’s mind raced, frantically searching for a way out. She couldn’t use a single jutsu, could barely stand, and there were three of them.

Slowly, she edged away from Kakashi and Sakura, keeping her voice steady. “Doesn’t it feel… shallow, killing an already weakened opponent?” she asked, buying some time.

“Shallow feelings are for samurai. We are shinobi,” the man replied coldly. Naruto noted the dynamic between them—three siblings, she guessed, with the woman likely the oldest.

Before she could think further, he lunged at her, kunai flashing. She raised her right arm instinctively, but the blade sliced deep into her flesh, nearly hitting bone. Pain flared, but she gritted her teeth and grabbed his wrist, yanking him forward. With a swift kick to his gut, she forced him to skid backward, stumbling from the impact.

Hissing through clenched teeth, she wrenched the kunai free and tossed it to the ground. Blood trickled down her arm, painting the grass a deep red.

“You still have that much power even after the effects of my poison…?” the woman mused, eyes widening with a mixture of surprise and delight. Then her grin twisted into something manic. “Wonderful, Naruto Uzumaki! Killing you will be the most fun I’ve had in ages!” she screamed, lunging at Naruto.

𝘚𝘩𝘪𝘵, Naruto thought, panic flashing through her mind. Jiraiya had taught her to fight blindfolded, to rely on senses beyond sight—but he had never prepared her for this: no vision, dulled hearing, her body weakened by poison.

She leapt backward just in time as the woman’s high kick sliced through the air. Landing lightly, Naruto immediately shifted into defense, her body instinctively moving to anticipate attacks. But the woman’s taijutsu was unpredictable, flowing and twisting with deadly intent, forcing Naruto to keep reacting instead of attacking.

Naruto’s mind raced as she tried to predict the next strike. She couldn’t rely on sight or sharpened hearing—everything was muffled, blurred, distorted—but instinct, honed over years of training, kept her moving.

She felt the rush of air just before another kick landed, and twisted her body to let it glance harmlessly past. Pain lanced through her poisoned limbs with every dodge, but she forced herself to stay balanced, planting her feet firmly despite the fatigue.

Her hands scraped the ground, fingertips searching for anything to leverage, anything to give her a momentary advantage. She caught the faintest brush of motion near her left side—too quick to be accidental. With a grunt, she pivoted, sweeping low and catching the woman’s ankle. The attacker stumbled, letting out a surprised curse, and Naruto seized the opening, driving her shoulder forward into the woman’s midsection.

“Don’t get cocky, Jinchūriki,” Yusuke sneered, appearing behind her. Before she could react, the blade of his sword plunged into her side, sending a shock of pain through her entire body. She collapsed onto the ground, gasping, the taste of blood filling her mouth. He wouldn’t let his siblings suffer the humiliation of being bested by a shinobi this badly handicapped.

Chika and Daichi rose to their feet, brushing the dust from their clothes before falling in line beside their brother. “Tch,” she muttered, her voice dripping with distaste. She kicked Naruto onto her back, savoring the guttural groan the Jinchūriki let out as she hit the ground.

Chika pressed her heel into Naruto’s wound, savoring the sharp gasp that escaped her. She drew five kunai from her pouch, driving one deep into Naruto’s thigh. “I’ve always wanted to test a Jinchūriki’s healing…” she paused, stabbing another into each of Naruto’s hands, pinning her to the ground. “…but I suppose the poison has kept the fox from mending you, hasn’t it?”

𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦'𝘴 𝘯𝘰 𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘐'𝘮 𝘥𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴, she thought, tears welling in her eyes. She was certain her parents wouldn’t want to see her go so soon. A violent fit of coughing ripped through her chest, and blood gushed freely, staining the ground around her.

The older sister's grin widened as she crouched low over Naruto. With a swift, deliberate motion, she dragged the edge of her fingernail across Naruto’s cheek, leaving a burning, jagged scratch that stung through the haze of pain and poison.

She leaned back slightly, eyes glinting with cruel satisfaction. “You really are resilient, aren’t you, Jinchūriki?” she taunted, her voice dripping with mock admiration. “But I’ll admit… seeing you bleed like this is… thrilling.”

Naruto hissed, blood mingling with tears, her vision blurring. Every movement sent jolts of agony through her body.

The woman twirled another kunai between her fingers before driving it into Naruto’s stomach. Her laughter, joined by her brothers’, rang out—cruel, carefree, and utterly unrestrained.

“Man, hurry up and just kill her already, Big Sis!” Daichi exclaimed, impatience lacing his voice.

“Patience is a virtue,” Yusuke tutted, a smirk on his face. “You wouldn’t know—rushing in like you did almost got your ass handed to you earlier.”

Chika aimed to drive the final kunai into Naruto’s heart when a sword suddenly pierced her own chest, the tip protruding from her front. She crumpled instantly, the kunai slipping silently from her hand to the grass.

“Sister!” Yusuke roared, spinning toward her attacker, teeth bared in fury. “You—” His words were cut short as his head was severed in a single, swift motion.

Daichi froze, horror etched into his face, watching both of his siblings fall in mere seconds. The youngest and weakest of the three, he realized he had no chance of victory. “Please!” he begged, voice trembling. “I’ll do anything! Don’t kill me!”

The man’s gaze was cold, his anger sharp as a blade. “You really think begging for forgiveness will save you?”

“Please! I swear I—” Daichi’s plea was cut off as his body collapsed to the ground with a dull thud, blood soaking into the soil beneath him.

He dashed to Naruto’s side, dropping to his knees with panic etched across his face. Every inch of her was streaked with blood, her red hair matted and tangled across her shoulders and the ground. His gaze swept over the kunai embedded in her flesh, but then it froze on a single wound—her right lung, pierced and life-threatening.

The realization hit him like a punch: between that and the lingering effects of the poison Gamakichi had warned him about... 𝘚𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥𝘯'𝘵 𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘣𝘭𝘺 𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘷𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴...

His attention snapped to her face as a violent cough tore from her lungs, some of the blood spattering across his own cheeks. Despite it, she managed a weak, blood-coated smile. “Are… Sensei and Sak…ura okay…?” she whispered, her voice barely audible, strained and fragile.

Tears, uncharacteristic and raw, welled in his eyes, though he made no move to wipe them away. 𝘖𝘧 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘴𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘥𝘪𝘰𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘱𝘳𝘪𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘻𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘦 𝘥𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨. "Don't talk, Naruto. Please,''

She managed a weak smile, her eyes heavy and drooping. “Y-you su…re took your time… S-Sasuke…” she murmured, her voice barely more than a whisper before her eyelids fluttered closed.

Chapter Text

Sasuke’s hands hovered uselessly above her broken body, trembling. His chest constricted with every shallow, ragged breath Naruto managed to take. He could feel her life slipping through his fingers, and for the first time in years, his mind was utterly blank.

“Don’t do this,” he whispered, voice breaking. “Don’t you dare do this to me, Naruto.”

A rush of movement behind him snapped his head up. Itachi appeared in a blur, dropping to his knees so fast it almost startled Sasuke. His eyes widened at the sight—Naruto, limp and bloodied, her chest barely moving.

For the first time Sasuke could remember, his brother’s composure shattered.

“...No,” he rasped, his voice raw, foreign. “Not her. Not like this.” His hands finally pressed against her chest, uselessly trying to steady her shallow, faltering breaths.

Sasuke swallowed hard, his own hands stained red. “She—she’s slipping, Nii-san. I don’t—” His voice cracked. “I don’t know what to do.”

He grabbed Naruto’s shoulder, shaking her lightly, desperate. “Naruto. Stay awake. Open your eyes!”

Her head lolled to the side, eyelids still and heavy.

Itachi’s breath hitched, his entire frame trembling as though the ground had been ripped out from under him.

A sudden thump echoed beside them. Gamatatsu burst onto the scene, eyes wide with panic. “No time to waste!” he croaked, fumbling with a vial and a gleaming syringe almost too large for his little hands. He shoved it into Itachi’s grasp without hesitation. “Stick it in her thigh! Now—or she dies!”

Itachi didn’t think—he couldn’t. His fingers shook violently as he plunged the needle deep into the muscle of Naruto’s thigh, pressing down the plunger with a desperation that bordered on feral. His breath came ragged, eyes locked on her lifeless face, the slow rise of her chest.

“Toad!” Sasuke barked, his own voice quivering with fear. “Give it to Kakashi and Sakura too—right now!” They needed Sakura awake to heal Naruto immediately.

Gamatatsu nodded furiously, already pulling out two more vials, but Itachi wasn’t watching. His entire being was consumed by the girl before him, his trembling hand still clutching her leg as though sheer force of will could tether her to life.

“Please,” he whispered, voice breaking. “Please, Naruto—Please, Please...”

“She’s—” Sasuke’s voice broke, raw terror clawing at his throat. “N-nii-san—she’s not breathing.”

The world seemed to collapse inward.

Itachi’s hands flew to Naruto’s shoulders, shaking her once, twice, as though he could rattle life back into her fragile body. “No… no, no, no!” The word tore from his throat, jagged and strangled, nothing like the calm, collected man he had always been. His breath hitched violently, chest heaving, his eyes wide and wild as he pressed his trembling fingers against her neck, searching desperately for a pulse that wasn’t there.

“Damn it, Naruto!” His voice cracked—raw, broken. His forehead pressed against hers, his hand gripping hers so tightly his knuckles went white. “You don’t get to leave me. Not like this. Not now!”

For the first time in years, his composure shattered completely. His shoulders shook with silent, ragged sobs as he tried to force air into her lungs, each breath frantic, desperate, as if he could give her part of himself to keep her tethered to the world.

Sasuke froze, the sight of his brother unraveling shoving a spike of terror through his chest. He had never—never—seen Itachi like this. The calm, unshakable brother he had looked up to his entire life was crumbling before his eyes, breaking apart with every second Naruto didn’t breathe.

“No… no, this isn’t happening—” Sasuke’s voice cracked, his throat burning as panic surged like fire through his veins. He dropped to Naruto’s other side, his hands hovering uselessly over her, shaking so badly he didn’t know what to do. “Naruto, damn it, open your eyes!” His voice rose, frantic, almost unrecognizable.

Sasuke’s hands fisted in the fabric of her bloodstained shirt, as though holding her physically would keep her soul from slipping away. He looked at Itachi, his voice shattering into a plea he hadn’t made since childhood. “Nii-san—do something! Please! Don’t let her die!”

“Sasuke!” Itachi barked, his voice shaking, fingers still pinching Naruto’s nose shut as he forced another desperate breath into her lungs. His composure was shattered, fear raw in his eyes. “I—I have an idea. I don’t know if it’ll work—”

“Spit it out, Itachi! We don’t know until we try!” Sasuke snapped, his own voice breaking, hysteria clawing its way up his throat. His hands hovered uselessly over Naruto, trembling so badly he could barely form a seal.

Itachi’s voice cracked, desperation bleeding into every word. “Her heart—shock it. Use a low-level 𝘊𝘩𝘪𝘥𝘰𝘳𝘪 𝘕𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘴𝘩𝘪. If we can jolt it—it might start again.”

Sasuke froze, horror twisting his expression. “To shock her—her heart—”

“Do it, Sasuke!” Itachi roared, the sound raw and unlike him, his voice breaking as tears burned down his cheeks. “If we wait any longer—she’s gone!”

Sasuke’s entire body shook as he pressed his trembling hands to her chest, sparks already crackling between his fingers. His voice was hoarse, broken. “Please, Naruto… come back.”

Lightning burst from his palms, jolting through her. Her body arched, then slumped limp.

Nothing.

Itachi pulled back, his mouth smeared with her blood, eyes wide with horror. He forced another breath into her lungs, chest rising beneath his hands. “Again, Sasuke!”

Sasuke’s voice cracked. “It didn’t—”

“Again!” Itachi screamed, slamming his palms against her side to keep her steady. His voice was raw, hysterical. “Don’t stop! Please, don’t stop!”

Lightning burst from Sasuke’s hands again, her frame jerking violently. Still no response.

Sasuke’s breath hitched into sobs, his tears falling onto her bloodied skin. “I’m making it worse—I’m—”

“You’re saving her!” Itachi gasped out, breaking off only to give her another breath, his own tears spilling unchecked. “Don’t you dare stop, Sasuke! Do it again!”

Sasuke’s entire body trembled as he forced the chakra forward one more time, sparks sizzling violently. With a hoarse scream of desperation, he shocked her chest again.

For a horrible moment—nothing.

Then—thump.

Itachi froze, pulling back, ear pressed desperately to her chest. Another faint beat followed. His breath shattered into a sob. “I-it's beating!” His voice cracked as tears streamed down his face. He clutched her limp hand in both of his, holding it as though sheer will alone could keep her tethered. “She’s here—she’s still here—”

Sasuke collapsed against her shoulder, trembling uncontrollably. His forehead pressed against her blood-matted hair as sobs tore through him. “Don’t ever do that again, do you hear me? Don’t you dare leave us.”

Naruto’s faint heartbeat echoed in Itachi’s ears, each fragile thump a miracle. He kept his trembling hand pressed firmly against her chest, terrified it would stop again if he let go. Sasuke, hunched over her, could only shake as silent sobs wracked his frame.

Behind them, a weak groan split the air.

“...ugh… my head…”

Sasuke’s tear-streaked eyes flicked up, wide with disbelief. Kakashi, face pale and body trembling, stirred against the ground, one hand pressing to his temple.

Itachi’s head whipped around, his Sharingan still swirling in raw panic. “Kakashi—” his voice broke, desperate, almost angry, “—you’re awake?”

A low groan reached their ears next. Sakura stirred, her eyelids fluttering weakly before a rough cough escaped her. Slowly, her vision cleared—and the sight in front of her nearly stopped her heart.

Sasuke Uchiha. Itachi Uchiha.

Her pulse stumbled in her chest. The love of her life—and his brother, the man he’d sworn to kill—kneeling together over Naruto’s broken body.

Her lips trembled. “S-Sasuke-kun…?” A faint blush crept into her cheeks, absurd against the suffocating tension.

Sasuke’s head whipped toward her, his glare sharp enough to cut. “There’s no time for that!” he snapped, voice breaking with rage and fear. “Heal Naruto—𝘯𝘰𝘸!”

The command jolted her like a slap, and her breath caught in her throat.

Beside her, Kakashi staggered upright, then froze at the sight before him. His single visible eye widened at Naruto’s body—kunai littering her flesh, barely breathing. He dropped to his knees beside the Uchiha brothers, horror flickering across his usually impassive face.

“What the hell happened while we were unconscious?” he wondered, voice rough, gaze darting between the blood, the brothers, and Naruto’s ashen face.

Kakashi’s sharp voice cut through Sakura’s haze like a whip, yanking her fully back to the present. She stumbled forward, heart hammering, chakra flaring in her palms even before she reached Naruto.

“Move out of the way!” she shouted, determination cracking through her panic.

Kakashi and Sasuke shifted to the left, giving her space. Itachi stayed at Naruto’s side, still clutching her hand tightly, knuckles white, his eyes never leaving her face. His chest rose and fell rapidly with each ragged breath he forced into her lungs.

Sakura knelt beside Naruto, green chakra pooling in her hands, warm and trembling as she pressed it to her chest. She concentrated all her energy on the damaged lung, ignoring the dozens of kunai still embedded in her body, the shredded flesh, the blood—every other wound that could kill her in an instant.

Seconds stretched into agonizing minutes. Naruto’s chest barely rose. Her breaths were shallow, fragmented, fighting against the damage and lingering poison. Sweat dripped down Sakura’s forehead as she forced her chakra deeper, feeling her own energy strain under the effort.

Itachi’s trembling grip on her hand didn’t loosen, and his voice, usually so composed, broke as he whispered, “Stay with me, Naruto… come back to me…”

Sasuke’s hands hovered tensely over her side, ready to intervene with chakra shocks if needed, but he didn’t dare touch her. Every fiber of his being screamed at Sakura to hurry, every heartbeat pounding against his ribs as he watched his sister-in-arms fight for her life.

Finally—a faint, wheezing inhale escaped Naruto’s lips. Her chest rose ever so slightly, then fell again. Itachi’s eyes widened, a shudder running through him as he pressed a whispered plea against her hand: “Come on, Naruto… Please, Naruto…”

The kunoichi stepped back slightly, chest heaving, green chakra fading from Naruto’s chest. She wiped her hands on her skirt, her own relief making her knees weak. “She’s going to be okay… she’s going to live,” she whispered, barely daring to believe it herself.

Kakashi crouched beside them, eye wide behind his mask, taking in the blood, the kunai still embedded in her, the fragile rise and fall of her chest. He let out a long, slow breath, a mixture of relief and exasperation. “That was… too close,” he muttered, shaking his head.

Naruto’s eyelids fluttered again, weakly opening as she took another shuddering breath. She was alive, fragile but alive. And in that moment, every heart in the room, raw with fear and relief, beat a little faster—not just with the terror of what had almost happened, but with the undeniable relief that she had pulled through.

Itachi finally allowed himself a small, shaky exhale, though his hands never left hers. Sasuke, still trembling, whispered hoarsely, “I won’t let anything happen to you again… I swear it.”

Naruto’s eyes fluttered open slowly, blurry at first. She coughed harshly, blood flecking her lips, but her chest rose and fell steadily under Sakura’s healing.

“Ugh… shit...” Her voice was barely more than a rasp, weak but alive.

Sasuke’s head shot up, tears still streaming down his face. “You’re awake!” His voice cracked, raw with relief and panic. He pressed closer, his hands still gripping her shoulders, as if letting go might make her vanish again.

Itachi stayed at her side, holding her hand tightly, eyes wide and unblinking, still trembling from the near loss. “You’re okay,” he whispered, his voice rough and unsteady. “Stay with us, Naruto. Please.”

Sakura crouched closer, chest heaving from exhaustion, yet relieved. “Naruto… just focus on breathing for now. Let me help you. We’ve got you,” she murmured, eyes flicking nervously to the remaining kunai, still embedded, a reminder of how close they’d come.

“Sasuke,” Naruto whispered, eyes widening as realization flickered across her face. Her hand trembled as she lifted it slowly, palm brushing gently against his cheek.

Itachi’s gaze shifted to Sasuke, surprise flickering across his usually composed features. He had been so consumed with fear for Naruto during the ordeal that he hadn’t even noticed.

“Mangekyō Sharingan,” he muttered under his breath, his voice low and tinged with awe, eyes narrowing slightly as he studied the deep, burning pattern in Sasuke’s irises.

Sasuke stilled, lifting a hand to his eye. He had likely awakened it during Naruto’s near-death scare—he had felt his vision burn earlier but had been too consumed by panic to register it fully.

“It was probably because of Naruto,” Kakashi offered softly, his single visible eye thoughtful behind the mask.

“Sasuke,” Naruto whispered, tears welling, her voice trembling, “I’m… sorry.”

“Don’t be stupid,” Sasuke murmured, his tone low but steady, trembling just slightly beneath the surface. “It’s not your fault. None of this is.”

Sakura glanced away, a pang of sadness twisting in her chest as she watched the intimate exchange between Naruto and Sasuke. 𝘔𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘬𝘺ō 𝘚𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘢𝘯…? she wondered silently, brow furrowing in confusion. 𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵… 𝘦𝘹𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘭𝘺 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵?

The Jinchūriki offered a soft, teasing smile, her voice gentle but light. “Wow… who would’ve thought I’d get not just one, but 𝘵𝘸𝘰 knights in shining armor?” she joked, hoping to cut through the lingering tension.

Itachi’s lips pressed into a thin line, a grimace tugging at his features before he let out a soft huff. “It’s too soon for that, Naruto,” he chided, lowering her hand slowly, the usual edge in his voice softened by lingering worry.

But before he could pull away completely, Naruto’s fingers curled around his, holding on with quiet determination. His eyes widened in surprise, and instinctively he gripped her hand tighter, his pulse quickening at the small but meaningful connection.

Kakashi leaned back slightly, mask hiding a smirk, clearly amused by the subtle tension and their antics.

The younger Uchiha allowed himself a tentative smile for the first time since the ordeal. Relief coursed through him, raw and undeniable—Naruto was alive, and for now, that was enough.

“Um…” Sakura spoke up, her voice wavering with a mix of relief and hysteria. “Naruto, I’m glad you’re okay, but… aren’t there more pressing matters right now? Why are you and Itachi holding hands? Why is he even here? None of you seem concerned that a missing-nin—𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘰’𝘴 𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘭𝘺 𝘩𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘺𝘰𝘶—is right here, holding hands with you! And you too, Sasuke-kun… what are you doing here? Why aren’t you trying to stop him… or… or—?”

Her words stumbled out, frantic, her eyes wide as she gestured helplessly between them, overwhelmed by the impossible scene in front of her.

All of them collectively grimaced, exchanging glances as if silently agreeing that no words could adequately explain themselves.

“You’ve gotta put her in a genjutsu to make her forget,” Kakashi suggested, voice calm and almost bored, as if this was a routine problem.

“W-what!?” Sakura exclaimed, eyes wide, hands flailing in disbelief.

“Hmm… you’re right,” Itachi said, tilting his head slightly, still composed despite the lingering tension. “Sasuke, you do it.”

“What!? No way! You do it, Nii-san!” Sasuke shot back, face flushed and jaw tight, frustration and embarrassment mingling in his tone.

Kakashi sighed, shaking his head, and lifted his headband. “Sorry, Sakura,” he muttered under his breath, before activating the genjutsu, his single visible eye calm and methodical.

'“You didn’t tell us what happened, Naruto. All I remember was finding out we’d been poisoned,” Kakashi said as they moved Sakura and Naruto inside the cabin, all of them settling on the floor in the kitchenette. Sasuke was rummaging through the cupboards, looking for something to eat or drink.

Naruto grimaced, an embarrassed blush painting her cheeks. 𝘐 𝘤𝘢𝘯’𝘵 𝘣𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘷𝘦 𝘭𝘰𝘸-𝘭𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘭 𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘫𝘢 𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘢𝘨𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘱𝘰𝘪𝘴𝘰𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘥𝘦𝘧𝘦𝘢𝘵 𝘮𝘦… she thought.

“When I woke up, we were in that room,” she said, pointing vaguely toward the direction of the incident. “They had us in chakra-suppressing chains. I managed to summon Gamakichi and told him to get Gamatatsu and bring Sasuke.”

“You managed that even with the seals and poison?” Itachi asked, fists clenching subtly at the thought. 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘺’𝘳𝘦 𝘭𝘶𝘤𝘬𝘺… 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺’𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘭𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘺 𝘥𝘦𝘢𝘥… 𝘪𝘧 𝘪𝘵 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘮𝘦…

“They were poorly made,” Naruto admitted, shrugging slightly. “Gamatatsu helped me get out of the chains, and then I got the three of us out of that room. When I was tending to you and Sakura… that’s when they ambushed me.”

Sasuke handed each of them a bottle of water before sitting down next to Kakashi, his expression tense.

Naruto continued, her voice steady but worried. “I’m not sure what their plan was. They had their attention on all three of us. And they even knew classified information… like who my father is.”

Sasuke’s eyes widened. “Do you think it was an inside job?” he asked cautiously, the implication clear.

“No,” Naruto said, shaking her head. “I don’t think so. But I do think this was planned from the start. The mission—it was just a front.”

Itachi hummed thoughtfully. “Were the three of you specifically requested?” he asked, his gaze sharp as he considered the implications.

“No,” Naruto replied firmly. “Granny wouldn’t have sent us if we were. Everyone knows that specific requests usually mean a targeted attack.”

Kakashi leaned back slightly, rubbing the bridge of his nose. “I wonder… does that mean they would’ve been satisfied with any Konoha shinobi who showed up?”

“It could be a grudge against Konoha, then,” Sasuke mused, voice low and deliberate.

“Something like that,” Naruto said, her tone grim. “It was just their luck that they managed to catch us off guard.”

“Still, thank you for coming, Sasuke. You got here just in time,” Naruto said, smiling brightly at him.

Sasuke looked away, cheeks faintly flushed. “Tch… don’t let me have to save your ass from low-level ninjas again,” he muttered.

“Tsundere,” Kakashi whispered to Itachi, who nodded thoughtfully. Even he had to admit—his younger brother had the classic signs.

“You too, Itachi. How’d you know I was in trouble?” Naruto asked, tilting her head curiously.

Itachi’s gaze dropped, a faint, uncharacteristic blush coloring his usually composed features. “The bracelet I gave you… it tracks your vitals and alerts me if anything is… amiss,” he admitted quietly.

“Tsundere,” Kakashi whispered again, this time to Sasuke, who nodded solemnly. He too recognized the unmistakable signs in his older brother.

Naruto went the exact shade of her hair at Itachi's proclamation and stared intently at the floor. “Oh… really?” she murmured shyly, voice barely audible.

Itachi and Sasuke both leaned closer to Kakashi from either side, whispering almost in unison: “Tsundere.”

Kakashi nodded furiously, hiding a smirk behind his mask. His little-sister figure had clearly become the unwitting ruler of the Tsundere Clan.