Chapter 3

"Jiraiya-who?" asked Naru as she continued to crab walk to the door way. Kakashi walked to the door and pulled it open, letting toad and ninja inside the room. They plopped in inelegantly and had to scramble to get up.

"The Toad Sage, Dobe. One of the legendary Sannin," said Sasuke brusquely. Naru squinted at the old man and recognized him in disgust.

"You're the guy who keeps peeping in the girls' bath!"

"What?" shrieked both Sakura and Jiraiya.

"I call it research! Not peeping!" claimed the old pervert indignantly. Naru and Sakura just stared at him. Sakura was about to stalk over and bonk him on the head when Sarutobi-sensei walked in. Everyone turned to stare at him awkwardly. Only Haku managed to greet the Hokage,

"Sandaime-sama."

"Haku," The Sandaime acknowledged, "Jiraiya! Did I not tell you to report to me the moment you came to the village?"

"Hai, Sarutobi-sensei. But Naru-chan woke up!"

"Hey! Who said you could call me Naru-chan?" screeched Naru as she stood woozily from her position on the floor, "And stay away from me, Ero-sennin!"

"But Naru-chan!" whined Jiraiya

"And you can speak to Naru later. Now you have to go to my office and get ready for a debriefing. Got that?" said the Sandaime as he leveled a slightly amused glare at his former student. Jiraiya sulked and poofed out of the hospital room, leaving the shinobi dazed and looking for answers.

"Jiji, why was he here?" asked Naru a little shakily. After the adrenaline wore off, she still felt a little weak, and attempted to stand up straight. She felt a pressure on her back, and was surprised to see Pretty-boy supporting her. Sarutobi glared meaningfully at Kakashi, Sasuke, Sakura and Haku,

"This conversation is not meant for your ears. I'm sure there is a local mission you all could do to pass the time. I believe the Daimyo's wife's cat has escaped again. If you all would go and retrieve the mission details from the main office?"

Haku looked at Sasuke and Sakura cluelessly as they slumped in annoyance and despair.

"What's so bad about a cat?" he asked. Sakura and Sasuke looked at him wearily before they followed Kakashi-sensei out of the room. They said in response,

"You'll find out."

Naru managed to limp over to the bed, and sat down with a sigh of relief. Sarutobi walked over and sat next to her, saying nothing but still being there for support. Naru shifted, uncomfortable with the silence, and asked,

"Jiji, why am I a girl? Who am I, really?" Sarutobi sighed, and started to explain.

"Naru, you know that you are the host to the Kyuubi no Kitsune, but you are also the daughter of the Fourth Hokage. You have always been a girl- your father merely put a long lasting henge on you, because he knew that the villagers are not the best of people, though they have good hearts, and a little girl would be in more danger than a boy would be in. But the seal has cracked due to the Kyuubi's chakra escaping. How did that happen, by the way?"

Naru gulped, and explained,

"Pretty-boy had just thrown needles at Sasuke and the teme stepped in front of me and took the attack. I honestly thought he was dead, and I guess I flew into a rage. I-I just felt this all-consuming hate at having someone I know being killed in front of me, and the next thing I knew, it was Pretty-Boy's face in front of me. I managed to pull the punch I was about to give him, and I think you've heard what happened from them."

Sarutobi rubbed his eyes tiredly, and said,

"Yes, they have told me their stories on what had happened. Naru, what happened there was nothing less than your emotions triggering the Kyuubi's chakra to the point that it broke through the seal. Your hatred must have resonated with the Kyuubi's chakra and amplified it temporarily. Naru, you do realize what happens now, don't you?"

"More training?" Naru groaned, rubbing at her eyes. Although she slept for so long, she still felt so, so tired. Sarutobi smiled, and said,

"You will be training with Jiraiya, as soon as he gets his debriefing done. You will need to control the chakra the Kyuubi unleashed, and you will need to get used to fighting in this body." Sarutobi laid a hand on Naru's head, and left. He still had the a mountain of paperwork to get through. Naru digested what he said to her before she realized one crucial part of that sentence.

"WHY DO I HAVE TO TRAIN WITH THAT PERVY SAGE!"