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Tsunade leaned against the stone railing of the building's top floor/roof to stare down at the groups of young shinobi-in-training running around on their lunch break. Onyx eyes narrowed on two groups in particular.

Tsunade stroked her imaginary beard as she hummed wistfully, "We need to find a third Power Ninja."

Hinata looked up from her bento to give Tsunade a confused look. After a moment of opening and closing her mouth, Hinata looked up at the sky and tapped her finger against her lips, "I think they're in the Snow Country right now filming." A light bulb went off in Hinata's head, causing her to smile, "I can ask Uncle Hizashi if he could talk to one of them. Big brother Neji told me that Uncle travels across the countries and often brings him back souvenirs. I don't know if he is going there any time soon though…"

Tsunade rolled her eyes at her friend and grunted, "I meant figuratively." Tsunade twisted her body around to face Hinata with a grumpy expression, "I'm tired of getting outnumbered by those idiots! Just yesterday Naruto tried to get me with some stupid paint bucket trap – which I of course saw coming a mile away…"

Hinata giggled at her blonde friend. For the many traits she had, being humble was not one of them.

"…but then that stupid twig comes out of nowhere, spouting that it's all going 'according to plan' – the little shit – and suddenly I'm being pelted with water balloons filled with paint by the blond brat and his chubby friend!" Tsunade finished with a growl, "And don't get me started on Sasuke 'daddy-issues' Uchiha!" Tsunade crossed her armed with a huff, "Even that brat's found a couple of fools willing to follow him around like lost puppies!" Tsunade let out a bark of humorless laughter, "And one of them is actually a puppy!"

Hinata sighed at her friend and spoke softly, "You shouldn't say that about Kiba Tsubaki-chan…"

Tsunade grinned widely and laughed, "I was talking about Akamaru, but I love how you think Hinata-chan!" Tsunade scooted over to Hinata and nudged her with her elbow, "My evilness is rubbing off on you!"

Hinata hid her face in embarrassment and shook her head – denying the very idea.

Tsunade just barked out another laugh before focusing back on topic, "But seriously… Naruto has Chouji and Twiggy…"

Hinata sighed, "You really should call Shikamaru by his name… I think being called 'Twiggy' really bothers him…"

Tsunade shrugged, "The brat should be grateful I didn't settle on potato head or deer turd." Tsunade finished with a loud laugh at the possible new names for her least favorite classmate.

Hinata shook her head at her friend, "Poor Shikamaru…"

"Anyways…" Tsunade said, "So Naruto has those two to help him pull off his pranks and Sasuke has Shino and Kiba – and his little doggy too – to stop me from making the runt's life as miserable as possible." Tsunade grinned, "So it only makes sense that we find ourselves a third co-conspirator!"

The dark haired girl resigned to the fact that Tsunade wasn't going to let this one go and smiled lightly at the blonde, "Um… well… who were you thinking of?" Hinata poked her fingers together nervously. She wasn't sure how she felt about Tsunade looking for another friend. What if the person she picked out didn't like Hinata or thought she was boring… or stupid… or weak…

Tsunade's eyes narrowed on the quiet girl before leaning over to flick the girl's nose, "Hey, knock it off with the self-deprivation! Anyone that doesn't like you the instant they meet you is either blind or stupid!"

Hinata blinked before bringing up a hand to cover her giggles, "But Tsubaki-chan… you didn't like me when we first met."

Tsunade turned pink and turned her head away with a huff, "I'm unique!" The blonde Uchiha let out another huff and mumbled, "I came around eventually…"

Hinata giggled and nodded before clearing her throat and speaking, "Umm… what about Ino-chan or Sakura-chan?"

Tsunade groaned.

Hinata sighed, "What did you do?"

Tsunade pursed her lips, "The blonde harpy started it…"

Hinata shook her head, "I guess that means we can eliminate Sakura-chan then too…" The violet haired girl tapped her chin with her finger in thought, "We could ask big brother Neji?"

Tsunade's eye twitched and resisted dry gagging. Hyuugas in general frustrated her – with the exception of Hinata of course. They reminded her of the Uchiha, but with sticks shoved so far up their butts that she wondered how they managed to reproduce successfully. It was all 'rules' and 'proper etiquette' and 'tradition' – it made her want to sprint through their compound with nothing but her birthday suit on, just to see the looks on their stone-like faces.

Hinata's eyes shifted down, "You… don't like big brother Neji?"

Tsunade let out an internal groan. There was no getting out of this now. She couldn't make her friend sad – it was like kicking a water drenched kitten.

Tsunade cursed her weak heart.

"No, no!" Tsunade responded, "I think your big brother – cousin actually, but whatever – is really…" Tsunade's eyes shift to the right as she tried to come up with a flattering word, "…cool." She finished lamely.

Hinata perked up at her friend's words and grinned widely, "I know where his class is! We can go ask him now!"

Tsunade cried on the inside, "But Hinata…!" Tsunade's eyes searched the area, trying to come up with an excuse to avoid the icy bastard that was not shy about his opinion of Tsunade – and her 'negative influence' on his 'precious cousin'. "Break time's almost over…" Tsunade leaned in and smirked at Hinata suggestively, "And you promised my sweet little brother that you'd help him with his class project." Tsunade lifted her hands and shook her head, "Are you really going to leave poor Naruto to struggle all on his own?"

Hinata turned beat red before looking down with a conflicted look on her face. The pale eyed girl fiddled with the end of her shirt as she mumbled, "I don't want to let Naruto-kun down…" Hinata sent Tsunade a beaten puppy dog expression, "But big brother Neji will be busy tonight so I can't ask him after school and I want to help you because you're my precious friend and…"

"Alright, alright!" Tsunade cried out with a long exaggerated sigh, "You go back and snuggle up with my knucklehead brother while I skip class to go convince mister personality-of-a-rock to join our team of mischiefs." Tsunade let out a low groan, "Maybe the Hyuuga bastard is right… I am corrupting Hinata… manipulating me like this…" Tsunade rubbed her chin and shrugged, "Kind of makes me proud."

Hinata just smiled brightly at her friend.

She knew Tsubaki-chan and big brother Neji would make the best of friends – she just knew it!

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Tsunade took a large bite out of her apple as she watched the older children run laps around the academy training grounds. She was perch high above them – on a nearby building's roof. Chewing on the fruit messily, Tsunade paused to wonder the security of the school grounds. She certainly got around fairly easily – only being caught by a passing jounin every so often.

Mostly by Obito – the nosey bastard.

Pushing the thought aside, she eyed the students closer – trying to pick out the Hyuuga in question. Tsunade frowned, "I don't think this is the right class… or Neji's out sick." Tsunade let out a bark of laughter, "Ha! As if demons get sick…"

Tsunade interest perked up when she saw the children branch off into groups – leaving one boy by himself. Tsunade raised an eyebrow in curiosity as one of the larger groups of boys surrounded the lone kid. They started pointing at the boy and shoving him around.

Tsunade yawned as she watched the scene below. Clearly, the boy was being picked on, but the class's teacher hadn't broken up the group, so Tsunade figured it was just boys being boys. "Builds character." The blonde Uchiha thought as she tossed the remaining core of her apple behind her and hopped onto her feet, "Well…" Tsunade stretched her arms out, "I tried. Nothing I can do if the prince of ice himself isn't around to 'convince'." Tsunade chuckled to herself, "Can't be helped…"

"Hey Lee!" The chunin instructor shouted, "Get back in line!"

Tsunade turned her head to see the dark haired boy running away from the academy grounds. She stared curiously at the back of the fleeing boy as he made his way towards one of Konoha's many patches of forest lands.

Tsunade smirked and shrugged, "I guess it can't be helped."

The former war veteran pushed chakra into her feet and leaped from building to building to follow the odd looking boy into the forest. Tsunade suppressed her chakra as she landed in a tree above the boy. Leaning her back against the tree's truck and sliding down to sit on the high up branch, Tsunade stared at the boy with growing boredom.

"…sixteen, seventeen, eighteen…" The older boy grunted out as he round-housed kick a training stump.

Tsunade yawned, "Well… this is anticlimactic." Tsunade folded her arms behind her head and pouted, "Here I was hoping that this kid was some kind of bad guy in the making and I would find him plotting against his school bullies in the woods." Onyx eyes fluttered closed as Tsunade yawned again, "All this running around made me tired." Tsunade frowned as her closed eye twitched, "Shisui staying up late to talk with Itachi in the kitchen didn't help. Those two have been acting weird lately…"

Tsunade's thoughts drifted off as she fell asleep.

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"If I cannot do two-thousand punches, then I have to do TWO-THOUSAND JUMP-ROPES!"

Tsunade's eyes snapped open at the extremely loud proclamation and quickly jumped into a defensive pose. With her feet parted wide, her fists up, and her chakra pulsing, Tsunade quickly realized – a second too late – that she in a tree. A very tall tree.

Sweat quickly formed on the back of Tsunade's neck before she fell from the tree with a hard crash at the bottom.

"Ugh…" Tsunade groaned in pain as she pulled her face out of the ground, "How come it's always the face…" The former warrior blinked to clear her vision before catching big round eyes and large bushy eyebrows staring at her in bewilderment.

"What?" Tsunade spat out as she shook dirt out of her head, "Never seen a girl fall from the sky before?"

The shocked boy just stared before slowly shaking his head in the negative.

Tsunade smirked and stood up. Taking a confident pose, Tsunade laughed, "Well, it's your lucky day then kid! Revel at my greatness!"

The dark haired boy just blinked.

"Or don't." Tsunade muttered with pursed lips, "…no respect these days…"

The boy seemed to wake up from his stupor and bent his body forward in a stiff bow before shouting, "I apologize, great angel from above!" The boy's round eyes seemed to get even larger, "I have only heard stories of the great rabbit moon goddess from above but never thought I would ever meet her!" Stars sparkled in his eyes as he leaned into Tsunade's personal space with his hands clasped together – in a praying-like position, "Could it be…? Could you… could you have heard my pleas and have come to help me become the greatest taijutsu master ever?!"

Tsunade grimaced as she held up her arm as a barrier and leaned back as the boy got closer to her, "Uh… sure?" Tsunade barely focused on the kid's words, her gaze captivated by his seemly sentient caterpillar eyebrows, "Wait, what?"

The dark haired kid looked at Tsunade in awe before quickly peddling backwards and bowing again, "I must apologize again, great granter of wishes! I have not introduced myself! I am Rock Lee of the Hidden Leaf!"

Tsunade raised an eyebrow, "Ok… Lee…" The blonde paused to figure out what to say next, "Uh… what were you saying earlier?"

Lee looked confused before nodding and answering, "It has always been my dream to be a ninja – a great ninja who would always prevail at protecting all those important to me!" Lee paused to frown, "But I was born without the ability to use chakra effectively and as such, I cannot use ninjutsu or genjutsu…"

Tsunade's eyebrows shot up, "Can't mold chakra? What?! How did he even get into the academy?!" Tsunade stared wildly at the boy in front of her, "I've never heard anything like this! Even civilians have the potential if taught!"

"Even so…" Lee continued with a serious tone, "I want to prove that I can become a great ninja even without be able to use ninjutsu or genjutsu. That dream…" Lee closed his eyes and shouted, "IS EVERYTHING TO ME! So please…!" Lee locked eyes with Tsunade, "Help me mighty rabbit goddess of the moon! I will do whatever it takes!"

Tsunade gawked at the boy with her mouth wide open in shock before closing it silently.

After a few moments of silence between them, Tsunade gave Lee a deadpanned look, "Sorry kid. I'm no goddess or angel. Really." She pointed towards the tree above them, "I just fell out of a tree. Really. That's all."

Lee fell in shock at Tsunade's lack luster statement before quickly getting up and turning around – towards his training stump – with a hunched over, defeated look.

"One….two….."

Tsunade crossed her arms and looked away nervously as she felt a thick wave of guilt run up her back. The formed medic scoffed to herself, "I didn't do anything wrong." Tsunade's eyes drifted to where Lee was slowly punching the stump – as if the very life had been sucked out of him. Tsunade hunched her shoulders, "It's not my fault if he can't mold chakra, ok?!"

"…three….four…..…five…..…six…..…" Lee mumbled dejectedly.

Tsunade bit her bottom lip in frustration before glaring at the night sky, "This is your way of punishing me for that small indiscretion, isn't it?" Tsunade groaned, "You accidently almost beat your teammate to death, once, and fate decides you need to spend the next two lifetimes making up for it…"

Onyx eyes shifted back to Lee's slow moving form.

"Lee…"

The boy popped his head up and slowly twisted his head around – his expression still miserable.

Tsunade resisted making a face of disgust at the tear and snot pouring down the kid's face.

"You said you wanted to be great, even without being able to use ninjutsu or genjutsu, right?" Tsunade asked with her arms crossed and her gaze elsewhere, "Well…" Tsunade grumbled lowly, "I think I can help you with that." Onyx eyes jolted back and forth as Tsunade muttered, "I think… maybe…"

Lee's face lit up with stars in his eyes and his mouth open wide with a smile, "Really?!" The bushy eyebrowed boy raced over and grabbed Tsunade's hands, "You really mean it?!"

Tsunade's eye twitched – stringing a series of cuss words at whichever deity thought it would be amusing to revive her – before scoffing and pushing the hopeful looking boy off her. "Of course!" Tsunade claimed confidently with her arms crossed, "I am the great Tsuna-" Tsunade coughed roughly, "I mean, I am the great Uchiha Tsubaki – future world's greatest medic and all around badass!" Tsunade smirked with sharp eyes, "Stick with me kid and you'll be great! I guarantee it!"

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One Week Later

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Tsunade panted harshly as her legs floundered uselessly beneath her. Slowly raising a hand in front of her, Tsunade used the last bits of her oxygen to call out, "Wait…Lee…I…can't…Lee…slow…down…" Tsunade collapsed on the ground – face first – like a lifeless doll. A lightly tanned, shaky hand slowly rose from the lump that was Uchiha Tsubaki, "Dammit…Lee…"

The boy in question quickly made a U-turn and jogged back to where Tsunade was crumpled on the ground, "Tsubaki-chan? Are you giving up already?!" Lee jogged in place as he shook his head, "We are only at lap sixty around the village! We must complete one hundred or we will have to face our punishment: A thousand pushups!"

Tsunade's blonde head snapped up, "What?! I didn't agree to this!"

Hinata slowly jogged up to them – she agreed to train with them, but told them to go on ahead until she was able to build up her stamina. The pale eyed girl blinked at her female friend, "But didn't you promise Lee-kun that you would train with him to become the best taijutsu master the five nations had ever seen?"

Tsunade's onyx eyes narrowed on Hinata, "…I'm starting to understand the reason why the Hyuuga and Uchiha don't get along…"

Hinata only giggled at Tsunade – having been her friend long enough to know when she was being mean and when she was just whining in self-pity.

"How are you feeling Hinata-chan?" Lee asked with a grin, "We can go slower if you prefer!"

"PLEASE!" Tsunade shouted.

Hinata shook her head and smiled kindly at Lee, "No, please don't hold back for me Lee-kun." Hinata gave him a cheerful and cute fist pump, "I'll catch up to you and Tsubaki-chan soon because that is my ninja way!"

"Hey! Don't listen to her!" Tsunade cried out, "She's just being nice! We really should slow down! Really!"

Lee felt tears gather in his eyes before shouting, "Hinata-chan! Your passion has encouraged me to try even harder! To push me past my limits even further!"

"Hey! Come on!" Tsunade growled out, "Don't ignore me!"

Lee's eyes lit up with flames as he raised his fist in the air before grabbing Tsunade by her wrist and pulling her with him, "Come on Tsubaki-chan! We have a hundred and thirty more laps around the village that we must complete before the sun sets!"

"Hey! Wait! Ack!" Tsunade cried out as she was dragged behind the newly energized Lee.

Hinata giggled before jogging after her friends.

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"LEE!"

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Tsunade slammed the door to her home open.

Shisui and Itachi jumped slightly before blinking in wonderment of the image before them. Pieces of Tsunade's shoes were flapping about and looked like they were barely holding together by a thread. Her shorts and shirt weren't in any better shape – if only still in one piece. She was covered in mud, grass, and leaves from head to toe and her face looked like she had gotten in a fight with a stray cat and lost. Badly.

Cold obsidian eyes narrowed on the two Uchiha men.

"Not. A. Word." Tsunade spat with the thickest, disturbed voice both Uchiha had ever recalled hearing.

Shisui gulped and just motioned to the kitchen with a nervous smile.

Tsunade huffed at her brother before stomping slowly over to the bathroom.

The elder Uchiha cringed as the bathroom door slammed with a loud boom and a scream from the poor hinges.

Itachi raised both eyebrows at his older friend, "It seems it is time for me to go home."

Itachi couldn't move fast enough to avoid Shisui's grip of death on his arm. "You can't leave me in here with her! She's possessed!"

The younger Uchiha shifted his dull gaze from his trapped arm to Shisui's desperate eyes and then back to his arm. Itachi brought his free hand up to his chin in thought, "It's not my dominate arm. I could survive without it."

Shisui's eyes caught the betrayal and hissed at his friend, "You can't be serious Itachi! I thought we were friends! Best friends! Brothers?!"

The bathroom door opened slowly with a long, high pitched, ghostly squeal – catching both men's attention. A dark, shadowy outline of some kind of demon appeared from behind the threshold, making both Uchiha jounin freeze in horror. Time stilled for a moment before a bleeding hand shot out from the shadows and gripped the door frame.

Shisui let out a high pitched squeal of terror as Itachi swiftly pulled out a short blade to slice his arm off.

"Shisui-nii? Itachi?" A voice called from the front door.

Shisui quickly let go of Itachi and dived for the small Uzumaki – wrapping this arms around the boy protectively with tears in his eyes, "No! I won't let you take Naruto-kun! You'll have to kill me first!"

Tsunade scoffed as she exited the bathroom with her hair tied up in a towel and her pajamas on. Her dark gaze moved to her younger brother, "Stop leaving your stupid kunai in strange places Naruto!" Tsunade held up her slightly bleeding hand, "I went to go grab my toothbrush and grabbed the kunai instead!"

Naruto squeezed himself out of Shisui's tight grip before scratching the back of his head with a laugh, "Sorry Tsubaki! I was wondering where I put that…"

Tsunade just rolled her eyes and stomped towards her room, "I'm going to bed! Don't bug me!"

Shisui let out a breath of relief before standing up straight and looking down at Naruto, "Welcome home Naruto! How was class? Did you and your friends do anything fun after?" Shisui paused to twist his back slightly to grin at Itachi, "Meet you at the department tomorrow morning?"

Itachi nodded before tipping his head to Naruto, "Good evening Naruto."

Naruto grinned back and waved, "See you Itachi! Tell Sasuke-butt hi for me!"

Itachi smiled and nodded before disappearing in a puff of smoke.

Shisui smiled at where his friend once stood before turning back to Naruto with an excited grin, "So? Tell me about your day!"

Naruto let out a cheerful laugh before opening his mouth to give his brother a replay of his adventures, "…and then we learned about how to make leaves stick to our foreheads!" Naruto pursed his lips into a pout and gave Tsunade's door a narrowed look, "Tsubaki was able to make her leaf stick the first time and kept it there the whole class – just to rub it in my face that I couldn't get mine to stay!"

Shisui bit his lip to stop himself from laughing outright at his siblings. The elder Uchiha always thought it'd be Sasuke and Naruto that would be 'eternal rivals', but the two boys had a sort of odd kinship towards each other – like they were long lost brothers – and wholly support each other. A support that was typically forged to form schemes on getting Tsubaki back for some prank she had played on one of them.

That was his sister for you – bringing people together to fight against an overconfident, sassy and slightly evil Uchiha…

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Sometimes Shisui wondered if Tsubaki was the reincarnation of Uchiha Madara.

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Shisui shivered, "Now that's a scary thought…"

"…so Shikamaru, Chouji and I decided to go hang out at Ichiraku's instead." Naruto continued, not realizing that Shisui stopped listening for a second to get lost in his thoughts. Naruto's face twisted into an uncomfortable look.

Shisui blinked and his older brother senses started to tingle, "What is it Naruto?" Worried started to bubble in the Uchiha's stomach, "Did something bad happen?"

Naruto shrugged and gave a thoughtful look before shaking his head no. "I…" Naruto's frown deepened as his gaze shifted down and to the side. "Is… there something… bad about me Shisui-nii?"

"What? No!" Shisui spoke immediately, "You're amazing Naruto!" Shisui grinned widely and poked the boy in his chest, "And you have the biggest heart of anyone I've ever met." Shisui smiled, "You're always cheerful and hopeful, but you also know when to be serious and support those around you – whether they be a friend or a stranger." Shisui's eyes softened, "You're incredible Naruto. Don't ever forget that."

Naruto shifted shyly at his brother's words before grinning widely up at the elder boy, "Thanks Shisui-nii!" The blond shot forward and wrapped his arms around his elder brother and squeezed.

Shisui chuckled at his little brother and ruffled the boy's hair affectionately. Shisui sighed internally before gently pulling the small boy back and kneeling down to his level. Locking eyes with Naruto's blue ones, Shisui spoke in a serious tone, "Naruto. I need you to be honest and open with me here. It's really important, ok?"

Naruto paused for a second before nodding.

Shisui smiled lightly, "Thank you. Now…" Shisui's smile fell, "What happened today Naruto?"

Naruto twitched slightly before speaking quietly, "The people in town always give me these looks…" Naruto paused to try to figure out how to explain it, "Like… they hate me or are afraid of me…" Naruto shrugged before twitching nervously again, "But they usually just mutter stupid things… no one has ever…"

Shisui rubbed the sides of Naruto's arms and gave the boy an encouraging smile even though the Uchiha was boiling with growing rage on the inside. The very thought of someone treating his precious brother so… inhumanely made him… incredibly angry.

Shisui quickly shoved his feelings as far back into his gut as possible. He had to be present for Naruto as a positive role model in the boy's life – not a hate filled one.

"You're doing great Naruto." Shisui reassured the small boy, encouraging him to continue.

Naruto let out a small smile before speaking again, "A couple guys leaving Ichiraku's stopped when they saw me and said… they said that I was…" Naruto's fists tightened and his teeth clenched, "They said I was a monster and that Shikamaru's and Chouji's parents were idiots for letting me hang out with them because I was going to 'rip them to shreds one day like the demon I am' and…" Naruto hissed in anger, "I would never, ever hurt Chouji or Shikamaru, Shisui-nii! Never!"

Shisui quickly nodded, "I know Naruto. I know. I meant what I said earlier. I know you would never hurt someone close to you." Shisui smiled softly, "I've seen you go out of your way to avoid stepping on a single ant – hopping around like silly frog." Shisui grinned and flicked Naruto's nose lightly, "And if that makes you a monster, we'll be monsters together – you, me, Tsu-chan, Shikamaru-kun, Chouji-kun, Sasuke-kun, Itachi – all of us."

Naruto grinned widely before giving Shisui a narrowed eye look.

"What?" Shisui asked with a slightly bewildered look.

Naruto crossed his arms with a huff, "Tsubaki's worse than a monster – she's like the cat demon in the stories!"

Shisui flicked Naruto hard on the nose and gave him a firm look, "Naruto."

Naruto held his nose in pain as he pouted before shifting a guilty look up to his stern looking elder brother. "Sorry…" Naruto mumbled out, "I didn't mean it…"

Shisui let his stern look hold for a second longer before giving Naruto a soft smile and ruffling his blond hair again, "Naruto, no matter what anyone says or does – even if what they done is unforgivable – don't ever, ever forget to be kind." Shisui grinned gently at his little brother, "Don't become what you hate by hating back. Be stronger. Be braver."

Shisui stood up and grinned widely, "Always be Uzumaki Naruto, future Hokage and the man whose heart has no limits or barriers."

Naruto grinned widely back up at Shisui and gave him a confident thumbs up, "Haha! You got it Shisui-nii! Believe it!"

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"Even now, they hate him…" Tsunade stared blankly into her dark room, "Why?!"

Tsunade leaned with her back against her door, holding her fist tight to her chest. She didn't understand it. She couldn't comprehend it. How could her village, her people, be so cruel? So hateful? What happened to the oasis of peace her grandfather built in a land of strife with death and cruelty?

Her jaw clenched as she gritted her teeth.

Tsunade let out a long breath of air as her whole body went numb and she slowly slide down the door.

A thin string of tears rolled down her shadowed face.

She knew who let the ball drop and it wasn't the villagers, the Uchiha, any of the clans, or even her former sensei.

Her granduncle's words echoed in her head.

"Would you instead place that burden on one of them?"

Her grandfather let her know that day, and every day after, who he entrusted the village to.

"No matter what happens… you must protect our village Tsunade. I believe that protecting the village is the best way to protect civilians, shinobi, and children… to create an everlasting peace between all."

But she turned her back on the village… on him, on her family, on her comrades, and on the memories of her loved ones.

"I'm done Jiraiya. I'm just done – with this place, with these people. Screw it all! They took everything from me so SCREW THEM!"

Her own words ripped through heart – leaving a deep scar.

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Her grandfather trusted her to protect what was most precious to him and she spat on his grave; kicked dirt on it; turned her back and scorned all those she left behind.

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Tsunade's throat pulsed in pain as she brought a hand up to cover her face and smother her tears.

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Worse yet. She didn't just let her grandfather down.

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She let Dan and Nawaki down too.

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And the very thought nearly killed her all over again.

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It was a bright and warm day in Konoha, as Tsunade walked at a slow pace through the Uchiha Clan's compound. "Things are quiet around here today." Tsunade thoughts as she eyed the traffic on the streets. There were only a few Uchiha out and about – mostly civilians which meant they didn't give her a second thought as she walked past them. Much of the civilian population of the Uchiha clan were craftsmen or merchants, so they often associated with a variety of people – clan and non-clan shinobi, other civilians, traveling merchants, etc. – and didn't recognize the Senju for who she was most of the time.

It was the shinobi forces within the Uchiha clan that could feel how different her chakra and recall the words of their parents, grandparents, and great-grandparents who spoke to them, over and over again, about the demon Senju and their need for Uchiha blood.

Tsunade often wondered how the two clans ever came together to form the Village Hidden in the Leaves.

"Oi!" A voice called out, "Senju-san!"

Tsunade's eye twitched slightly before she stopped and turned her head with a raised eyebrow.

A boy, just a couple years younger than her, ran up to her with a wide grin on his face, "Sorry Senju-san!" The small Uchiha's grin widened, "Is Naruto around?! He said he would play ninja with us this weekend!"

Tsunade's eyebrow rose higher, "Us?" Tsunade lifted her gaze to figure out where the rest of his friends were. Onyx eyes fell on a small group of three Uchiha children hiding behind a building a few feet away – with only their heads peeking out. When they saw her gaze fall on them, they all jumped and disappeared behind the wall.

The boy nodded vigorously, "Yeah! Me, Yori, Takashi and Kida!" The Uchiha boy started jumping up and down, "So?! Is big brother Naruto around?!"

Tsunade crossed her arms and hummed in thought before mumbling, "I don't think he's made it to the compound gates yet. If you guys are quick, you'll probably be able to ambush him."

The boy jumped slightly at the word 'ambush' before chuckling evilly and racing off to where his friends were hiding – yelling to them about 'finally winning' against their 'big brother Naruto'.

Tsunade shook her head as she continued on her path towards the clan's shinobi warehouse. "Calling me Senju-san..." Tsunade scoffed as she turned a corner, "Well, I guess it's a step up from 'savage'." The stone walls of the Uchiha's shinobi warehouse came into view and Tsunade quietly slipped through the front door.

A tall Uchiha man with short black hair lifted his head at the sound of the door opening and closing. Upon seeing the small blonde Uchiha, the man smirked, "Ah, Tsubaki. What brings you here today?" The man went back to polishing a set of kunai, "Come to help me, by chance?"

Tsunade smirked at the older man, "Ha! Not a chance, Ryuusuke!" Tsunade picked at her nails, "I might break a nail."

Uchiha Ryuusuke was the clan's Quartermaster – aka, the man in charge of the clan's inventory of weapons, armor, medical supplies, camping supplies, emergency rations, etc. He took his job very seriously as he was from a long line of master weapon and armor craftsmen for the Uchiha clan. The man often bragged about how his grandfather personally fashioned all of Uchiha Madara's weapons and armor – his greatest works being Madara's iconic blood armor and gunbai.

It was a matter of pride that any weapon, piece of armor, or even simple explosive tag that came from his department be a grade above what the other clans produced. Ryuusuke was also completely anal when it came to his inventory logs, storage systems, and restocking processes – so no one could just walk in and take from the clan's warehouse without going through the proper protocols and practically signing their lives away.

Despite finding such lack of chaos mind numbingly boring, Tsunade really respected the older Uchiha.

Tsunade met Ryuusuke when she hid in one of his storage bays to escape a couple of Uchiha teenagers looking to pick a fight with the clan's resident 'pet Senju' – as they called her at the time. The older man was one of the first Uchiha she met that didn't give her blonde hair a second look, but instead, let the teenaged boys 'fall on their faces' a few times before kicking them out of his warehouse.

Ryuusuke let out a deep bark of laughter and threw one of his rags at Tsunade's head, "That's rich coming from the girl that solves all her problems with her fists." The dark haired man motioned to the long sword on his counter, "If you do a decent job, I'll show you what one of our research teams just found."

Tsunade raised an eyebrow as she approached the counter and started cleaning the sword. "Weapon or armor?" Tsunade asked with a curious tone, "And I have another topic to pick your mind over, when you have a minute."

"Weapon. Well, part of one." Ryuusuke answered plainly before continuing, "And the only thing I have on my agenda is to finish these weapons for Fugaku-sama."

Tsunade looked down at the sword and gave it a curious look, "I didn't know our clan head specialized in kenjutsu."

The older Uchiha grinned, "He doesn't. Mikoto-sama does."

Tsunade let out a wicked grin.

"But I don't think that was your question." Ryuusuke stated.

Tsunade shook her head and frowned at her reflection in the blade metallic surface. After a pause of silence, Tsunade spoke with an aloof tone, "Naruto seems to be integrating well. Have you heard anything?"

Most of the clan might see Ryuusuke as nothing more than their Quartermaster, but Tsunade knew better. It was always the secretaries and office workers that were the best sources of information and Ryuusuke was not only in the perfect position to overhear before and after mission conversations, but also had the intelligence and curiosity to strategically pull even more information out of their clan members.

To be blunt, the man was an unashamed gossip.

Ryuusuke send Tsunade a look that she couldn't quite pin down – somewhere between suspicion and concern – before speaking, "Your adopted brother has quite the energetic personality." Ryuusuke smirked, "Like a puppy."

Tsunade grinned back wickedly.

"He's becoming a bit of a ring leader among the children." Ryuusuke continued, "And he's wormed his way into the hearts of our elderly population through them." The Uchiha shrugged as he grabbed the kunai and began placing them carefully into their box, "There's no real reason that the Uchiha Clan wouldn't welcome him in, to be frank. The Uchiha are a lot more welcoming to non-Uchiha integrating in then most other clans in Konoha. The boy's pranks can be sometimes overboard, but our ranking police captains and lieutenants think its good training for their rookie staff, so no one really minds them."

Tsunade nodded as she sheathed the clan's matriarch's sword.

Ryuusuke gave Tsunade a side eyed look and frowned, "Does it bother you?"

Does it bother you that they care for Naruto – an outsider – but hate you, they're own blood? – is what he was really asking and they both knew it.

"No." Tsunade answered immediately, "Those in the village – non-Uchiha – still treat Naruto like he's some kind of monster." Tsunade bit the inside of her cheek to keep her emotions locked deep inside her. She was still raw from last night and… for all the horrible things the Uchiha clan had done to her since she was born, she couldn't help but feel an immense amount of gratitude towards them for loving her brothers the way they did.

Tsunade handed the sword to Ryuusuke and gave the man a half smile, "I'm glad Naruto is among people that welcome him for who his is – a pretty damn awesome kid."

Ryuusuke smirked back and nodded with softening features before reaching out to ruffle Tsunade's hair, "You're a pretty damn awesome kid yourself, brat."

Tsunade's eye twitched as she glared up at the man before smirking, "And you're not too bad of a gossip, old man."

Ryuusuke scoffed and rolled his eyes, "Watch it kid. I may be just a glorified inventory clerk, but that doesn't mean I still don't have a trick or two up my sleeve from my time out of the field."

Tsunade grinned, "I'd like to see that, one of these days."

Ryuusuke smirked back, "Graduate first girly. Then we can talk about you taking on half the Uchiha clan to show them what you're really made of."

Tsunade raised her hands up and gave the man an innocent look, "I have no idea what you're talking about. I was just saying that a friendly spar might be just what you need to keep those old joints of yours from rusting completely."

Ryuusuke grunted and picked up the sword, kunai set, and an armored vest and dropped them on Tsunade, "Here! Since you're so young and spry, you get to deliver this to our clan head!"

"Ack!" Tsunade whizzed out as the heavy equipment dropped on her unexpectedly, "That's not what I came here for old man!"

Ryuusuke grinned and laughed loudly as he kicked Tsunade out of his warehouse.

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One Year Later

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"Lee… do you think they'll fail you just because you can't use ninjutsu?" Hinata asked the older boy.

Tsunade ducked swiftly to avoid Lee's punch and quickly grabbed the boy's arm to throw him over her shoulder. As soon as Lee felt contact on his forearm, the dark haired boy kicked off from the ground to swing his body around for a round house kick. Tsunade pushed chakra into her feet and kicked off the ground and propelled backwards.

Tsunade and Lee were currently sparring in one of the village's training forests – testing their new taijutsu techniques and training their bodies to act instinctively during combat. Hinata was sitting off to the side – watching for mistakes in their movements and waiting for her turn to spar.

"They won't." Tsunade responded once she caught her breath, "They'd have to be blind, stupid or insane not to see the incredible potential Lee has." Tsunade quickly side stepped to avoid another swift upper cut.

"Thank you Tsubaki." Lee replied in his normal tone – a mix between cheerful and robotic, "But what Hinata-chan says is likely to be the case."

Tsunade clicked her teeth and slammed her elbow into Lee's incoming kick – blocking it and sending him back with a push of chakra. Lee quickly caught himself and dashed around Tsunade to attack her with a barrage of punches.

"So you're just giving up?!" Tsunade hissed as she desperately tried to keep up with the speed of Lee's jabs with sweat pouring down her face and neck.

Lee pushed himself off the ground and flipped over Tsunade, bringing his leg down for a hard hit. "I will never give up on my dream to be the greatest ninja and taijutsu master!" Lee spoke with a clear and confident tone.

Tsunade cursed lowly as she twisted her body around and putting a chakra coated arm up to block Lee's violent slam. The blonde Uchiha hissed in slight pain as her arm took the hit and the force of it caused her to stumble backwards. Lee shot towards her immediately with another series of attacks. Tsunade cursed again as her stance wobbled and her eyes struggled to keep up. The former medic knew the second she messed up when her vision incorrectly assessed where Lee's next punch was coming to. The metallic taste of blood filled her mouth as Lee's fist smashed straight into her jaw and cheek.

Lee backed off immediately.

Tsunade brought a hand up to the side of her face and spat out a wad of blood, "Damn that hurt…" Tsunade smirked at Lee, "Nice one."

Lee shifted nervously – still not used to going all out on a girl – before grinning back, "You were a fierce opponent as well Tsubaki! I would have not been able to hit you if you weren't holding back yourself."

Tsunade's hand glowed green as she healed her cheek and jaw before scoffing at the training obsessed boy, "Don't act like you weren't holding back yourself, dork." Tsunade smirked and brought her hands to Lee's injuries and began healing them as well, "Your taijutsu is getting stronger with each passing day." Tsunade shook her head in slight amazement, "And your speed is just ridiculous. It almost makes me wish I had the capability to use the Sharingan because, frankly, that's the only way I'm going to be able to keep up a year from now."

Hinata walked up to them and nodded to Lee with a confident smile, "Forgive me for my question earlier, Lee-kun. Tsubaki is right." Hinata nodded cheerfully, "I have no doubt you will be at the top of your class and the instructors are wise. They will see how deep your commitment and determination is and will surely promote you to genin without a second thought!"

Lee grinned at his friend and quickly wrapped his arms around Tsunade and Hinata to hug them tightly, "You words inspire me! I will, indeed, give my all in the graduation exam and come out ahead – even surpassing the prodigy that is your cousin, Hinata-chan!" Lee squeezed harder with tears in his eyes – earning an angry growl from Tsunade and a giggle from Hinata. "Or I will run a thousand, no a million laps around Konoha – ON MY HANDS!"

Tsunade squirmed out of Lee's grasp and huffed in irritation before rolling her eyes, "Just make sure to break the bastard's nose when you do so, would ya?"

"Tsubaki!" Hinata spoke with a slightly harsh tone before turning back to Lee with a concerned look, "Don't listen to Tsubaki-chan Lee, please? Big brother Neji would pout for days if you broke his nose."

Tsunade started laughing and held her stomach in pain as her laughter got away from her, "Please, PLEASE Lee!" Tsunade's laughter got louder, "I NEED this! Seeing him pout would almost be better than the time I drugged Fiddle-stick and dressed him up as a girl before dropping him off at Naruto's birthday party!"

"Tsubaki!" Hinata chastised again with a pout, "And stop being so mean to Shikamaru-kun." The pale eyed girl shook her head with a sigh, "That poor boy…"

Tsunade scoffed, "Demon. I think you mean demon."

"Do not worry, Hinata-chan." Lee stated with a thumbs up and grin. "Neji is a formidable opponent and while it is one of my goals to beat him, I do not believe my victory will be so easily won. It will be a great challenge just to strike him at all, with his signature move set being what it is – a near impenetrable defense." Lee turned his gaze to Tsunade and smiled, "As Tsubaki-chan says often to me, I will have to act like a shinobi and not a samurai, if I am to overcome my challenges. I have to rely on more than just my speed and strength."

Tsunade crossed her arms and smirked with her eyes closed. "Lee… I have no doubt you are going to be one of the strongest shinobi Konoha has ever seen." Tsunade looked up at the clouds before shifting her eyes to her friends, "Bout time someone started listening to me."

Hinata sighed before grinning and giggling.

Lee began stretching and looked over to Hinata, "Would you like to spar Hinata-chan?"

Hinata nodded confidently and took a defensive stance.

Tsunade clicked her teeth and tapped the side of her foot on Hinata's right heel, "You're feet are too far a part." The blonde crossed her arms with a huff, "That old man of yours should be sent to the Yamanakas to get his sanity checked for even thinking he had any ability to teach."

Hinata shifted her stance and gave Tsunade a quiet whine, "Can't you get along with any of my family?"

Tsunade placed a hand over her heart with an aghast look, "Hanabi loves me! We always have a blast together!"

Hinata shook her head, "Which is another reason why my father won't ever let you back into the compound."

Tsunade smirked wickedly, "You turn a man's favorite nephew hair purple, once, and he never lets it go." Tsunade shrugged with her hands up, "His loss."

Lee brought his hand up to his chin and narrowed his eyes on Tsunade with an inquisitive look.

"What?" Tsunade asked with a huff.

Lee paused for a moment before slowly speaking, "I am starting to notice a trend…" The dark haired boy rubbed his chin some more before announcing with a proud look, "Could you be developing a crush on Neji? I thought your feelings for Shikamaru were strong and true?" Lee started to mumble to himself, "Can a girl care for more than one boy? Does this mean that if I admit my feelings for Sakura-chan now, even though she is love with Uchiha-san, that there is a chance that she could return my feelings?"

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Silence swept through the forest as the wind blew.

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"Tsubaki-chan…" Hinata spoke tentatively as she slowly approached the frozen Uchiha with her hands up, "You know how Lee-kun is… he doesn't always understand people…"

Lee frowned at Hinata, "Is my statement not correct?" Lee hummed in thought, "Gai-sensei told me that girls pick on the ones they like and Tsubaki-chan is always picking on Shikamaru, so…"

"Gai… sensei…?"

Hinata winced at the sudden spike in dark chakra coming from her friend. Tsubaki was the most loyal and dedicated person she had ever met - just like Naruto-kun. But unlike Naruto, her friend would get extremely jealous and protective whenever someone got too close to either Lee or herself. Tsubaki and Neji's relationship was a prime example of two protective - and a bit possessive - forces coming head to head with disastrous consequences.

To hear Lee call someone – someone neither of them knew – 'sensei' out of the blew, on top of being accused of liking her self-dubbed nemesis…

The earth beneath Lee's feet cracked and split, making the boy jump.

Tsunade gripped the front of Lee's shirt and pull him close – her face dark and full of the promise of pain, "Who. Is. This. GAI-SENSEI?" Tsunade's voice dropped, "And where can I find him?"

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Lee sweated nervously.

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"Forgive me Gai-sensei!"

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Elsewhere in Konoha

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"Kakashi!" Gai shouted with an aggressive point of his finger followed up by a loud and confident laugh, "We are even, with 20 wins each! I challenge you to the greatest battles of all time to break this unbearable tie of wills!"

Kakashi sighed heavily as his shoulders dropped. He was tired. It had been a long week, between his ANBU duties, spending time with his teammate, and arguing with his father, the silver haired shinobi was beat. The last thing he needed was a challenge from Gai.

"Ah, Gai-kun." Rin spoke softly on her silvered haired teammate's right, "All three of us were just about to head to Ichiraku's for lunch. You would like to join us?" The brown haired medic was hoping to mediate the situation with food, as she knew that Kakashi was tired from working a long shift the night before.

"We can wait!" Obito cut in quickly with a laugh at his teammate's expense. The Uchiha walked around Rin and patted Kakashi on the back, "Come on man! Don't leave your eternal rival waiting!"

Kakashi gave his loud teammate a tired look, "Someone's still sore about last night's poker game I see."

Obito stiffened immediately as Rin snapped her head around and narrowed her eyes on Obito, "Poker game?" Her tone thinned, "I thought you said the two of you had a mission last night…"

Obito laughed nervously and scratched the back of his head, "Um, ah, you see… we did… but uh… we got done early and you know… uh…" Obito shifted his gaze to Kakashi and hissed at him, "Some friend you are!"

Kakashi sighed again and looked to Gai, "I don't want to..."

Gai laughed loudly at his comrade, "Do not think such words will deter me so easily!" Gai's teeth sparkled as he grinned widely and gave him a thumbs up, "Nothing will stop I, Maito Gai, from winning this time and breaking the score to a satisfactory 21 to 20 in my favor! Ahahahaha!"

Kakashi's shoulders sagged, "Gai, I'm really…" Kakashi trailed off when he saw a cloud of dust forming suspiciously in the distance behind his longtime friend and rival.

Gai grinned, thinking Kakashi was relenting to his youthful passion for victory, "Excited? Yes! Why wouldn't you be for such a great challenge! It will be a race across Konoha-"

"Oh shit!" Obito called out quickly as he grabbed Rin and leaped away, "MOVE!"

"Huh?" Kakashi and Gai asked at the same time as they turned to Obito's fleeing form.

"KOKURYU SMASH!" A loud, high pitched voice roared from above Gai.

The green clad shinobi quickly moved out of the way as a small girl with blonde hair slammed her fist into the pavement where Gai once stood. Gai's and Kakashi's eyes went wide as the ground exploded from the force of her punch and the pressure of her chakra blew a violent wind up at them.

Tsunade straightened up her back and glared darkly at the bowl cut haired shinobi, "You."

Gai blinked at pointed to himself with a stunned look, "Me?"

Kakashi took a long step to the side and slide away from Gai.

Tsunade cracked the knuckles in her fist and smirked with a demented look in her eyes, "Get near Lee again and I will fuck your nervous system up so badly that every time you try to blink your fist is going to punch you in the balls!"

Gai and Kakashi looked to each other again, with a bewildered look.

Gai turned back to Tsunade and grinned, "I am sorry, little girl, but I don't understand what I have done."

Tsunade's eye twitched at the 'little girl' part.

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Kakashi took another step away from his friend in response.

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"But Lee is a fine young man – no, he is even greater than that!" Gai shouted proudly with fire in his eyes and his fist raised up, "He is the embodiment of youthful passion at its finest and I am only honored be able to teach him what I can before he graduates from the academy!"

Tsunade's eye twitched again, but this time it was in irritation rather than rage. Her sharp protective instincts towards Lee became dulled by Gai's words and sincerity. Frowning, the blonde Uchiha crossed her arms. "Damn. This brat doesn't seem so bad." Tsunade turned her head and clicked her teeth, "I really wanted to beat something up too…"

Gai grinned at the young girl before looking down at the small crater in the ground. His eyes lit up at Tsunade. "It seems his has good company too! You must be the girl he speaks about often!"

Tsunade turned her gaze back to Gai and raised an eyebrow before narrowing her eyes.

Kakashi lifted a hand to stop his friend, "Uh, Gai? I really don't think…" Kakashi had spent enough years and painful moments with Gai to know that things always went south quickly when the man tried to compliment women.

Gai ignored his friend as he placed his hands on his hips and laughed loudly, "I had originally thought his 'cherry blossom' – as he affectionately calls you – had pink hair, but I must have been mistaken in our bouts of youthful discussions on romance! Hahaha!" Gai wiggled his eyebrows suggestively, "Tell me, you are quite taken with Lee, right?" Gai laughed proudly, "Why wouldn't you be?! Lee is a fine boy and will become an even greater man! Ahaha!"

Tsunade's eyebrows shot up into her hair line before letting out a deep, inhuman growl, "He. Said. What?" Tsunade's hand twitched murderously.

The sound of someone falling off a building caught Kakashi's attention. When he turned, his expression dulled as he watched his Uchiha teammate on the ground, laughing hard with tears in his eyes, "Her?! Tsubaki-chan?! A cherry blossom?! BAHAHAHAHAAHA!"

Gai nodded proudly with his eyes closed, "Indeed! And I can see why! With this much youthful passion!" Gai motioned to the large cracks in the ground, "Such strength reminds me of the stories of the great princess Tsunade!"

Tsunade would have felt satisfaction from that statement, had he not followed it up with a statement that had her boiling with rage.

"My apprentice has chosen a great girlfriend indeed!"

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Tsunade had seen her clansmen use the Fireball Jutsu several times, but never had attempted it herself.

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But the artistic side of her just couldn't see the picture before her without the deep red and orange colors of tall, raging flames.

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Later That Evening at Konoha's Hospital

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Sakumo sighed at the chart before him before looking down at his patient. The long haired man raised an eyebrow, "When I said that I would like to see you more often, this isn't what I meant Kakashi."

Kakashi gave his father a tired, one eyed look before groaning slightly, "Blame Gai…"

The corner of Sakumo's lips turned up slightly, "How did you even get caught? I'd like to believe my son is faster than an eleven year old."

Kakashi's face darkened as he mumbled.

Sakumo frowned, "I'm sorry. I didn't catch that."

The younger Hatake gave his father a dull, almost annoyed look, "…I tripped over Obito…"

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Sakumo blinked – completely stunned.

So he blinked.

And blinked again.

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Before throwing his head back and laughing hard.

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And he didn't stop laughing for several hours, despite all the wide eyed and strange looks all the nurses and other doctors gave him.