Author's Note from Panda: Wow-zah. Over 200 follows and nearly as many favorites for a story only three chapters long. It's a bit overwhelming and definitely puts the pressure on us to write a fantastic story. Which is part of the reason for its long delay. We had to write this and a few chapters ahead to start fleshing out the plot, then some brainstorming, followed by rewrites, followed by some summer time anxiety, followed by more rewrites. We are going to try to get ch5 out in a timely manner, but we need your help to do it. We need you to review this chapter and tell us what you think. What's good to lift our spirits and propel us further to write, and what's bad so that we can improve and live up to your expectations. You have the power to help us write this story. We will never hold a chapter hostage over number of favorites or reviews, but seeing those numbers tick up really puts a smile on our faces.

Now please, enjoy the chapter.

The morning came pleasantly for Sakura after she awoke completely rejuvenated thanks to Saiken's chakra. The sunlight peaked through her windows as the bird's tweeted to greet the new day. The nomad girl groaned at the thought of leaving her sinfully comfy bed with its silk sheets, but the loud rapping at the door forced her to wake up.

"Sakura, dear, wake up." Matilda called out as she opened the door, looking livelier than any sane woman had any right to be at this hour.

"Mmmmm...do I have to?" Sakura whined.

"You wanted me to wake you up. Unless you were lying last night when you said you didn't want to be late for your first mission with your team?" Matilda smirked.

Sakura paused for a moment, letting her sleepy brain process what Matilda just said. Then her eyes went wide when it all caught up to her. "ACK! THE MISSION!"

Matilda giggled. "There we go. Breakfast will be ready and on the table by the time you get downstairs."

"Thank you!" Sakura exclaimed as she bolted to the bathroom to get ready.

In a half hour, she was dressed and down the stairs where she was greeted to the usual large spread for breakfast with Kushina and Minato seated at the kitchen table. And yet Naruto was nowhere in sight.

"Hey. Where's Naruto?" Sakura asked.

"Good morning to you too." Kushina said over her cup of tea.

"Right. Sorry...good morning." Sakura corrected herself.

"That's better, you'd think that you would be more polite to your future in-laws." Kushina winked. Sakura madly blushed like her head was going to explode.

"You're torturing the poor girl." Minato smirked.

"I-its... a little soon to think about that..." Sakura stammered.

"Perhaps you're right." Kushina teased. "To answer your first question, Naruto is outside doing some quick training with Jiraiya."

"Oh. Wait, when did he get up?" Sakura asked as she sat at the table.

"I believe Jiraiya-sensei had him kicking and screaming out of bed an hour ago. Something about him taking it easy on Naruto. I didn't fully catch his words." Minato admitted before taking a sip of his coffee.

"Taking it easy? I thought he was going hard on him in the beginning when he learned the Rasengan in a week." Sakura mused.

"I think you misunderstood, my master taught Naruto the Rasengan for over a month. In total, it took Naruto three months to master the Rasengan on his own." Minato explained.

"Which is still faster than the time frame you learned it." Kushina said.

Minato smiled. "That is true...that boy has made me proud."

"How long did it take you to master the Rasengan?" Sakura asked.

"It took me three years." Minato said casually.

Sakura looked at Minato, completely stunned. "Three years...?" She breathed out. Then she looked to the window where she knew Naruto was outside somewhere. "And he did it in three months..."

"Well in the defense of my husband, Minato had to invent the Rasengan." Kushina added.

"Even still, that is amazing." Sakura praised. 'He is amazing...'

'Is that your crush on him talking?' Saiken teased.

'Shut up.' Sakura thought.

"Yes, but enough fantasizing about my son. You should eat before you have to leave for your mission." Kushina gestured to the spread of fresh fruit and stacks of stuffed French Toast.

'Oh my God, I love French Toast. Eat that.' Saiken thought.

'Don't have to tell me twice.' Sakura thought back before digging in.

The French Toast was scrumptious and the orange juice was fresh squeezed aa Sakura discovered when she finally paused to take a drink. One of the many, many perks of living with the Hokage was the two personal chefs he had on staff, Ayame and her father. The trio sat in a polite silence, each of them enjoying their breakfast too much to speak. You could almost be forgiven for thinking they were the nuclear family of the house.

"So, Sakura, are you excited for your first day with your Genin team?" Minato asked.

Sakura swallowed her last bit of French toast. "I am, actually." She smiled.

"This is usually a big day in a young Kunoichi's life. I should have helped the chefs make a bigger breakfast for you." Kushina said slightly disappointed.

"Oh no, this is fine. Really it is." Sakura waved off.

"Very well. Just be sure to be nice towards your teammates, but also don't be afraid to pop them one if they give you any crap." Kushina advised.

"I may give Sasuke one or two. He's a stuck-up prick."

"Only if he deserves it." Minato said.

"I'll determine that." Sakura smirked as she stood up from the table.

"Oh Sakura, do you think you could bring Naruto and Jiraiya their breakfast? I'm sure at least one of them would be overjoyed to get it from you." Kushina smiled.

"Sure thing." Sakura chirped.

"I'll assemble their plates." Matilda said.

"Thank you, Matilda." Kushina smiled.

Meanwhile, outside of the house, in the open-air training field, Jiraiya was seated out on the grass with his back to the sunlight and his notebook and pencil in his hands. Next to him was a giant clay pot big enough for three people, which Naruto was doing hand stand push-ups over top with his hands on the rims. The young Jinchuriki gasped as he finished his second to last set, his sweat dripping and filling up inside the pot.

"One more set and you're done for now." Jiraiya instructed.

"Thank God." Naruto muttered as he felt the pot lean to one side so that his left arm was completely extended out.

"Hey!" Naruto cried as he looked over to see Pervy Sage pushing his leg against the pot.

"One armed hand stand push-ups, 25 on each side, then you're done." Jiraiya said casually.

"Awe come on!" Naruto protested.

"Whine again and it'll be 50 on each side." Jiraiya said as he flipped his notebook over to a clean page.

Naruto just grumbled before getting to work.

"Good morning!" Naruto heard a cheerful voice that made his heart skip a beat.

He looked to his right and could see the pink haired angel that invaded his dreams every night.

"Well good morning little lady." Jiraiya smiled.

"I brought you guys some breakfast." Sakura smiled.

"How sweet, that'll be a great motivator for him to finish his morning workout." Jiraiya said as he shook the pot slightly.

Sakura felt bad for Naruto, but could understand Jiraiya's point. Tsunade had trained her in a similar fashion.

"I however will gladly take my French Toast." Jiraiya smiled.

Sakura nodded and handed him his plate.

"Delicious, always count on Ayame-chan to make sweet things the best." Jiraiya smiled as he took a bite.

"Where should I set Naruto's?" Sakura asked.

"Wherever you would like. You could even wait here. Your presence seems to have given a certain blond a second wind." Jiraiya said as Naruto pushed his way through his push-ups.

'Can't imagine why.' Saiken snickered.

Sakura meanwhile was blushing hard. "I uh...don't know what that would be..."

She then noticed how Naruto was dressed in his workout sleeveless T-shirt and sweat pants. And they both seemed to be dripping with sweat.

'Wow...he sure has...been working out...' Sakura thought, while on the outside Jiraiya caught her staring at the young blond.

'Ah, young love.' Jiraiya thought as he picked up his notebook to jot something quick down.

'You can stop drooling anytime now.' Saiken teased.

'I am not drooling.' Sakura snapped as she wiped her mouth.

'Suuuure...'

"23...24...25!" Naruto declared, signaling to Jiraiya to shift the pot over to the other side.

"So, did Minato let you in on what missions he was assigning you to?" Jiraiya asked Sakura.

"Um...no, I don't think so." Sakura replied.

"We're...18...supposed to...19...do some...20...D rank...21...missions...22...before our...23...B rank...24...mission...25." Naruto informed as he finished his set.

"I hope not 20. I'd like to get to that B-ranked mission." Sakura smirked.

"No, not 20. That was me counting. I think like 5 or 6." Naruto clarified.

"Oh, that's much easier." Sakura said. "What do D-ranked missions typically consist of?"

"Chores for other people..." Naruto grumbled.

Sakura shrugged. "So...what I had been doing in other villages to get money, then."

"Yeah, pretty much."

"Simple enough. When do we start?"

"Whenever Kakashi-sensei and the others get here." Naruto stated.

"Alright. Well your breakfast is getting cold."

"Alright, sweet." Naruto said as he flopped down off the pot next to Sakura.

"What was the name of that girl on your team again?" Sakura asked.

"Ami." Naruto said as he took a bite of his French toast.

"Ah, right. Well, all I can say is that she better keep her trap shut or I'll rip it off her face. I don't take kindly to people talking shit to me."

"No arguments from me." Naruto said simply. "Just try not to be too hostile. We need to work with Ami until we both become Chunin."

"Speaking of which. I think that's them now." Jiraiya pointed down the path.

"Yeah..." Naruto said before he did a double take and looked on in horror. "Wait a minute." Naruto scrambled to his feet to check if he was seeing this right.

There they all were. Sasuke, Ami, and…

"Is that Kakashi-sensei? On time?!" Naruto exclaimed like the sign of the end times were upon them.

"Hard to believe eh, Dobe?" Sasuke called out with a smirk.

"And you seem friendly, Teme? Has the world gone mad?"

"No, I'm just as surprised as you are about our sensei being on time for once."

"And you're talking to me in complete sentences and not going, "Hm," all the time?" Naruto added. "Ami, I think those two are enemy spies using a henge."

"Yeah, right. Don't be an idiot." Ami shot.

"Oh thank the Sage, you're still you." Naruto sighed in relief.

"Really...is it so hard to believe I can be on time?" Kakashi deadpanned.

"Yes." Everyone but Sakura said at once.

Kakashi just sweat dropped. "Well...whatever. Sakura, you ready to start your first day?"

"Am I ever." Sakura said enthusiastically.

"Can definitely tell she's a rookie." Ami snickered.

"Play nice, all of you, especially when we are addressing the Hokage." Kakashi lectured.

"Hm..." Sasuke muttered.

"Yes sensei." The others replied.

"You kids have fun." Jiraiya said as he clapped his hands and made the pot vanish in a puff of smoke. "I'm gonna go do some research." He smirked before vanishing himself.

"Pervert..." Sakura grumbled.

"How is he a pervert?" Ami asked, not really knowing what his researched entailed.

"Wait, you don't know?" Sakura raised an eyebrow.

"Know what? He's probably off doing some important Sage research like a new seal or something." Ami said.

Naruto and Sakura just looked at one another before bursting out laughing.

"What's so funny?!" Ami exclaimed.

"Na-nothing..." Naruto giggled. "We...we just remembered a funny joke...hehehe..."

"Ami...you do know that Jiraiya is the author of the Make Out series, right? Just look at the cover of sensei's book." Sasuke pointed out.

"What? Sasuke-kun, that can't be true. He is the Sannin of the Leaf. The last loyal one."

"Hold on, what do you mean the last loyal one?" Sakura asked as she pushed past Kakashi.

"Exactly that. Tsunade abandoned the village and her people and Orochimaru turned traitor." Ami stated.

"I hardly think that's a fair assessment, Ami." Sakura said. "She did return and saved Lord 4th. Now she's running the hospital back to its former glory."

"Yeah, after being forced back." Ami countered.

"And if you knew the kind of life she had you'd understand." Sakura snapped.

"I knew she was sworn to defend this village and she turned her back on it." Ami snapped back. She looked over and saw Sasuke back up from her outburst. "A real ninja like the Uchiha's would never betray their village."

"Don't you give me that bullshit, bitch." Sakura spat as she got right in Ami's face. "She never betrayed the village. Not once. They betrayed her. So before you open your mouth again, you best count your teeth."

"You best get out of my face before I give you a pair of fat lips to match your fat forehead." Ami spat.

"If you're feeling froggy then jump." Sakura spat back.

"Huh? That some kind of nomad saying they use out in the woods?" Ami spat.

"It's a saying older than the both of us. It means if you're gonna talk shit, then you best back up your words. Because if you won't..." Sakura growled before she raised up her chakra infused fist. "I will."

Ami then raised up a kunai. "Just try it."

"Both of you knock it off." Kakashi ordered.

Both girls backed away from one another, not letting their guard down.

"Sakura. Working on a team may be new to you, but you must learn to put aside what you grew up with and not react to every little provocation. Ami, you know better about working together. Picking a fight with Sakura and insulting her mother is not it. The next time I have to tell you about that will be the last time. After that, I will have you both sent back to the Academy. Is that clear?" Kakashi lectured sternly.

The two kunouchi stared at one another for a long time, trying to imagine how they could most painfully kill the other.

"Yes, sensei." They both said.

"Good, what about you two?" Kakashi asked the two boys. "Any childish rants you'd like to get out of the way?"

"I'm good." Naruto said.

"Hm." Sasuke replied.

"Good. Now move. We gotta see Lord 4th about our assignments." Kakashi ordered.

The kids all nodded and followed their Jounin-sensei back to the house where Kushina and Minato were still enjoying their breakfast.

"Why, it's little Kakashi." Kushina smiled.

"Lady Kushina, please don't call me that in front of my students." Kakashi groaned, earning giggles from Naruto and Sakura. All the while, Minato snuck a quick glance at the young Uchiha before returning his glaze towards his morning paper.

"So what brings you here?" Minato asked.

"Lord Hokage, Lady Kushina, Team 7 reporting for duty and their mission assignments for today." Kakashi spoke formally.

"Ah yes. Let's see here." Minato said before putting down his morning paper. He picked up several mission folders and handed them to Kakashi.

"Your first mission is to get groceries for Choza Akimichi. After that, Tora the cat got loose again. So I'll need you to find him. Then it's helping Mrs. Yamanaka with some plants that need moving. Then it's to the hospital to bathe patients who can't move on their own. Sakura is the most experienced with hospital duties so she'll be in charge of that mission. Lastly, help the post office with mail delivery." Minato listed off.

The kids all groaned at that mission, especially at the mention of Tora that cat.

"What are you all groaning about?" Sakura asked.

"As much as I can't stand you, even I wouldn't wish Tora the terror on you." Ami said.

"Sage of Six Paths, one cat can't be that bad." Sakura said skeptically.

"You have no idea...that cat is a demon." Sasuke stated.

"Jeez, even you?" Sakura asked.

"What they said. I still have scabs from the last encounter." Naruto agreed.

"Believe me. If there is one thing we all can agree on, is that Tora is a menace." Ami stated.

"That and Kakashi-sensei is always late." Naruto added.

"That too." Sasuke nodded.

Sakura just scoffed. "After going up against Orochimaru's snake, I think a cat will be child's play."

Sasuke and Ami both went wide eyed.

"You fought against Orochimaru?" Ami asked.

"And lived?" Sasuke added.

"Well somebody had to keep this Baka from dying." Sakura smirked, pointing to Naruto.

"Yes, I read Jiraiya's report on that. You did exceptionally well to stand up to a Sanin. There are few who can." Minato confirmed.

Ami couldn't believe what she was hearing. 'What in the Hell is this bitch...'

'What the Hell is with this Dobe?' Sasuke thought.

"At any rate, you kids best get those missions done if you want that B rank by noon." Minato said.

"Fine, dad." Naruto sighed.

"Dismissed." Minato said before getting back to his paper.

"Minato-sensei...may I have a word with you?" Kakashi asked.

"Of course, would you kids like some breakfast while we talk?" Minato offered.

"Yes please." Ami nodded.

"I already ate." Sasuke said.

"Very well." Kushina said. "Matilda, could you get them set up in the main dining room?"

"Of course, M'lady." Matilda smiled.

While the Genin were shuffled off to the next room, Minato put his paper down for Kakashi's sake.

"What's on your mind, Kakashi?" Minato asked.

"Sensei...was it a good idea to have Sakura on my team? I mean, yes she would be a valuable asset, but she and Ami are at each other's throats. I'm afraid they might kill one another."

"I had the same concerns when he put Sasuke on the same team with my son." Kushina spoke up.

"Sasuke doesn't seem to mind Sakura and he doesn't really say much to Naruto. My main concern is...if they go on this B rank mission, Ami might do something to get everyone killed. Every fight she has between her and Sakura, she's the main instigator." Kakashi stated.

"Is it something you can't handle, Kakashi?" Minato asked. "That was the whole reason I had them assigned to you was because of their faults and I knew with your teaching you can bring them together."

"I thought you did it because of our obvious attempts at getting Sakura together with our son?" Kushina pointed out.

"That was only a small part of it. The main reason was to get her accustomed to working with other ninja and to get the rest of the team to realize that you can't judge a book by its cover. I've taught Naruto that much, but it seems Sasuke and Ami have yet to learn that."

"They learned that with Naruto." Kushina said.

"Not well enough, I'm afraid." Kakashi sighed.

"What do you mean?" Kushina asked.

"Exactly what I said. Even now they still give Naruto a hard time and now, Ami at least, is targeting Sakura. Just a few moments ago, they were at literally at each other's throats. However, I'm certain Sakura would have won that fight and that wouldn't look good for you, Sensei." Kakashi said honestly.

"I'm aware of that...Ami's upbringing also has an impact on that as well..." Minato mused.

"What are you going to do?" Kushina asked.

Minato thought it over for a minute before deciding. "I am confident that she can work well with her team during this upcoming mission. She's never had an issue with that before. Despite Sakura possibly posing a threat to her, she will still maintain a level head when in combat. If I am wrong and she acts out of line, then I will have her placed elsewhere."

"I'm keep an eye on them, Sensei. This isn't something that can be fixed over night, but you didn't give up on Team 7 and neither will I." Kakashi stated.

"Good to hear." Minato smiled. "Now get to work."

"Yes, sir." Kakashi bowed before his Sensei and Hokage.

Sometime later, all of team 7 was on their way to the local market to pick up the list of groceries that Choza had already ordered. Their job was just to pick them up and deliver them.

"Literally a piece of cake." Sakura said as they headed for the grocery store address.

Once they got there, they found 6 crates loaded with food. All of them had the Akimichi clan symbol on the sides.

"Oh you gotta be kidding me..." Ami groaned.

"What's the problem? It's only a few crates." Sakura stated like it was no big deal.

"Are you kidding? This will take us all two trips at least. And the Akimichi clan compound is halfway across the village." Ami complained.

Sakura just rolled her eyes before lifting two crates onto her shoulders like they weighed less than five pounds. "Don't be such a baby."

"Seriously." Naruto said as he picked up two crates as well. His Toad Sage training wasn't just for show.

Ami's jaw hit the floor while Sasuke stiffened up.

"You know, for someone who wants to kick my ass, you must not be a very good ninja if you complain about a few measly crates." Sakura smirked before following Naruto to the Akimichi compound.

"Grrr..." Sasuke growled as he grabbed both crates and threw them over his shoulders.

"I-WAIT A MINUTE! Where's my crates?!" Ami protested.

"Snooze you lose..." Sasuke grunted before he followed after Sakura and Naruto.

"Man this is stupid!" Ami pouted.

"You had plenty of opportunity to take one but all you wanted to do is complain." Kakashi pointed out before walking to catch up.

"Ami, you wanna take one of my crates?" Naruto offered.

Ami just glared daggers at Naruto's offering before she saw Kakashi turn around and give her a stern look.

"Fine..." Ami sighed before attempting to take the crate.

"Can't handle it, Dobe?" Sasuke sneered as he struggled underneath the weight of his own cargo.

"I should ask you that." Naruto shot back.

"Sigh..." Kakashi sighed as he pulled out his little orange book.

"Tch..." Sasuke scoffed before he started to stomp away.

Naruto then showed off by lifting his crate up with one arm over his head.

"That's a light one, Ami. You should be able to carry that." Naruto said.

"I AM carrying it." She snapped.

"Okay! Just trying to help." Naruto defended.

"Seriously, he was just trying to help." Sakura added.

"Shut up." Ami spat before walking away with her crate.

"Where are you going? The clan compound is this way!" Sakura called out.

"No its not, she is going the right way." Naruto corrected.

"Oh..." Sakura said sheepishly.

Naruto smiled. "Come on. The sooner we can get these delivered the sooner we can move onto the next mission."

"Right." Sakura smiled before the two of them took off running after the rest of their team.

"Oh, thank you so much." A large woman greeted them at the gate to the Akimichi clan compound.

"No problem." Naruto grinned. "Where's Choji?"

"Oh, he's off with his own team. How's your mother?" Mrs. Akimichi asked.

"She's getting better every day thanks to Lady Tsunade and Shizune." Naruto smiled.

"Well that's very good to hear. I miss our walks around town." She smiled before she noticed the girl with the pink hair. "Well, you're a pretty face I haven't seen before. What's your name?"

"Sakura Haruno, ma'am." Sakura said politely.

"Such a pretty name. Are you here with your parents?"

"Yes, my mother and my older sister." Sakura said.

"Oh, how wonderful. Perhaps I can meet them." Mrs. Akimichi said brightly.

"Anytime you wish, I'm sure they would love to meet you." Sakura smiled.

"I look forward to it." Mrs. Akimichi smiled before she dug out four apples. "I'm sure you 4 must be hungry. These are yours to have."

"Thank you, Mrs. Akimichi." Naruto said as he took an apple.

"Thank you very much." Sakura smiled as she took one, followed by Sasuke and Ami.

"Enjoy your payment." Mrs. Akimichi smiled.

"We will. Thank you." Ami smiled.

The team walked away and Sakura realized something. "Wait, we didn't get paid."

"We do after we turn the mission in." Kakashi stated.

"Oh...I'm used to getting paid after a job." Sakura admitted.

"Well... crunch ...these apples are a good tip." Naruto said.

"Hm..." Sasuke muttered.

"For once I agree." Ami said as she took a bite of hers.

"Don't sound too disappointed in yourself." Sakura said.

"Well I didn't just carry two crates of food like they were feathers halfway across town. How is it that you didn't even break a sweat when Sasuke-kun and I nearly broke our backs?"

"Seems like training with Sannin has its benefits." Sakura smirked. Earning herself a fist bump from Naruto.

"Yeah, seriously. I thought Pervy Sage was just full of hot air, but it seems he was right." Naruto agreed.

"Okay, seriously. Why do you call him that?" Ami asked just before they heard a lot of girls screaming in the Steaming Leaves bath house as they walked by it.

"WAIT I CAN EXPLAIN!" They heard a man shout before someone knocked him out of the door and at their feet. Ami took one look and saw that it was none other than Jiraiya himself.

"That's why." Naruto, Sakura and Sasuke all said at the same time.

"Peeping in on the woman's bath again, Pervy Sage?" Naruto smirked.

"Research, you cheeky brat." Jiraiya spat automatically.

"Wait...THAT'S YOUR RESEARCH?!" Ami cried out, her face beet red.

"I told you he wrote the Make Out series..." Sasuke deadpanned.

"I thought you were joking!" Ami exclaimed.

"Nonsense. It's my best seller." Jiraiya boasted, pulling out a copy from his vest.

"And since when does Sasuke joke?" Naruto asked.

"Always!" Ami exclaimed.

"I have never joked once. You are just too blind by your feelings to see that I can't stand to be near you." Sasuke stated harshly.

"See..." Ami gestured towards Sasuke.

"Oh my God..." Sakura covered her face.

"You must be more of an idiot than Naruto..." Sasuke deadpanned.

"Look, I don't have time for any of your games. There is a rare beauty that left the bath house earlier that I need to follow up on." Jiraiya said before vanishing and leaving behind a handful of leaves.

"Ever the pervert..." Sakura sighed.

"Yup..." Naruto said.

"And... all this time...I thought..." Ami stammered in embarrassment.

"Well just hope that he didn't spy on you." Sakura said.

"ACK! DID HE?!" Ami exclaimed as her entire head was now beet red.

"No. Lord Jiraiya maybe many things, but he is not a pedophile." Kakashi reassured as he casually turned the page in his book.

"Somehow that hardly reassures me." Sakura shivered.

"Just ask Lady Tsunade about their younger days. I'm sure you'll find the story rather entertaining." Kakashi stated.

"Like what?" Sakura asked, her curiosity peaked. She had never asked about Tsunade's younger days. Any time before Tsunade left the village was a taboo topic among their traveling trio.

"As the story is told by her, Lady Tsunade caught Lord Jiraiya spying on her while she was in the bath. She broke all four of his limbs and shattered every rib he had. He was lucky to escape with his life." Kakashi explained casually.

"Wait, I think he's mentioned that to me before. He says that it's the closest he's ever come to death." Naruto added.

"Yup. That's what he said." Kakashi confirmed.

"And don't think it will be any different with me, mister." Sakura said sternly to Naruto.

"What did I do?" Naruto asked.

"I'm just giving you fair warning the next time you decide to walk in on me while I'm in the bathroom. Seeing as you like to conveniently forget. Need I remind you of last night?" Sakura pointed out.

"I was trying to find you for dinner!" Naruto defended.

"Well next time knock! Don't come barging in while I'm in the shower!"

"Wait...you two live together?" Ami asked.

"Yeah. I thought you knew." Sakura stated.

"No, what kind of screwed up situation do you have at home?" Ami asked.

"Because I didn't want to share a hotel room with Lady Tsunade and Shizune. Is that a problem? I have my own room you know...plus its only temporary until we all get our own house."

"Seriously. They literally just got here a week ago." Naruto added.

"Well what the Hell makes you so special that you get to live in the Hokage's mansion alongside his family?" Ami asked.

"Why? You jealous or something?" Sakura smirked.

"Of living with someone as important as the Hokage, maybe."

"Oh really? So I guess 'Sasuke-kun' and his family aren't as important as the Hokage then."

"I didn't say that. Unlike a nomad like you, I respect the position of Hokage." Ami huffed.

"You implied it." Sasuke spoke.

"Sasuke-kun, I didn't. Your clan is the greatest in the village's history!" Ami proclaimed.

"Hm..." Sasuke just muttered.

"Gag me." Sakura muttered to Naruto.

"Then who will gag me?" Naruto muttered back.

"That's your problem." Sakura teased.

"You kids enjoy your break?" Kakashi asked. "Because we have 5 more D ranked missions to complete."

"Yeah, we're ready." Naruto said.

'Thank God.' Kakashi thought. "Alright, what's next?"

'Not the cat, not the cat, not the cat...' Naruto, Ami and Sasuke all collectively thought.

"I think you said something about some cat we need to find." Sakura said.

"Urrrrggghhh..." The original Genin trio groaned.

"Ah right. Tora ran away from his owner and needs to be found." Kakashi said.

'Goddammit Sakura...' The original trio thought.

"Seems simple enough. What does he look like?" Sakura asked.

"Brown short-hair with a red ribbon around his neck." Kakashi informed.

"Perfect. Let's get to it then." Sakura said.

"Yaayyy..." The trio groaned.

Not 30 minutes later...

"IM GONNA KILL THAT FUCKING CAT!" Sakura screamed as she was being held back by all of Team 7.

"Damn it, Sakura! We need him alive!" Naruto cried as Tora scurried away from his latest confrontation with Sakura. Where he landed a third bloody claw mark across her face.

"I don't care! I'm gonna use his pelt as a jump rope when I'm done with him!"

"Will you stop acting an idiot?! It's just a cat!" Sasuke exclaimed.

"Bite me! And quit copping a feel!" Sakura shouted as she noticed Sasuke's left hand on her left breast.

"Sorry!" Sasuke shouted in an annoyed kind of embarrassed as he readjusted his hand.

"I... I can't hold her..." Ami grunted.

"Sakura-chan! You need to calm down! That cat belongs to the Fire Daimyo's wife!" Naruto exclaimed. "If that cat dies then we're ALL screwed six ways till Sunday."

"Damn it! This isn't over, cat!" Sakura shook her fist at the hated feline.

Sakura started to relax, giving the others the opportunity to collapse from exhaustion from trying to hold her back.

"Sweat Sage...How can she...Be this strong..." Ami panted.

"Tsunade's Ass Kicking Training." Sakura declared proudly.

"I'll say..." Sasuke gasped.

"Oh yeah, that reminds me." Sakura said before slugging Sasuke in the gut. "THATS FOR GRABBING MY CHEST!"

"Bitch! How dare you punch Sasuke-kun!" Ami cried.

"He grabbed my chest! Like you wouldn't have done the same."

"I said I was sorry..." Sasuke wheezed.

"Damn right you're sorry." Sakura huffed.

'Damn, that girl hits like a freight train...' Sasuke thought.

"Why you..." Ami growled. She was about to lunge when Sasuke stopped her.

"Drop it..." Sasuke wheezed.

"But Sasuke-kun..."

"It was technically my fault...It was an accident, but my fault regardless...So just drop it."

Everyone just blinked at Sasuke.

"Okay I must have hit my head during training this morning. You guys are all acting way out of character." Naruto said.

"Sasuke-kun…" Ami gasped.

Sasuke pulled her down to whisper in her ear so only she could hear him. "I overheard Kakashi-sensei and the Hokage talking this morning. If you don't make nice with Sakura, then your position on this team is in Jeopardy...And I know you don't want that."

"I don't care about this team. I only want to be on your team." Ami whispered back.

"And you won't get that unless you make nice with her. Just fake it if you must, but if you don't, then you'll end up being forcibly transferred or back in the Academy. Take your pick."

"Alright." Ami sighed.

"Good...now just drop it."

"You, uh...didn't really grab her chest did you?" Ami asked.

Sasuke blushed for a moment. "By accident..." He whispered.

Ami gasped. "Why?!"

"Because we don't get paid if she kills Tora. Try not to over think it." Sasuke stood up.

"It's because hers are bigger, isn't it." Ami hissed.

"What? No! It has nothing to do with that!" Sasuke exclaimed.

"Are you two lovebirds done? I wanna get this damn cat sometime today." Sakura said impatiently.

"Do you have an idea to catch him?" Naruto asked.

"As a matter of fact, I do. Can you summon toads?" Sakura asked.

"Um...kinda..." Naruto said sheepishly.

Sakura just sighed. "Well, luckily I can summon slugs."

"Ewww...slugs are gross..." Ami said in disgust.

"But useful. What are you thinking?" Sasuke asked, now intrigued to hear her plan.

"Give me a second." Sakura said before biting down on her thumb and slamming her hand down on the ground. "Summoning Jutsu!" She cried before a cloud of smoke exploded from where her hand was. When the smoke cleared, a lion sized slug was in its place.

"Hello, Lady Sakura. What can I do for you?" The slug asked.

"Hello Katsuki. I need you to help us with a plan to catch a demon of a cat. Got any suggestions?" Sakura asked.

"Hmm...you know, I'm not really one to do this kind of thing." Katsuki said.

"I know it's an unusual request, but we need to catch this cat for a mission. I'll explain later."

"Alright...let's see...I can divide myself up and create a bubble trap for him. The bubbles will make him stick to anything like glue so he can't run away." Katsuki suggested.

"Good plan, but we really don't want to bathe this cat." Sasuke said.

"I can cancel the jutsu so it won't leave anything on him." Katsuki said.

"Great, that doesn't help us find the cat though." Ami pointed out.

"I've got that covered." Sasuke said.

"How?" Sakura asked.

"This..." Sasuke smirked as his eyes turned red.

"And that is what?" Sakura asked.

"His Sharingan." Naruto said. "Don't worry if you don't know what that is, Teme will explain."

"Yeah, I have no idea what it is." Sakura stated.

"The Sharingan is the Kekkei Genkai of the Uchiha clan. It is the most powerful and deadly Kekki Genki in existence." Sasuke began his rant.

"Then how come I've never heard of it?" Sakura asked.

'Don't underestimate the Sharingan, or their users. They are scary powerful. Their Genjutsus are so powerful that they could even make a Tailed Beast like me submit.'Saiken said to her.

'No way.' Sakura thought back.

"And has kept the Leaf village safe ever since." Sasuke finished droning.

"Right..." Sakura sighed. "I'll keep that in mind."

"You'd better." Sasuke smirked, his Uchiha pride shining through.

"Okay then, enough dilly dallying, let's go get that cat." Naruto proclaimed.

Another ten minutes later...

"Let me go! I'll skin him alive!" Naruto cried as Sakura, Sasuke, and Ami had to hold him back while Kakashi held onto the cat by the scruff of its neck.

"And you yelled at me!" Sakura exclaimed.

"Good work team. I'll go drop Tora off and you four get to work on the next assignment." Kakashi said.

"Which is hospital duty." Naruto said as he stopped flailing.

"Yup. And Sakura is in charge of that one based upon her experience." Kakashi said before jumping away.

"Sure, why not? Can't be any worse than cat chasing." Ami reasoned.

"It's bath day for the mobility impaired." Sakura informed. "You have to give patients sponge baths."

Ami gulped. "I-it's not the elderly, is it?"

"It's all age groups." Sakura groaned.

"Oh no...I'm not giving some old lady a bath." Naruto said firmly.

"You wouldn't anyway. Males will bathe the males and females will bathe the females." Sakura clarified.

"That's even worse!" Naruto exclaimed, voicing everyone's opinion.

"You will each be accompanied by an orderly. They will take care of the private areas, your job is to focus everywhere else. Oh and be cautious. Sometimes you'll get one who may have soiled themselves."

The original trio all groaned before making their way to the hospital.

After a little ways walking, they made it to the front door of the hospital where Shizune was waiting outside for them.

"Hey big sis." Sakura called out.

"Hi Sakura. How's your first day going?" Shizune asked.

"Besides running after a demon cat, not bad."

"Word around the grape vine is that is an infamous mission among Genin teams." Shizune giggled.

"Oh yeah...I wish that cat would die." Ami grumbled.

"Agreed." Everyone except Shizune nodded.

"ATTENTION. CODE BLUE IN ROOM 35. CODE BLUE IN ROOM 35." They heard over the PA.

"What's that mean?" Ami asked.

"It means we need to haul ass!" Sakura ordered before she and Shizune took off running to that room.

The others could see their urgency and quickly followed behind them. They weren't sure what this code blue meant, but it must be serious.

After running down a long hallway and making a sharp right, they found themselves in a room with two nurses around a man they were performing CPR on.

"Nurse. Sit rep." Shizune ordered.

"He went into cardiac arrest. We defibrillator once, no change." The nurse informed.

"Sakura, take over compression's." Shizune ordered.

"On it." Sakura said as she leapt onto the bed and straddled the man in order to perform chest compression's.

"Do any of you know how to use lightning chakra?" Shizune asked the trio.

"I can." Sasuke said.

"How fast can you learn the Defibrillator Jutsu?" Shizune asked.

"As fast as you need me to." Sasuke answered.

"Nurse! 12 cc's epinephrine!" Sakura ordered.

"Yes m'lady!" The nurse quickly acknowledged.

"Alright, follow my instructions precisely." Shizune instructed to Sasuke.

Sasuke nodded and watched closely as Shizune went through a set of hand signs.

"Make sure your chakra output is precise. Too much and it will fry his heart. Too little and it won't have the desired effect." Shizune instructed

"Got it." Sasuke said.

Sasuke channeled his chakra to what he thought was a good level.

"No, that's too much. Pull back some." Shizune said.

"Ami, Naruto, wait outside." Sakura ordered.

"Alright." Ami nodded.

Naruto followed close behind.

"Okay, that level is perfect. Get ready. Sakura, get ready for shock!"

Sakura leapt off the patient. "Clear!"

Sasuke weaved through the hand signs perfectly and his hands arced with electricity.

"Okay. One hand on the upper right part of his chest and the other on the lower left side of his ribcage." Shizune instructed.

"Right." Sasuke said.

Sasuke placed his palms in the exact spots Shizune told him to and his shock was delivered, causing the man to jolt violently.

"Still in V-Fib." Sakura reported as she watched the monitor.

"Nurse, 1 amp bicarb." Shizune ordered.

The nurse quickly administered the drug while Sakura continued compression's. Sasuke meanwhile, was in a state of shock.

"Sasuke!" Sakura called out.

"Huh? What?"

"I need you to shock him again. Hurry!" Sakura ordered.

"Oh, right." Sasuke said, regaining his composure before creating the jutsu again.

"Clear!" Sakura shouted just as Sasuke zapped him.

"Sinus rhythm." Sakura reported.

"Print out a strip." Shizune ordered.

Sakura pressed a button on the monitor to have a EKG strip printed out. That was when it started feeding out a narrow, long strip of paper which Sasuke could only see as zigzag lines.

"Upper bundle branch block with moderate ST Elevation." Sakura reported.

"I'll contact the cardiac unit. You two did a great job." Shizune praised.

"Thank you, sis. If we're not needed, we'll be doing what we originally came here to do." Sakura said.

"We've got it under control now. Thanks again."

"Hey, where is everyone else?" Sakura asked.

Shizune sighed. "We're swamped today and short staffed. I'm glad you came though."

"Anything to help." Sakura smiled before she led Sasuke out of the room and into the hall where Naruto and Ami were waiting.

"How did it go?" Naruto asked.

"Thanks to Sasuke learning the defibrillation jutsu in record time, we saved him." Sakura praised.

"Well of course he learned that jutsu in record time. He is the heir to the Uchiha clan." Ami praised.

"Well, whatever the reason, he was very helpful." Sakura said.

"How did you know what to do so quickly?" Sasuke asked.

"In matters of life and death, you can't think about it. You just act without hesitation."

"Very true." Shizune said.

"I have to admit...my opinion of you has changed a little." Ami said truthfully.

"Just like that?" Sakura asked skeptically.

"I had my doubts that you were a medical ninja when you told me. But this proved otherwise. My grandfather was a doctor when Lord 3rd first took office so I have respect for medical professionals." Ami said before smirking. "But you're still a large forehead-ed brute."

"And you're still a bitch." Sakura stated.

"Who's a bitch?" Said a voice behind them that Sakura immediately recognized.

"Lady Tsunade?" Sakura asked.

"Who else? I thought you were supposed to be on a mission." Tsunade inquired.

"We are. A series of D ranked missions before our B ranked mission." Sakura said.

"Oh right, I remember requesting a Genin team help out the nurses after the purges." Tsunade said.

"Purges?" Ami asked.

"Had to crack the whip around here. Some staff weren't up to my standards and a few others didn't want to play ball. Left the hospital understaffed for the time being." The Slug Sannin said.

"Wouldn't Shadow Clones make things easier?" Naruto asked in one of his rare moments of brilliance.

"Shadow Clones are not a common skill, not every medical ninja can meet the chakra requirements, not every medical staffer is a ninja, and I need them doing a set quality of work 8 hours straight rather than a big burst of work in a short amount of time." Tsunade answered.

"I can't even use that yet." Sakura stated.

"Oh..." Naruto said sadly.

"It's a good idea for our veteran ninja staff to know though, I'll throw that into the idea bucket." Tsunade said.

"Sounds good. So we're here to...ugh...bathe patients." Sakura grumbled.

"Ah, perfect timing. Today, all I have are cancer patients that need it as well as a couple of stroke victims. Recovery and observation ward." Tsunade stated.

"Great." Naruto sighed.

"Alright, follow me. You coming over for dinner tonight, Mom?" Sakura asked without thinking, making a few passing nurses stop dead in their tracks.

"With the cooks Kushina has? I wouldn't miss it for the world." Tsunade smiled. "A shame you two won't be home though."

"Oh damn...that's right..." Sakura said sadly.

"Hold on a second!" Ami exclaimed. "She is your mother?!"

"Adoptive. I took her in when she was a baby." Tsunade clarified.

"Why?" Ami demanded.

"I don't see how that is any of your business." Tsunade stated.

"It's okay if she knows. Pretty much everyone in our age group knows already." Sakura said before turning to Ami. "A few days after I was born, the 6 tailed slug attacked my village and my parents were killed no one was left to care for me. Lady Tsunade was in the area and heard my cries. Without hesitation, she took me in and raised me as her own daughter."

"Oh..." Ami said. "I'm sorry."

"Nothing to be sorry about. I was an infant so I don't remember my family." Sakura waved off.

"Now if that's all, we got work to do." Sakura stated as she led them down the hall.

An hour later, after their unspeakable act was finished, the three Genin left the hospital, shells of their former selves, with Sakura leading them outside.

"Okay seriously, it wasn't that bad." Sakura scoffed.

"Speak for yourself! I had an old lady throw her basin full of piss at me!" Ami complained.

"And I had to wash a man's nub!" Naruto cried.

Sasuke didn't say anything as he remembered when an old man asked him if Sasuke would like to make even more money in a fun way.

"Oh hush, you're all fine." Sakura said.

"Define fine." Ami grumbled.

"Believe me, I have been through all of that and worse." Sakura said.

"Oh yeah? How?"

"Come back to me when you're elbows deep in someone's chest cavity."

"Let's just move on. What's next?" Naruto asked.

"Yamanaka Flowers. Gonna move some stuff around." Sakura said.

"That has to be too easy, what's the catch?" Natura asked.

"I work there part time so as far as I know there is no catch." Sakura stated. "Unless we gotta listen to Ino."

"That pig? She's probably off with her own team." Ami said.

"Who knows..." Sakura sighed.

"Let's get it over with." Sasuke said.

"Way ahead of you." Sakura said.

"What's next after this?" Naruto asked.

"Post office for deliveries."

"So then why don't we split up and get the jobs done in half the time?" Naruto suggested.

"Because we need to do them as a team, Dobe. Have you learned nothing?" Sasuke stated.

"It's still teamwork, Teme. We don't need four of us to deliver mail or move some stuff from a flower shop. Two each should be fine. We then get both jobs down at once." Naruto argued.

Sasuke sighed. "Fine...I'll go to the flower shop with Sakura, you go with Ami to deliver mail."

"What? Why are you deciding that on your own?" Naruto demanded.

"Because I'm the second in command by rank."

"Ch, fine." Naruto grumbled.

"Sasuke-kun...I should be the one to go with you..." Ami pouted.

"I've made my decision. Now let's just get this done so we can move onto something actually worth my time." Sasuke ordered.

Sakura and Sasuke took to the roofs to take care of the flower shop mission while Naruto and Ami headed towards the post office.

Sakura led the way while Sasuke casually trailed behind her to check her out.

'Strong, skillful, pretty...I know I was originally going to ask her out to spite Naruto...But she would be perfect for the clan.' Sasuke thought.

Sakura then dropped down to the street once they had arrived at the flower shop.

"This is it I take it." Sasuke assumed.

"Couldn't you tell from the sign?" Sakura deadpanned.

"Hm." Sasuke replied.

Sakura just opened the door and was greeted by Mrs. Yamanaka herself.

"Sakura, how nice to see you again." Mrs. Yamanaka spoke.

"Hi Mrs. Yamanaka. How are you doing today?" Sakura greeted.

"Oh I'm fine dear, what brings you to my shop today? Are you fulfilling that mission request I sent?" Ino's mother said as she motioned for Sakura to come inside.

"That's right. And I brought along some help." Sakura said as she gestured to Sasuke.

"Ah, Sasuke Uchiha. My daughter has told me so much about you." Mrs. Yamanaka smiled.

"Where is Ino actually?" Sakura asked.

"With her team, off doing missions like yours I suppose."

"Oh, well tell her I said hi. We are going on a B-ranked mission after this." Sakura said excitedly.

Ino's mother gasped. "A B rank? On your first day?"

"Come on, Mrs. Yamanaka, this is me we are talking about." Sakura stated.

"I know, but still. Just be safe, okay?"

"We will, I promise." Sakura smiled.

"That's all I ask for." Mrs. Yamanaka smiled. "Well, you know where everything is. I had just planted a bunch of rose bushes into several large pots and they are a little too heavy for me to lift. They're in the back room."

"Alright, leave it to us." Sakura said as she raised her fist in determination.

Sakura politely pushed past Mrs. Yamanaka's 6-month swollen belly, Sasuke followed behind her and made a point to not touch Mrs. Yamanaka's pregnant belly. Not that he was grossed out or scared of a pregnant woman. Just...he felt a distant aunt's pregnant belly once and it freaked him out how solid it was, yet looked so squishy. Then it kicked at him and he never wanted to touch a pregnant woman ever again.

"She won't bite, Sasuke. She's just pregnant." Sakura teased when she noticed how distant he was being.

"I know that." Sasuke snapped as he dashed into the back room.

"Sheesh...Grouch." Sakura frowned. "Always the serious one."

"Shut up. Where are these stupid pot plants?"

"On the shelf in front of you."

Sasuke then grabbed one of the pots and Sakura grabbed two. They were finished inside of 15 minutes and were sent on their way with thank you roses in each hand.

"Goodbye, Mrs. Yamanaka." Sakura waved goodbye as she and Sasuke headed down the street.

"Take care now, and good luck!" Mrs. Yamanaka called back.

"Oh, we will!" Sakura called back. "She's always so nice." She said to Sasuke.

"Hm.." Sasuke muttered.

"Oh come on. Don't you ever have something interesting to say?"

Sasuke was about to snap at her for saying something he thought was so cheeky, but decided he was going to go with his original idea.

"Yes...actually." He started. "How about I take you on a date?"

That make Sakura stop dead in her tracks when she heard that. "I'm sorry, what?"

"I said...will you go on a date with me?" Sasuke asked again. For some reason, he was feeling rather nervous. He had girls lining up from all over the village to get a date with him, but he never once asked a girl out.

Sakura just looked at him and blinked a few times. She wasn't expecting to hear that from him. "Uh...that was...honestly the last thing I was expecting to hear from you." She said in mild shock. "But...I'm gonna have to say no."

Now Sasuke was in shock. "No? What do you mean 'no'?"

"I mean no. I mean, I'm sure you're a nice guy deep down, but what I've seen so far, you come off as a stuck up jerk. Frankly, you're just not my type. Plus, I have feelings for someone else." Sakura said.

"Who? The Dobe?" Sasuke growled.

"What difference does it make? See, this attitude you have is why I can't understand why any girl would wanna date you. You act as if the world owes you something just because you were born into a powerful clan with a silver spoon in your mouth. Hate to tell you this, but the world doesn't work that way. I've traveled it enough to know. What Ami sees in you I have no idea." Sakura said bluntly.

"Ami is just an idiot." Sasuke growled.

"And I can agree with you on that one to some degree. But it doesn't change the fact that I'm just not interested in you." Sakura said.

"You're actually doing this? You're rejecting me? I'm the heart throb of my generation. Do you know how many kunoichi from this village would kill to date me?"

"Well I'm not from this village, now am I?" Sakura asked, shutting him down for good.

This was a brand-new feeling for Sasuke. Rejection. He would constantly reject the fangirls that lined up to date him every time he turned around, but not once had he ever been rejected before. It was a terrible feeling, one he very much despised. Now he understood how he made the other girls feel over the last couple years.

"Here's a piece of advice...if you want to be in a relationship with someone for a long period of time, you need to get that chip off your shoulder and actually start being nicer to people." Sakura stated.

"Just answer me this...who is it?" Sasuke asked.

Sakura sighed. "If it makes you feel any better...its Naruto."

"I fucking knew it..." Sasuke cursed. 'Dobe. It's always the fucking Dobe.' He seethed.

"If you already knew then why did you ask me out?" Sakura asked.

"What difference does it make?" Sasuke bit.

"It might make a great deal of difference, dickhead." Sakura bit back.

"To who?" Sasuke spat.

"It would satisfy my curiosity."

"Too bad." Sasuke said out of spite.

Sakura just glared at him. "And you wonder why I said no."

"Chh..." Sasuke scoffed.

"Hey Sakura-chan!" She heard Naruto call out.

Sakura turned to see Naruto running towards her with Ami close being, the both of them carrying handfuls of letters.

"Still delivering?" Sakura asked.

"Yup, the village is really short staffed ever since the attack." Naruto said as he held up the letters.

"I believe it. We just finished with our job." Sakura informed.

"I think we're going to be a little while longer, unless you'd like to help." Naruto offered.

"Well we got nothing else better to do." Sakura shrugged.

"I'll go alone. You can go with your lover." Sasuke spat as he snatched a bundle of letters from Ami and jumped away.

Sakura meanwhile was stunned. She should have never told him that.

"Sasuke-kun! Wait for me!" Ami shouted as she leapt after him.

"What the hell was that about?" Naruto asked.

Sakura sighed. "After we were done with our job...he asked me out."

"Wh-what?!" Naruto cried. "Sasuke! Sasuke Uchiha asked you out?"

"Yes...and I said no."

"You did? That's great- I mean that's bad- I mean...why? He's the number 1 heart throb in the village." Naruto stammered.

"Because I have feelings for someone else..." Sakura smiled at him.

"Oh...well that's good. He's a lucky guy that so and so..." Naruto said as he stretched his arms over his head trying to look disinterested.

"Oh, he doesn't know how lucky he is. Especially when I tell him how I feel."

"And who is he? Someone you met at the flower shop?"

"No... Someone I met in my travels." Sakura smiled.

"Will I ever get to meet him?" Naruto asked.

Sakura giggled. "You already know him."

"Really? Who?" Naruto asked.

"I'm not telling." Sakura smirked as she turned around on her heel.

'God you're thick...' Kyuubi said to him.

'Shut up.' Naruto thought.

'God, you're cruel.' Saiken thought.

'I can't help it if he can't connect the dots.' Sakura smirked.

'Gyuki's shit, you just love torturing him.'

'It wouldn't be any fun if I just came out and told him, now would it?'

'No, I suppose not.' Saiken mused.

"Sakura-chan, wait!" Naruto called as he ran up next to her. "Seriously, who is it?"

"It's..." Sakura said as she became incredibly conscious about how close Naruto's shoulder was to hers.

"What?" Naruto asked anxiously.

"Naruto, Sakura!" A voice called out to them.

"Kakashi-sensei?" Naruto asked as their mentor approached.

"What's the hold up, you two? We need to get back to the Hokage Tower for our mission." Kakashi said.

"We haven't finished our deliveries yet and Sasuke and Ami are who knows where." Sakura reported.

"We were supposed to report in at noon. Hustle you two. I'll go find Sasuke and Ami." Kakashi said before vanishing.

"Guess we need to motor." Sakura sighed.

"Yup, here, take half." Naruto instructed.

Sakura nodded and took half of his load.

The two dashed along the streets, tossing their letters at their addresses, usually inside the mailboxes too.

20 minutes later, everyone met up in the Hokage tower to get their mission briefing.

"Your mission reports all look good." Minato said as he set aside the mission reports. "How was their interaction, Kakashi?"

"Somehow, more civil than the original three. So I would call Sakura a good fit." Kakashi said.

"Good to hear. I was hoping to hear that." Minato smiled before grabbing the mission specs for their big mission. "This is an escort mission. The man you are escorting has ties to a drug cartel outside of our country. He no longer belongs to this cartel, however the cartel will be looking for him. Expect this to be a moderate to high risk mission."

"Any reason why you're sending a Genin team?" Kakashi asked before Minato slid 4 personal files towards him.

"Your team has been reevaluated. I suggest you take another look." Minato said.

Kakashi picked up Naruto's file first.

NAME: NAMIKAZE, NARUTO.

RANK: GENIN.

TAIJUTSU: 4

NINJUTSU: 3

GENJUTSU: 1

"Sir, this is Naruto's old record." Kakashi said.

"Keep reading." Minato stated.

Kakashi kept reading and found one more stat.

FUINJUTSU: 3.5

"Well look at that. Naruto, you were recognized as a Seal Ninja. Impressive for your age." Kakashi said. 'Must be for mastering his father's Flying Thunder God Jutsu.'

Naruto just grinned his ever-widening grin.

Kakashi moved onto Sakura's next. He had yet to see it.

NAME: HARUNO, SAKURA

RANK: GENIN

TAIJUTSU: 5

NINJUTSU: 4

GENJUTSU: 4

MEDICAL NINJUTSU: 5

Kakashi whistled. "Oh my, Sakura. You've got the rankings of a Jounin."

"That's what happens when you're raised by a Sannin." Sakura said simply.

"Yes, although I wouldn't let it go to your head. I see plenty of reason to keep you in your Genin rank for now." Kakashi said.

"I understand. I'm just saying is all. Believe me, after fighting against Orochimaru and Kabuto, I know I'm not quite on Lady Tsunade's level."

"That's not what I meant." Kakashi said as he showed Sakura her file and the stats below her combat stats.

TEAMWORK: 0

LEADERSHIP: 0

STEALTH: 0

"Oh...Well, I've never officially been a Ninja before."

"Well you are now, and this will need to be rectified as soon as possible." Kakashi said. "Thankfully, this mission should prove to be a good proving grounds."

"Right." Sakura nodded.

Kakashi moved onto Ami's file.

NAME: YUMI, AMI

RANK: GENIN

TAIJUTSU: 2

NINJUTSU: 2

GENJUTSU: 1

Kakashi thought that this was just the same old file until he kept reading.

TEAMWORK: 3

LEADERSHIP: 2

STEALTH: 4

"It seems that your stealth ranking has increased." Kakashi praised.

"Thank you, sensei." Ami said respectfully.

Finally, Kakashi moved onto Sasuke's.

NAME: UCHIHA, SASUKE

RANK: CHUNIN

TAIJUTSU: 4

NINJUTSU: 4

GENJUTSU: 3

TEAMWORK: 3

LEADERSHIP: 4

STEALTH: 5

SPECIAL SKILL: SHARINGAN

SENSORY: 3

"Relatively unchanged." Kakashi reported.

"What's that mean?" Sasuke asked.

"Your stealth has increased and you're now recognized as a sensory. Nothing really new there."

"And how do I compare to everyone else?" Sasuke asked again, this time to rub it in the faces of his team.

"Well, let's see...yours states are higher than Naruto's and Ami's. But...Sakura's Taijutsu and Genjutsu are higher than yours. Both your Ninjutsu is the same." Kakashi stated.

"So...wait a minute. If I did my math correctly, overall, Sakura and Sasuke-kun are evenly matched?" Ami asked.

"In terms of combat, yes." Kakashi confirmed.

"Now you see why I've chosen your team specifically for this mission." Minato said.

"Very well, we won't let you down, sir." Kakashi bowed.

"I expect nothing less." Minato smiled. "You leave in one hour. Your contact will meet you at the gate. You are to take him to the border of the Land of Fire and rendezvous with a squad of ANBU who will escort him the rest of the way. Dismissed."

The five ninjas bowed and left to go meet up with their contact, leaving Minato a few brief moments to relax with his paperwork.

"Lord Hokage, your meeting with the Clan Council will begin in 15 minutes." His assistant informed him over his office phone's direct line.

"Understood." Minato responded before sighing heavily.

Reluctantly, he stood up from his Hokage chair and put on the sacred Hokage hat. The weight feeling heavier on his head every day he put it on.

'Maybe it is time I hang up the hat...' Minato mused to himself. He turned to look out at the Leaf village and the 100,000 people who lived there. Men, women, and children; born and raised in these walls. The countless shinobi who had fought and died to maintain their home. Minato couldn't help but smile. He truly loved this village, warts and all.

'I'd be honored to lead you all...if only you'd let me.' He thought to the village.

He turned away and headed for the office. His white trench coat trailing behind him.

"All rise for the Forth Hokage." An aid spoke before Minato entered the Clan Council chamber one floor below the Hokage's office and situated right next to the Civilian Council chambers.

"Please be seated." Minato said.

A dozen chairs scrapped the floor as the heads of the leading ninja clans of the Leaf village all took a seat. Minato was the last to be seated as the Hokage.

"Lord Hokage, I speak on behalf of all of the council members when I say how grateful we are that you have regained your health and returned to your position." Hiashi Hyuga spoke.

"Thank you, Hiashi." Minato said respectfully.

"Yes, yes, we are all very grateful. There are more important things to discuss." Fugaku stated bluntly. "The recent attack by the Sound and Sand should not go unabated. I propose we deliver a swift and just retaliation and show them the might of the Leaf."

"Here, here." Tsume Inuzuka slapped her palm against the mahogany conference table.

"No...that is the one thing we cannot afford to do." Minato stated.

The council all turned their heads towards their leader.

"I think you will need to explain that one to us, Minato." Fugaku forcibly suggested.

"The Hidden Sand have already apologized for their attack. They were under the influence of Orochimaru at the time. The Kazekage has sent his grievances for the attack as the Kazekage who was here was Orochimaru in disguise. There is no reason for us to retaliate against the Sand." Minato explained.

"And that makes up the thousands we lost in their sneak attack?" Tsume spat.

"Or our beloved 3rd Hokage?" The new head of the Sarutobi clan, Arinobu spat.

"How would starting a potential 4th war solve this exactly? All it will do is create more bloodshed and the lives of additional loved ones to be lost in the fight." Minato stated seriously. "I'm sure its safe to assume that no one here wants to lose more lives when we're already stretched thin as it is."

"So we should just let this go unanswered?" Choza Akimichi stated.

"The fact of the matter is, our forces are currently stretched too thin to mount any real counterassault against another Great Ninja Nation." Shikaku stated wisely. "Peace is our best option at this point. We beat the Sand and the Sound back, we lost fewer ninjas than they did, and the Sand came to us for peace. We don't have to worry about our honor being tarnished."

"But what about the Sound? Surely they should escape justice after orchestrating this entire debacle." Hiashi stated calmly.

"No, they shouldn't. But the issue with attacking the Sound is that our Intel on them is limited at best. With our troops stretched as thin as they are, we are in no position to mount an assault on anyone as that would leave us defenseless. Our main focus should be to continue with repairs after the assault and continue training our Genin. During that time, I will have my spies gather as much intel on the Sound as possible." Minato stated.

"You already put us in danger by bringing in a second Jinchuriki into our village." Fugaku spat. The room filled with an icy silence as Minato's eyes narrowed at his rival Fugaku.

"That is an incorrect statement." Shikaku spoke up. "Minato was incapacitated. You will recall, Fugaku, that we and the Civilian Council ordered Lord Jiraiya to find Lady Tsunade and bring her back at any cost. There was no way anyone could know beforehand that her returning would include her bringing her ward Sakura Haruno, the Six Tails' Jinchuriki."

"But it was he who allowed her to stay and continues to do so! Under his very roof no less." Fugaku seethed.

"I can assure you that this girl means us no harm." Inoichi spoke. "She works for my wife at our shop and she is probably the sweetest girl you could ever meet."

"Who gives a damn what kind of girl she is? It's the monster within her that is the problem." Tsume stated.

"Let's not forget that the purpose of a Jinchuriki is to keep the tailed beast imprisoned. So long as both Sakura and Naruto draw breath, we are in no danger." Choza stated.

"If Lord Forth did reject this second Jinchuriki living here, then we would lose Lady Tsunade as well. It appears that she sees this girl as a mother would a daughter. Do any of you really wish to lose the greatest medical mind in our village's history, again?" Shibi Aburame stated logically.

The room fell silent once again. That was a statement that no one could argue.

"Thank you, Shibi." Minato said, earning a nod from the stoic bug clan leader.

"With that out of the way, I would like Inoichi to report on what the ANBU T&I department has discovered from the prisoner that our newest Jinchuriki and my son managed to capture and bring back to the Leaf." Minato spoke.

"With pleasure." Inoichi said. "After compiling the intel gathered from ANBU agent Weasel's interrogation of Orochimaru's right hand man Kabuto, we were able to pinpoint the location of several Sound Bases, as well as get an idea of Orochimaru's logistical assets."

"So then why aren't we attacking them now with all our intel?" Tsume demanded.

"Again, we don't have the resources." Shikaku reminded.

"Bullshit we don't. Give me 20 good men and I'll go plucking those Sound bases like weeds from the earth." Tsume declared.

"I've already sent a select few ANBU teams to deal with the smaller Sound bases. This is no time for us to be lashing out wildly at anything that moves." Minato said.

"Once again, you'd rather cower behind our walls instead of taking the advantage we have." Fugaku spat.

"I would have us think carefully about our next move and not throw caution to the wind." Minato stated. "Orochimaru wanted to cripple us in one blow and he nearly succeeded. If we go attacking him now while we aren't prepared we would be playing right into his hands."

"Or we can catch him off guard and take him down once and for all." Fugaku stated.

"I've made up my mind. We will not send any major forces to the Sound village until our military strength is secured, or we receive new intel." Minato stated firmly.

Fugaku glared at Minato. "I eagerly await the day you are thrown out of office and I take over."

"Then you will have to remain eager for a long time, my old friend." Minato stated coldly.

The Jounin clan leaders could all feel the air growing heavy in the room, the amount of Chakra both men were giving off was almost overwhelming.

"I think we had better call that the meeting for now." Shikaku decided.

"Agreed." Shibi said.

As the Clan Council stood up to leave, outside of the village gates, Team 7 had met up with their contact and were already on their way north towards the border.

His name was Odobu and he was the type of man Sakura had gotten to know well over the years. The fat, sleezy type with long, dark, greasy hair tied up in a ponytail with the robes on of a noble and a sneer that made Sakura and Ami's skin crawl whenever they felt it directed towards him. Despite giving off the aura of a wealthy business man, Odobu had met up with the five shinobi riding a single horse instead of being in a carriage that most business man traveled in.

'God this guy is creepy.' Ami and Sakura thought in unison.

"Let's pick up the pace, kiddies." Odobu snorted. "I'd like to get to the first town before nightfall."

Naruto looked down at the poor horse having to carry his owner's weight. The skinny chestnut stallion was already trotting as fast as it could go without risking Odobu falling off.

"That's not likely to happen. The nearest town is almost a day away." Kakashi stated.

"So then what the Hell are we supposed to do once the sun goes down?" Odobu asked.

"Set up camp for the night." Kakashi answered.

"Are you mad? I'm not sleeping out on the dirt?" Odobu stated.

"I don't see where you have much of a choice." Kakashi stated. "It's too dangerous to travel at night."

"Why can't you lot just carry me and my horse?" Odobu demanded. "You ninjas are supposed to be strong."

"I'll give you something to carry..." Sakura muttered under her breath.

"If we did that, we would turn ourselves into a bigger target that couldn't react to any incoming threats as effectively." Kakashi explained patiently. "However, by staying in this five pointed star formation like you see us walking, we can most effectively protect you from any angle."

"Right, because these brats can do so much to protect me." Odobu scoffed.

"I assure you, all four of my young pupils are more than qualified to protect you. They each have the strength of at least a Chunin, all for the price of Genin." Kakashi stated.

"Perhaps if they were trained by one of the 3 Sannin I'd believe it." Odobu joked.

"Yeah, if only." Kakashi smiled knowingly from behind the man.

"What are you talking about, Kakashi-sensei? Pervy Sage trained me and Granny Tsunade trained Sakura-chan." Naruto said.

'It's called, playing someone, dumbass.' Kurama thought.

"Eh? What was that?" Odobu snapped.

"Nothing, sir." Sakura said.

"Who is this...'Pervy Sage' The boy is talking about?" Odobu demanded.

"My tutor." Naruto said, finally kicking in.

"Kind of an odd name...but you say that Tsunade trained Sakura?" Odobu asked before he remembered seeing her with a small purple diamond on her forehead.

"Different Tsunade." Sakura said.

"Indeed..." Odobu mused.

'Goddammit Naruto...' Everyone thought collectively.

"So, mister...?" Sakura asked.

"My dear, you can call me Odobu-san." Odobu leered.

Naruto glared daggers at the back of the man's head.

Sakura's spine shuddered. "Sure...Odobu...so what brings you into our services?"

"Simple. I have somewhere to be and I didn't want to spend a lot of money." Odobu leered.

'Kinda reminds you of Tazuna, doesn't it?' Naruto signed to Sasuke and Ami. Ami and Sasuke both nodded. Going by their first C-rank turned A-rank, they made sure to be on the lookout for puddles and stray rabbits.

"You don't care to be more specific? It might help us out knowing what is coming after you." Sakura said.

"Members of the drug cartel I was once with. They are mostly comprised of rogue ninja from various other villages." Odobu informed.

"Which drug cartel?" Naruto asked.

"Why should I tell you?" Odobu spat.

"So we can defend you properly and not be surprised by what comes our way." Kakashi stated.

Odobu grumbled. "The Tekiya..."

"The Peddlers?" Sasuke laughed. "What's a meager gang like that trying to have someone killed?"

"I'm not sure when or where you've faced them, but now they have obtained illegal firearms and use a laundry list of forbidden jutsu's." Kakashi stated grimly.

"My Dad is the Chief of the Konoha Military Police. The Tekiya are a joke to him." Sasuke countered.

"That's his opinion." Naruto said.

"At any rate, we should be on constant alert. Sakura, how is your battle experience?" Kakashi asked.

"Do bar fights count?" Sakura asked. Everyone else sweat dropped.

"So...inexperienced. Strong, but inexperienced." Kakashi deduced.

"Yes, my mother and sister trained me, but we did more running from debt collectors than fighting." Sakura admitted.

"Well, you fought Kabuto and Orochimaru's snake." Naruto reminded.

"Please, you had already beaten Kabuto. And the snake was dazed." Sakura waved off.

"Yeah, but when you powered up like-OW!" Naruto cried when Sakura bopped him on the head.

"Would you brats keep it down. Focus on protecting me. Not gossiping." Odobu lectured.

"Of course, sir. Naruto sometimes can't stop talking. Heh heh..." Sakura laughed nervously before glaring at Naruto. "Isn't that right...you just don't know when to shut up, do you?" She growled.

"Sorry, sorry." Naruto apologized.

'My identity of being a Jinchuriki is supposed to be secret, remember?' Sakura mouthed.

'It slipped out.' Naruto signed at her.

'Don't do it again...'

'I won't.' Naruto promised.

Sakura nodded before reforming her position

The next several hours were largely uneventful. Save for one puddle on the side of the road that Naruto, Sasuke, and Ami steered clear of, the group headed directly north until the sun set over the treetops.

"We'll stop here for the night." Kakashi decided.

"I got the camp fire." Sasuke said.

"I'll go find food." Naruto decided.

"I'll help out Sasuke." Ami stated.

"I'll help out Naruto." Sakura spoke up.

Kakashi raised an eyebrow as he watched Naruto and Sakura walk away in very close proximity to one another.

'Looks like Lady Kushina was right on the money, as usual.' Kakashi thought before he summoned five of his dog summons to guard the area.

With Sakura and Naruto, they were walking away from camp to go find some food. be it small game or fish, anything they could cook on the fire would do.

"Sweet Sage, that guy is a pain in the ass." Naruto said as he shoved tree branches out of their way.

"Tell me about it." Sakura said as she kicked a pebble across the forest with a swing of her mighty sandal. "Are clients always this whiny to you ninjas?"

"Actually, they aren't. You get your fair share of annoying ones, sure, but they generally keep to themselves and don't bother complaining about their protection. Especially after they see arrows flying past their skulls."

"So all we've got to do is hold out until his life is in danger and then he will cease his whining?" Sakura asked.

"We can only hope."

"Great."

"Eh, it's not too bad. My team and I had this one mission with this old bridge builder drunk. He wasn't a bad guy once you got to know him, but- Wait." Naruto hissed as he held up his hand to tell Sakura to be quiet while drawing his kunai. Sakura was confused at first, but when she heard a rustling in in the bushes, she brought up her guard.

The bushes continued to rustle and the two young shinobi remained as still as the grave. Waiting...

Sakura's heart nearly jumped when the brown bunny leapt out of the bush.

"Sweet Sage..." Sakura breathed out before she drew out a few senbon needles.

The rabbit's ears perked up at Sakura's voice. Naruto threw his kunai and pierced the bunny's head before it could dart away to safety.

"Got it." Naruto declared.

"Nice, but I think we're going to need more than that." Sakura said before she heard another noise.

'All yours.' Naruto signed at Sakura.

Sakura turned to where the noise was coming from. It was definitely larger than a rabbit, that much she could tell. Once she saw the bushes moving, she threw her senbon into the bush. She heard what sounded like a grunt from an animal before a thud.

"That sounded way too big to be a rabbit." Naruto said.

Sakura, wasting no time, darted to the bushes. Once she saw what she got, her face beamed.

"Hey alright!" Sakura cheered. Naruto came around the bush and saw 3 needles in the neck of a large 8 point buck.

"Oh bullshit." Naruto cried.

Sakura just stuck her tongue out at him playfully.

"No seriously, is this thing domesticated? How did it come so close?" Naruto asked as he observed the dead stag.

"Maybe he was just attracted to my natural charm?" Sakura smirked.

"My foot. You watch, I'll catch a stag twice as big." Naruto declared.

"Is that a challenge?" Sakura asked innocently.

"No, it's a promise." Naruto said as he leapt over the bushes, deeper into the woods.

"Wait a minute! We shouldn't be running off!" Sakura called.

"Shhh..." Naruto whispered back at Sakura as he jumped from tree branch to tree branch, until he finally sensed something.

Naruto stopped atop a tree branch as his eyes zeroed in on another bush. Sakura landed next to Naruto, quiet as a ghost.

'Get ready to suck it.' Naruto signed before throwing his kunai into the bush. The kunai slipped through the bush and a massive roar pierced the air.

"That...Didn't sound like a deer..." Sakura whispered.

The bush then rose up on its own and the two ninjas noticed the bush was a part of some larger furry back. The massive beast's head turned to reveal it was the head of a bear, as big as a two story house and looking absolutely livid.

"Oh...Whoops..." Naruto gulped.

Sakura sighed. "You had to show off, didn't you..."

"You're the one with dumb luck." Naruto countered as the bear slashed at them with his massive claws.

"I got this." Sakura said as she dodge the claw and delivered a hard chakra enhanced punch to the bears head, caving in its skull and breaking a couple of her fingers.

"Aaaasshhhh..." Sakura hissed in pain.

"ROOOOAAAAAARRRR!" The bear cried, he thrashed about, knocking over a few trees. Sakura was still on the ground, the pain in her arm making her brain fuzzy. One of the flailing bear arms nearly struck her when she was grabbed by Naruto and the two of them vanished with a flash of yellow and pink light.

They both reappeared 50 yards away on another tree branch where Naruto had thrown his special kunai. Sakura looked up to see Naruto's whiskers sharing down at her as he held her in his arms.

"You okay?"

Sakura looked up and into his sparkling blue eyes. The setting sun glistened off of his eyes and looked like the prettiest blue diamonds she had ever seen.

"I am now..." Sakura spoke softly.

"Good, cause he's coming back!" Naruto cried as the bear charged at them through the forest. Naruto threw Sakura up into another tree to safety while he leapt over the rampaging bear. He tossed his kunai into its back as he sailed over the bear.

Sakura righted herself in midair and landed on a safe branch while Naruto landed on the forest floor with the bear. The lumbering beast turned around quickly just as Naruto created one of his Shadow Clones.

"Naruto be careful!" Sakura cried out.

"Don't worry, I got this!" Naruto shouted as he and his clone created a Rasengan. The bear swiped at the two of them, which they back flipped over as they finished the Rasengan. The bear took three more swipes as Naruto's clone stood back to back with his creator, all the while flashing through handsigns. Naruto and the clone then vanished and Sakura saw a burst of light explode against the bear's back. Naruto had Thunder God-ed to his kunai and struck the bear with his Rasengan. The bear howled in pain from the hit from the Rasengan.

"Naruto! Let me help!" Sakura called.

"No! I've got it!" Naruto's clone called before he was hit. The bears paw sailed through the clone and knocked Naruto away, sending him sailing into the tree Sakura was in.

"I've don't got this." Naruto declared from his own private crater.

"I've noticed..." Sakura deadpanned. 'Saiken...First level please.'

'You sure that isn't overkill? It's just a dumb animal. Why don't you just run away from it?'

'I broke my hand on its stupid head and it hurt Naruto. It's personal.'

'Need I remind you that you both attacked it first?'

'Naruto attacked it first by mistake, it attacked him and I retaliated.'

'Well, yeah there is that...'

'That and...There is something odd about this thing. This isn't some ordinary bear. Remember the one we had a run in with back in Tal'Rasha lake a year ago?'

'The one that ended up being a mother bear defending her cubs?'

'No, not that one. The one that destroyed the entire marina.'

'That was the same one.'

'Was it?' Sakura wondered.

'It was, look for the bear cubs and you could get her to stop.' Saiken instructed.

'Right.' Sakura nodded before leaping away from her tree.

"Sakura, where are you going?" Naruto called out.

"Checking a hunch!" Sakura called back. She leapt around the bear and back towards the spot they had first met the bear. Once there, she looked around for any sign of cubs in the area.

"I'm not seeing anything, Saiken."

'Keep looking, they might be in a cave or a burrow.'

Sakura widened her search pattern, looking under every rock, bush and tree. She even checked the small hills and cliff sides. Up in trees. Nothing.

"I think this bear is just an asshole." Sakura stated.

'Just keep looking.'

"Yeah, meanwhile while I'm searching for a needle in a hay stack, Naruto is still in danger of getting shredded by a homicidal bear!"

"Who are you yelling at?" A voice behind her asked.

Sakura turned around. "Sasuke? What are you doing here?"

"Looking for you and the Dobe. Where is he?"

"Fighting a bear. I'm looking for her cub." Sakura explained.

"What?! You left him alone to fight a bear?!" Sasuke exclaimed.

"He's got it under control. Now help me find her cubs!" Sakura demanded.

"Forget the damn cubs! You don't even know if the bear is a female!"

"And you do?!" Sakura roared.

"Rawr..." A little voice roared.

"Wait...did you hear that?" Sakura whispered.

"Yes." Sasuke said as he activated his Sharingan to detect chakra levels. He then heard the same noise again. He turned to the direction of the noise and saw 3 small bear cubs hiding in a nearby den.

"Sakura! Over here!" Sasuke called out.

Sakura ran to his side. "What did you find?"

"The cubs, what else?"

"Wait, you found them? Where?"

"Right in front of you, are you blind?" Sasuke snapped.

"I can't see in the dark!" Sakura snapped.

Sasuke just growled. "About 35 feet in front of you..."

"You can see in the dark? With those creepy glowing red eyes?" Sakura asked.

"I can see anything that has a life force."

"Even plants?" Sakura asked in wonder.

"People and animals, idiot. Not plants."

"Plants are alive."

"Just go get the stupid cubs and stop asking me stupid questions." Sasuke snapped.

"Fine." Sakura snapped back as she held up her hand and activated her mystic palm technique, illuminating the den. There she found three bear cubs. She couldn't tell their age considering they were as big as Choza Akimichi, but considering the size of the mother, they had to only be a few weeks old.

"Oh my Sage, look at them. They are so cuddly!" Sakura hissed, her eyes sparkling.

"Whatever you do, don't touch them. If your scent gets on them, the mother will attack them." Sasuke warned.

"Then how do we get them to their mother to calm her down?" Sakura asked.

"It's simple. We collect Naruto and get the hell away from her territory." Sasuke said simply.

'Told you!' Saiken gloated.

"Damn it, fine!" Then Sakura remembered something. "Wait, I bagged a deer somewhere nearby for food. We'll need that, too."

"Fine, we'll grab it later. First we need to rescue the Dobe." Sasuke stated.

"That's fine. I can go get him, if you can watch over the cubs." Sakura said.

Sasuke turned to snap at her for trying to order him around, but froze when his Sharingan locked on her. He could see that her chakra networks were enormous and the color of it was different. Just like...

'Just like Naruto's... that explains a lot.' Sasuke thought.

"What?" Sakura asked, the look that Sasuke was giving her was creeping her out.

"I think I understand just what you are now." Sasuke stated.

Sakura gulped. "W-what do you mean?"

"I can see chakra with my Sharingan. You and the Dobe have very similar networks and the color is different than normal chakra. You're just like him - a Jinchuriki - aren't you." Sasuke deduced.

"Yes." Sakura said immediately.

"That explains why you're so close to him."

"Can you...Not tell anyone about this?" Sakura begged.

"Why? What's in it for me if I don't?"

Sakura stepped forward and got right in Sasuke's face. "Not having me as an enemy." She said.

"Tch...fine, whatever." Sasuke scoffed. "Just answer me this...does he know? Who else knows about this?"

"Yes he knows...Hinata, Ino, Tenten, Neji, Lee, Kiba, Choji, Shikamaru and Shino know as well. Naruto's parents and Kakashi-sensei know as well." Sakura responded.

"And by proxy, so do their parents...which means my dad knows as well. So the entire Clan Council knows and I assume the heads of the Civilian Council know as well..." Sasuke mused.

"Correct." Sakura nodded.

"Which beast is it?"

"The Six Tailed Slug, Saiken. She's kind and docile in nature unless attacked." Sakura stated.

"Hmmm..." Sasuke said as he walked away.

"I'm gonna go get Naruto now." Sakura said before leaping away.

Sasuke ignored her since he was busy remembering a certain tale his father had once told him about the Tailed Beasts. How they could be completely controlled by those with the Sharingan.

'You sure that was a wise idea? Telling him about me?' Saiken asked.

'I don't know and I don't care. Not when Naruto's life is in danger.' Sakura thought as she sprinted back towards Naruto.

'You may have just ensured his and your danger by talking to that Uchiha.'

'He already knows about Naruto and Kurama. Why should I be any different?'

'Because I heard a disturbing rumor. 12 years ago, an Uchiha with an advanced form of the Sharingan took control of Kurama and attacked the Leaf.'

'When I was a baby?'

'Yes...you see, the truth about me being sealed inside you isn't entirely correct. I was sealed inside you a few weeks after Kurama attacked the Leaf. That attack cited the entire world to randomly started attacking any tailed beast they could find, your village included... I had no choice but to defend myself.'

'I meant when you were sealed inside me, but you're kidding. All that because of what an Uchiha did?' Sakura asked.

'It wasn't much better before it happened, but yes.'

'What should I do?' Sakura asked.

'Just focus on the here and now, but keep your eyes peeled on the Uchiha boy.' Saiken instructed.

'Right.'

Sakura made it all the way back to the battle where Naruto was still fighting the mama bear. She watched as Naruto nimbly dodged the bear's claws and fangs like he was dancing. It mesmerized Sakura how gracefully he looked.

'Focus, dear.' Saiken reminded her.

'But he looks so cool.' Sakura thought.

'Yes, I know he does. But those cubs need their mother.'

'Oh right.' Sakura thought. "Naruto!" She called out.

"Kinda busy here, Sakura-chan!" Naruto called out.

"Naruto! That bear is a mother protecting her cubs! We need to leave her be!"

"Are you kidding me!" Naruto cried as he scrambled back up a tree, only for the mama bear to smash its roots with her paw.

"I'm serious! I found her cubs!"

Naruto leapt off of the shattered tree and threw his kunai right next to Sakura's head. In a flash, he stood at her side, looking winded.

"So what's the plan? Lure the cubs to their mother with honey?" Naruto asked.

"No. We get that deer and leave her be. She knows where they are, she is feeling threatened because we're in her territory."

"And what about my rabbit?" Naruto demanded. "That was no easy feat either. It's even more challenging because it's a smaller target."

"Well, yeah that too."

Naruto then created another Shadow Clone and had it run straight at the mama bear to grab her attention.

"Hey! Over here you big fat bitch!" Clone Naruto cried as he waved his arms and ran past mama bear.

The bear roared in anger as it started chasing after Naruto's clone.

"Huh...We I guess we just collect our kills and head back to camp." Sakura said, impressed.

"Yeah, really should have done that ten minutes ago. Just don't tell the rest of the team." Naruto said.

"Um...Sasuke already knows. And FYI...He figured out I'm a Jinchuriki."

Naruto sighed heavily. "Great... just what we need."

"Yeah, Saiken told me something's about the Uchiha." Sakura said as she leapt away with Naruto following behind.

"Like what?" Naruto asked.

"Kurama wasn't to blame for the attack on the Leaf."

Naruto looked over at Sakura with a questioning look on his face. "Well of course she would say that. She's a fellow Tailed Beast."

"No, you don't understand. Here, I'll let her explain." Sakura said before her eyes glazed over and turned solid blue.

"Hello, Naruto." Sakura spoke with a new and terrifyingly deep voice.

"Oh sweet Sage, that's creepy." Naruto said.

"Hush. What I'm about to tell is true and completely serious. Back when Sakura was just a baby and I was newly sealed inside her, I overheard a rumor about the night Kurama attacked your village. They say that the Uchiha were responsible, and I'd bet all six of my tails that it was the real reason that Kurama destroyed so much of your village." Saiken spoke through Sakura.

"Bullshit." Naruto said. "My father fought Kurama that night and he told me that my mother's seal failed and Kurama escaped."

"It failed because of an Uchiha."

"What makes you think that I would believe you over my parents?" Naruto asked.

Seiken sighed. "Because they don't know Biju like I do. Hell, everything you modern humans know about us is just one giant lie.

"The Hell it is. You're all monsters roaming from town to town, gobbling up people and smashing homes." Naruto argued.

"That is only what your village and its elders feed you. They never told you that we were created by the Sage of Six Paths himself."

"What? The who?" Naruto asked.

Sakura's face deadpanned. "You've never heard of the Sage of Six Paths, have you..."

"No. Why should I?"

"Why should you?! He's only the reason why Shinobi and Chakra exist! Seriously, what do they teach you in that place you call an Academy?"

"How to be a Shinobi, how to read and write, and the history of the Leaf village." Naruto responded.

"Whatever." Saiken said. "Look it doesn't matter. The point is that the Sage created us and let us roam the world at our leisure. Which we did, all nine of us. Some of us traveled to the farthest corners of the globe while others stayed closer to the land of our birth. Kurama even stayed behind to watch over the Sage's budding clan for eight generations."

"Wha...what are you..."

"Just...be quiet and listen. This is really important." Saiken said almost pleadingly.

Naruto was going to protest, but he felt something he never would have dreamed coming from a Tailed Beast. Sincerity. He nodded and let her continue.

"After Kurama left the Sage's clan, the humans that once saw us as divine beasts began to hunt us as monsters or try to capture us to be used as weapons. We could find no village for refuge and any forest we hunted in had to be leagues away from the nearest human settlement or we would be attacked again. Some of us, like Kurama, decided to fight back rather than be captured, but that only made the humans hate us more and hunt us more. And on and on this vicious cycle spun until here we are today, 2,000 years later." Saiken said. Naruto didn't respond. This all came at him like a punch to the gut, yet he couldn't bring himself to outright dismiss it.

Saiken forced Sakura's body to turn away from Naruto. "Think about that the next time one of the villagers gives you a dirty look." She said as she headed back to camp.