The Blonde Uchiha

It was another beautiful day in Konoha, the village hidden in the leaves. People and shinobi milled around in the streets to shop and talk. Students attended the academy, both young and old, and began the journey for their own shinobi careers.

Life had almost returned to normal since two years ago, when Suna and Oto launched their devastating attack during the chunin exams. Since then, the village had found itself in another spot of peace, brought about by the heroes of the newest generation of shinobi. Many of the genin at the time had since been promoted and had further honed their abilities to better serve the village.

Speaking of, the Hokage was expecting the arrival of a particular group of shinobi. It had been quite some time since they had left the village to train on their own, over two years in fact. Though the village had moved forward without them, many individuals had been anxiously awaiting their return.

Two of them found themselves at the Hokage's office that day, causing a bit of a stir.

"Are we sure it's today?" Shino asked, betraying his cool demeanor with a hint of excitement.

Tsunade sighed and crossed her arms. She swiveled around to look out the window, and to hide her clear exasperation. The sun's rays beat down on her, making her fair skin shine in the daylight.

"Yes, Shino-kun. I received Jiraiya's messenger frog this morning, they will be here." Tsunade responded with a hint of irritation.

That same question had been brought up more times than the Hokage would like to count in the past few days.

That was not to mention inquiries that had transpired over the past two years. Many more had asked about the Uchiha's return date, for varying reasons since their leave. Teuchi and Ayame were wondering when Naruto would bring another date by, and Iruka was on the same vein as Shino and Kakashi.

Please be here today. I don't think I can stand anymore of these questions.

The slug sannin rubbed her temples to massage the stress away. Where was that sake bottle when she needed it?

"Lady Hokage," Kakashi addressed her with a humble tone. "Perhaps we should talk more about the upcoming test for those two. Shino has the right to know."

The chunin perked up at the mention from his sensei. It was true that he had not heard of any tests scheduled.

Tsunade turned her chair back around to face them and hummed in approval. Since the rest of their class had been regularly observed and tested by the proctors and jounin of the village, their talents were well known and documented. The Uchiha siblings, however, had only been observed by their mother and Jiraiya, and it was difficult to give that kind of testimony weight.

The best way to tell how strong they had become was to have them demonstrate. Only then could she properly assign them missions, with the knowledge of what they are capable of.

Though there was little doubt that their training bore the fruit of success. Considering the caliber of their instructors, Tsunade had no doubt they had truly become splendid shinobi. If only their personalities had matured in the time spent outside as well.

"When Sasuki and Naruto arrive, we will have them demonstrate the results of their training." She motioned to Kakashi with a wave of her hand. "Kakashi has volunteered to serve as a guinea pig."

A smirk splayed across her face as she said that. The Uchiha had apparently given him quite the run for his money during their first test to become genin.

Kakashi simply shrugged off whatever concerns he had.

"Ma'am, I wish you wouldn't put it that way..." He said while scratching the back of his head, not looking forward to the battle.

Those two were already a deadly tag team when they were genin. Now that they had two years to train, he wondered if his own training would allow him to keep up. He might not survive this time, if Jiraiya's updates were anything to go off of.

"Hm. A fitting challenge, I look forward to seeing it."

They were not surprised the Aburame was satisfied; he knew his teammates the best.

If he was not worried then no one else had any reason to be either.

"I agree. Hopefully Jiraiya stops slowing them down so that we can-"

A wisp of wind blew into the office, scattering papers all across the floor and interrupted Tsunade.

Tsunade's eyes shifted to the side to find the already suspected culprit leaning against the now open window. Somehow, she had expected it to be Jiraiya as if he was on cue. The old lecher had a smile on his face, but considering the amount of work he just gave her, he would not have it for long.

"Hey, Tsunade..." Jiraiya greeted warmly.

He completely missed the growing vibes of malice emanating from his old teammate.

"You.." Her whispered accusation only made it more difficult for him to understand what was going on. "You had better have some damn good news, or else."

Recoiling from his old teammate's harsh words, the toad sannin struggled to remember what he wanted to say. If he did not think of something quick, she really would kill him!

"Uh...ah, that's right!" He snapped his finger in triumph, sweat beading down his neck. "The brats won't be long now, so Mikoto let me go on ahead to let you know."

Kakashi and Shino noticeably relaxed with the news. Their bodies shed the remaining anxiety. Now, a new energy found itself coursing through them with anticipation.

The Hokage found herself feeling a little better after the news as well. Finally, her headache was beginning to leave her.

"I hope the village has been doing well without me?" Jiraiya said, exerting a certain aura of self-appreciation.

"We were better off with you in the wilderness."

His old teammate knew right where to strike him. Jiraiya felt himself crumple over from the gut wrenching hit.

"You know what I meant. How are the young beauties of the village doing?" Jiraiya knew just how to get under her skin.

If Jiraiya's perverted spirits were high after just returning, it must have been a good trip. The Godaime Hokage would humor the lecher, for now.

As the two sannin conversed, Shino was urged by Kakashi to leave with him.

They would not want to be late meeting their old friends.

When they were alone, Tsunade decided it the best moment to ask the burning question in her mind. It was something they all wanted to know, but were too humble to ask.

"So, how strong are they? You have been with them long enough to tell, right?" She had read his letters, but this time she wanted a personal account.

Jiraiya's expression went from chipper to stone in a moment. Even he knew when it was time to get serious about something. And after his experience, the Uchiha were no laughing matter.

"It's overwhelming how much progress they made in just two years. Mikoto too, she's on a whole other level."

Tsunade was relieved to hear his positive report. Not only for Naruto and Sasuki, but Mikoto as well. She knew from personal experience that an early retirement could very easily make a shinobi rusty. Though she had only heard rumors, Mikoto was apparently quite the fighter in her generation, prior to having children.

"Well then, I suppose this makes my decision to let them leave right."

That was something she could throw in the elders' faces. It also brought her some personal relief to know one of her bets actually paid off.

Of course, the elders had disagreed with her. Considering past incidents, the family's situation was too dangerous to allow the Uchiha outside of the walls. They were as a clan expendable, but their kekkei genkai was invaluable to the village's military might. Danzo had been particularly harsh with her on the subject, as if he had a personal stake in their development.

"Yeah, let's hope we didn't get more than we bargained for," Jiraiya said with an oddly dark tone, which made Tsunade crinkle her brow.

What did he mean by that?

"Ah, it's good be on the road again," A familiar blonde shouted as he shuffled along a familiar dirt road.

He and his family found themselves traveling in dense forest as they made the final approach Konoha. Jiraiya had gone on ahead a while ago, so it was just the Uchiha left. Better that way, Naruto thought, so the old lecher was finally away from Mikoto and Sasuki.

"Yeah, the old crypts weren't exactly my preferred living space."

Sasuki noted with more than a hint of sarcasm.

Mikoto had taken them to an area within the Land of Fire that was once owned by the Uchiha. There, they had built towering structures of stone that had acted as living spaces for the clan. They were very hardy and easy to defend in comparison to the humble Senju villages, but Sasuki was right that they were not built for comfort.

Not to mention it rained often while they were there. The sun was a welcome change of pace as it peeked through the canopy to see them.

"That's your heritage Sasuki. Try and be more respectful to your ancestors." With a harsh tone, Mikoto scolded her daughter.

Still, Mikoto was also relieved to be coming home.

"It'll be great to get back and finally go on missions again," Naruto said.

Naruto had missed the experience of actually getting to do something with all of the training. Training, no matter how necessary, became tedious after a certain threshold. He wanted to see their work in action, preferably.

"We can try out our new weapons too," Sasuki said with a satisfied smirk. A hand of hers rested on the sword's hilt, as it was wrapped around her waist.

Both Naruto and Sasuki had been given weapons from the old Uchiha storehouse. Thanks to Neko-baa, they were able to spend the two years training with something new. With their kenjutsu experience, they hoped to get the leg up over opponents without such skill.

"Be sure to thank her when we return. Those are precious heirlooms, after all." Mikoto chided.

She hoped they would take the value of the items seriously. As much fun as it was to be given something new, they definitely were not toys. Mikoto prayed the swords would last.

"Mm, of course!"

Naruto responded with his usual enthusiasm, though he was paying more attention to the road ahead than her.

"..."

Sasuki of course brushed off her mother's scolding. She was not one to let her mood be broken over something so insignificant.

They remained quiet a little while longer before the wooden walls of the village could finally be seen. Naruto shouted in excitement and started to run for the gate. Mikoto and Sasuki kept their steady pace up and simply watched the blonde go on ahead. They both found his antics amusing, as always.

Mikoto in particular watched Naruto's back as he ran ahead. Since the two years had passed, he had grown into a fine young man. He wore the village flak jacket with pride, with Kushina's family crest dutifully held on his back. If only her old friend could see her son now, she would surely be proud too.

The three Uchiha had made their way to the Hokage office straightaway. Along the road, they had encountered quite a few familiar faces among their fellow classmates, who offered them warm welcome. Some citizens offered the Uchiha respect, while many still did their best to ignore their presence.

Old wounds were hard to bury, but Naruto was not about to give up. He would force them to look at the Uchiha, and he would let them know just what kind of shinobi he and his family were. Mikoto and Sasuki deserved better, and he would make it so.

Upon arriving, they were picked up by Shizune and escorted to the office. The Hokage had been eagerly awaiting their arrival since Jiraiya had turned up. If the Hokage was excited to see them, Naruto could only guess there was trouble ahead. Of course, they would not get to rest after walking all day.

"Please, enter now." Shizune opened the door and ushered all three inside.

Upon entering, Naruto was greeted by Tsunade and Jiraiya. The two must have been having a good time, as they were all smiles. It was a nice change of pace from their usual spats. Whatever the conversation was, however, it quickly ended when the Uchiha made their presence known.

"Ah, so they finally get here," Jiraiya said with sarcasm. He wore a cheesy smile as always.

"So they have." Tsunade turned to address them, as Naruto and the others stood before her. "Welcome back, everyone."

"Thank you, Tsunade-sama," Mikoto said. She bowed deeply, as an example to her children.

Sasuki gave a simple bow with her head and otherwise remained uninterested. She was never one to enjoy ceremony. Unbeknownst to her, an annoyed tic appeared on Tsunade's features.

Naruto had his hands behind his head with a big grin on his face. He was still overwhelmed with being home, so he did not even bother to offer her the courtesy of a bow.

"Good to be back, Tsunade!" Naruto shouted with lighthearted exuberance.

There was a pause as the Uchiha waited for her to respond. Mikoto quickly realized that the Hokage was unsatisfied with her children's greetings. The culprits, however, were in their own worlds and completely oblivious to her displeasure.

"Oi, brats..." Tsunade was struggling to contain herself with each syllable roughly let out.

Naruto and Sasuki noticed the dangerous tone and faced forward.

Then, they felt it. A heavy tension had fallen over the room. Even Jiraiya had visibly shrunk in fear of his teammate's response.

Naruto swallowed as his gut began to turn. His excitement had already faded and been replaced with very clear worry.

Not even Sasuki had been able to completely write off the feeling as she chose to uncross her arms for the safety of her pockets.

The last of Tsunade's barriers were released as she began to shout.

"You may not remember, but I happen to be the Hokage now...so show some respect when I welcome you back!"

To accentuate her point, Tsunade slammed her fist onto the desk. While no cracks were made, the booming sound of whacked wood filled the room and raided their ears.

Naruto stood stock straight and offered a hasty salute.

"Y-yes ma'am!"

Sasuki offered the fearless leader a single shrug.

"...Fine."

Tsunade's dejected sigh rounded the room as she realized there was little hope for these two. If she could not get Sasuki to listen, she could only pray for Naruto's success in that regard. What did Mikoto teach that girl to be so disrespectful?

"Fine fine, let's just get on with it then." Tsunade waved the conversation away; her headache was rearing its ugly head again.

The Uchiha were allowed to relax as Tsunade, begrudgingly, gave up her attempt at disciplining the young ninja. Still, she did not seem able, or interested, in continuing her previous line of thought.

"Um.." Shizune rounded the desk to stand near Tsunade, so she could address the family. She was clearly unrehearsed as she struggled to come up with something. "Tsunade-sama wishes to test the both of you on your skills, to determine how best to add you back into the Regular Forces."

Jiraiya snapped his fingers and stood next to Shizune. To appease Tsunade, he tried getting in on the act as well.

"And as it turns out, your fearless leader has chosen the perfect person to test you. Please welcome..." Jiraiya threw out his arms toward the open window.

"..."

The awkward moment settled in as the Uchiha were not greeted by anyone. They turned back toward Jiraiya, who was struggling to keep not only himself calm, but the simmering Tsunade.

"Oh..." An oddly familiar voice echoed into the room. Eyes switched back to the window as Kakashi leaned in over the sill. "Was I supposed to come in at that part?"

As always, Kakashi lacked any enthusiasm and dropped his line completely deadpan. Whatever strength Jiraiya had evaporated as he was made a fool of.

In the meantime, Kakashi took his time observing his students after their two year absence. Both had grown up rather well, as they both stood on par with Mikoto and the rest of the adults. While Naruto had largely kept his uniform the same, wearing the same village flak jacket, Sasuki had drastically changed her wardrobe. She now wore a dark Uchiha mantle, with the cloak parting at her waist to reveal her covered legs and heels. Over time, her hair had grown long enough to fit into a ponytail that reached far down her back, giving her a feminine look.

Their changed appearance signaled the evolution of their strength. Kakashi was a bit anxious to see just how much progress they had made.

Tsunade was finally able to chuckle with Kakashi's arrival. Some of her original energy had been regained with her fellow sannin's embarrassment.

"Shizune and Jiraiya were correct in that it's about time you both showed off just what kind of skills you have from training." Tsunade then motioned to Kakashi, who gave a little wave. "Kakashi has volunteered to be your punching bag."

Upon hearing that description of himself, Kakashi groaned. The Hokage seemed to think he was going to let himself get hurt. She was not going to let his pride recover any time soon.

"Well...what the Hokage said was mostly correct. I will be testing you guys again, but I don't plan on losing," Kakashi said, offering the two a bit of a challenge.

Sasuki was the first to show any kind of reaction to the news. She grew a smirk, a threatening one if the others were to describe it.

Naruto, on the other hand, held back any excitement he may have had and exchanged it with anxiety. He looked around, as if they were missing someone. The others picked up on his distress and made it clear he should express his concerns.

"Oi, where's Shino?"

Sasuki and Mikoto both hummed in agreement, as any kind of test would not be the same without all of Team 7 present.

Kakashi offered them one of his usual smiles and hiked a thumb over his shoulder.

"Well, he's here of course."

From outside, Shino quietly clambered into the office. Though he made no obvious expression of distaste, Naruto could tell simply by the look of him that he had been growing bored outside. Still, despite his supposed lack of interest, Naruto was glad to see his old teammate again. If he had to guess, the feeling was mutual.

"Welcome back, Naruto," Shino adjusted his new goggles from underneath his hood. "I give you my thanks, because I didn't want to stand outside for much longer."

Naruto ran over to his friend and patted him on the shoulder. After a moment of awkwardness, mostly spawned from Shino's general lack of human contact, the two had properly welcomed the other.

Mikoto looked at the both of them and had to stifle a laugh. She was so glad to see them getting along well. If only her daughter had the same enthusiasm to greet a close friend.

Sasuki rolled her eyes; she was not so enthused to have Shino's overly descriptive mannerisms return. They really grated against her ears.

"Welcome to you as well, Mikoto-san, Sasuki." Shino nodded to each one, and they acknowledged him in return.

"Hm, this is all well and good, but there is a schedule to keep believe it or not," The Hokage said, after they had a moment to catch up.

Tsunade crossed her arms and attempted to show a bit of authority. She then gave Kakashi a subtle nod to have him continue with the orientation.

"Well, the Hokage has prepared the training ground for us. I'm sure you will all find it familiar, since it's the one we used for the first test." Kakashi prepared a hand sign. "I'll see you there!"

"Wait, Kakashi-" Before Tsunade could stop him, the jonin had disappeared.

Damn him. Tsunade grimaced. He should have led the kids with him. Now I have to...

"Alright! Let's go!" Naruto's excitement knew no bounds as he leaped out the window and proceeded after his sensei.

"Naruto!" Sasuki shouted after him, to no avail. "Damn...wait up!"

She proceeded after him with much haste, her dark overcoat billowing in the wind. That element of their relationship had not changed much.

Shino bowed to those still present and then disentigrated into a cloud of bugs. The parasitic insects then proceeded out of the window and after the rest of them. Shino did not need to be tested, as he was already a proven Chunin, but that did not stop his desire to observe Naruto and Sasuki; Team 7 was as strong as ever.

"Then, I will as well..."

"Wait a minute, Mikoto-san."

As Mikoto prepared to leave, the door to the Hokage's office was opened. The two elders, Homura Mitokado and Koharu Utatane, revealed themselves. The one who asked her to remain, however, was the man known as Danzo Shimura who brought up the rear of their group.

"What's the meaning of this?" Tsunade shouted in outrage over the interruption.

The elder council had kept her up many nights with their bickering back and forth. One of the most difficult subjects of recent times had been the Uchiha, and the village's plans for them. She had hoped to shield the family, but even Tsunade had her limits; still, to bother them on their first day back was too far.

"We need to go over the Uchiha's responsibility in the restoration of their clan's strength. As matriarch, we require Mikoto's presence; the other two obviously have pressing matters, so they can be informed of the results later." Koharu explained the council's intentions with little outward concern, either to the Hokage or the Uchiha.

"How dare you come in here with such rudeness and make demands! I should-"

Before Tsunade could push the event further, Mikoto raised her voice.

"No, Hokage-sama, I understand. I will attend the meeting, as requested." Mikoto bowed and proceeded to join the council at the door. She hesitated, and then turned back with a hint of concern. "Please, watch over my children while I'm away."

Jiraiya and Tsunade both were stunned into silence as she left of her own accord. Such a solemn duty, and yet Mikoto carried on as if it were nothing. Still, it did not sit well with any of them the kind of pressure the council had placed on the family since the Massacre had occurred.

"Tsunade-sama, we should also be leaving..." Shizune reminded her, after they had remained in silence for a while.

"I don't like this. Danzo and the others are definitely up to something." Tsunade bit her thumb as she considered just what that something was.

"Agreed, but what can we do?" Jiraiya asked in genuine concern; he had grown a bit attached to the family of three during training.

The last thing he wanted was to see them pulled apart thanks to some backroom politics.

Tsunade narrowed her eyes and fully bit into her finger, enough to draw blood. With a few hand seals, she placed her hand upon the desk and summoned Katsuyu, her loyal slug. With that little bit of chakra, the mollusc was still the size of one of the many stacks of documents scattered about the table.

"Yes, Tsunade-sama?"

Katsuyu acknowledged her summoning in the usual polite, friendly tone.

"Shizune," Tsunade turned to her assistant, "Take part of Katsuyu with you, as I'd like you to sit in on the meeting."

"Eh? But, I thought we-" Momentarily confused, Shizune was silenced by Tsunade's harsh glare.

"Hurry now. Take one Katsuyu while I take another, and relay the information to me. We can't let them go too far, or else they might ask Mikoto to do something unthinkable."

Tsunade turned back to her summon, which had dutifully followed her orders and split itself into two. One climbed onto the Hokage's shoulder, while the other hid itself away inside of Shizune's robe.

"For now, we will hear what they have to say and then we can prepare a response later," Tsunade said, as she and Jiraiya prepared to leave for the grounds.

Shizune was glad to see that her master was thinking as a Hokage should, and agreed to her orders. At first, she had been concerned that Mikoto's meeting was a personal issue within the Uchiha, but if the council were involving themselves, then the Hokage should not have been left out. They might be able to do something to help, after all.

"Yes ma'am."

With Shizune's affirmative, the two sannin parted ways with her. Her only regret was that she could not watch the match that was sure to be stunning.

Naruto and Sasuki stood some ways apart from Kakashi on their old training grounds. The sun had already started to set, bathing them and the rest of the land in a warm orange tone.

Tsunade and the others were some ways back, observing in the relative safety of the treeline. Although they expected a great show, Naruto and Sasuki did not plan on having a long, drawn out fight against Kakashi.

"Okay you two..." Kakashi revealed two very familiar bells from his pocket and attached them to his waist. "Just like last time, try your best to get the two bells in an hour."

Kakashi, to their surprise, immediately lifted his hitai-ate to reveal his own sharingan. The jonin was clearly not taking any chances as he started the fight at his best.

"Come at me with the intent to kill," Kakashi said as he assumed a loose, defensive stance.

Naruto and Sasuki decided that they too would bring all of their strength to the table. Together, they activated their fully matured sharingan, and readied themselves to attack.

There was a moment of calm as both sides watched each other, not willing to move and give the opponent an advantage. Then, everything happened at once as Naruto began weaving hand seals and Kakashi's eye swirled to track his movements.

So, that's his plan.

Kakashi too began weaving his own hand seals as his sharingan recognized Naruto's technique.

"Katon: Haisekishō!"

Naruto released a large amount of ash from his mouth and covered the battlefield with it. With just a few seconds, it enveloped the spot Kakashi had taken up. Before his sensei could leap back, Naruto clicked his teeth and ignited the ash into a powerful explosion of fire that turned the inside of the cloud into superheated air.

Because the ash was made of chakra, Naruto and Sasuki both could not discern Kakashi's chakra from the rest of the cloud. They could not tell whether he had escaped or not, and so they had to wait and make sure.

A gust of wind carried over the battlefield and revealed Kakashi had summoned a water wall around his body. Naruto was confused, as there was no source of water, until he saw the scroll at the jonin's feet and realized it had been sealed away, waiting to be used. As the water began to recede, the din of battle gave way to the screams of a thousand birds as Sasuki ran forward with her own technique.

"Chidori..." Lightning chakra gathered in her hand and then extended out in a beam of energy toward Kakashi. "Eisō!"

Kakashi's water was pierced through in an instant and he was forced to leap away. Sasuki was unperturbed by his escape attempt and continued to chase him as the blade gradually increased in length.

Just how long can she make that thing, it's already at five meters!

Tsunade watched with some appreciation as the young woman displayed great ability at shape transformation. To be able to morph the chakra so accurately and keep it in the same shape during battle was more than impressive; she missed her calling as a medical-nin with that kind of chakra control.

Gathering his own chakra, Kakashi stopped running and forced his own technique into Sasuki's.

"Raikiri!" The Lightning Cutter ripped the Chidori into two halves.

Despite her impressive transformation, the blade's constitution was weaker the farther she extended it.

Kakashi had analyzed the move shortly after it broke through his defense, but it was still no less impressive that Sasuki had been able to control the blade at such a length. If he did not have a sufficient lightning technique to meet her own with, he would have quickly run out of room to maneuver.

Unfortunately, Sasuki's attack had merely given Naruto time to prepare for another round as he decided to use his other element. Thanks to Kakashi, he now had a bountiful supply of water. From behind Sasuki, Naruto slammed his foot down onto the ground and forced the puddle to rise up into a tidal wave of water.

"Suiton: Bakusui Shōha."

Kakashi leaped into the air to avoid getting hit by the wave, only for Naruto to already be above him. The harsh axe kick sent at Kakashi's abdomen was just barely blocked, but the force of the kick sent him flying back to the ground. Then, he saw another Naruto already standing on top of the now flooded field and realized the one above was a shadow clone.

The real Naruto began going through another set of hand seals as Kakashi touched down. There was no time given to recover as Naruto released a mouthful of flames.

"Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu!"

The water in front of Kakashi jettisoned upward in a desperate guard attempt as he tried another water wall. Powerful flames licked at his mask, and the jonin was forced to shield his eyes. A great amount of steam covered the battlefield, shrouding both sides from one another.

From the shadows, Sasuki prepared a few shuriken and threw them to her sides. Rather than send them at her opponent, however, the projectiles instead cut loose many wires that had been hung in the nearby trees. From all sides, shuriken and kunai fired into the mist that hid Kakashi from their sights.

When the battlefield cleared itself, they were disappointed to find their sensei had substituted himself. Naruto and Sasuki remained close to one another as they watched their surroundings. Neither of them were particularly strong at sensing chakra, at least on their own, so they had to rely on their sharingan to pick up Kakashi's aura.

Without warning, Kakashi emerged from the ground beneath them and latched onto Sasuki's ankle. Before she could even shout, the Uchiha was pulled into the dirt trap below. Naruto's eyes tracked the chakra and realized the ground below him had been made softer by Kakashi's recent movement.

He wants to separate us. Well, I guess I better start tracking them.

Naruto had been made painfully aware of his lack of chakra control by Jiraiya and his mother over the training trip. Not only did it make his ninjutsu overly taxing on his reserves, but it made him terrible at sensing other presences. Jiraiya had actually given him something to help with that.

Naruto pressed both of his hands together in prayer as he gathered chakra. He manipulated the energy into sphere around his body, and then pushed it out as far as he could.

Kekkai: Tengai Hōjin

With the invisible barrier now surrounding him, he could now tell the direction of everyone inside of it. And that was when he soon picked up on Kakashi and Sasuki's location, as the two signatures clashed against each other deeper inside the forest. With his sense of direction solved, Naruto deactivated the technique and went after the other two.

Sasuki parried another attack from Kakashi with her katana. The blade had served her well in training, and it held strong against Kakashi's kunai. Chakra surged from her fingertips and enveloped the blade as the familiar crackle of lightning could be heard.

With her increased cutting power, she pressed the attack and successfully broke Kakashi's weapon in half. He was forced to pull back, out of her reach.

While he had successfully separated Sasuki from Naruto, he was clearly struggling to find a way past her powerful offense. Every time he thought that he had found an advantage, she pushed back with a new technique of her own.

Then, from the trees, Naruto made his presence known with a flurry of tagged kunai. As they landed around Kakashi, the explosive seals flashed and offered only a moment of warning. The explosion rocked the battlefield as the two Uchiha were once again reunited against Kakashi.

"About time you showed up," Sasuki said with a hint of teasing.

Naruto scratched the back of his head, unable to come up with a retort. He was just glad to see she was unharmed, though he had figured as much.

"Yeah...but don't you think it's time we wrap this up?"

The sun had almost completely set by that point, and they were getting hungry. Mikoto's homemade food was enough to spur them onward for one last combination attack.

"Sounds like a plan, you go first," Sasuki said as she knelt down and prepared her hand seals. "This next one might take a bit of work."

Kakashi stood opposite them, watching them carefully with his sharingan. Naruto's first and only duty was to put a stop to his keen observation, and he had just the move.

Mikoto...this one is for you!

Naruto began going through a new set of hand signs that Kakashi did not recognize. From his mouth, Naruto expelled a stream of fire so hot that it burned white. The flame fanned out from his mouth, threatening to envelope the entire clearing.

"Katon: Amatsu Ikari!"

Kakashi knew none of his own techniques could cancel out the fire's heat, so he decided he had only one option. Summoning the chakra, he brought his sharingan to the next level in its evolution and focused the attack right at the flame's epicenter.

"Kamui!"

With nothing but his visual jutsu, Kakashi began to absorb the white flames and transport them to a different dimension. When Naruto realized that his technique was in danger of being lost, he canceled it and fell back.

Kakashi dropped to one knee in exhaustion and could only watch as Sasuki announced her next technique. A barrage of senbon, created from the lightning in her chidori, launched out toward him. Drained from his Mangekyo technique, Kakashi could only brace for the impact.

To his surprise, all of the needles missed him by an inch or two. It was then he realized their real aim and turned around to see the bells had been shot right off his belt. Now embedded into a tree, they were ripe for the picking like a couple of cherries. Before Kakashi could even get up, Naruto came from behind the tree and effortlessly took the two jingling bits of metal into his hand.

"Looks like we win, Kakashi-sensei." Naruto stated the fact as he laughed off his victory. He shook the prize in front of the older man, as if to rub it in.

Sasuki also emerged from the tree, now on the opposite side. The distinctive pop of shadow clones could be heard behind Kakashi as he was now looking at the two real Uchiha. Had this been their plan all along?

"So, where's our prize?" Sasuki asked with a brusque grin. She had her arms crossed in what had become her signature pose.

Kakashi, despite his exhaustion, was able to stand and face his old students. Rather than be disappointed at his loss, he could not be more proud of the progress they had made in such a short amount of time. He could only hope their ability to work with Shino had not rusted, because otherwise, they were sure to be a perfect team.

"Team 7 has passed, once again." Kakashi announced, with a knowing smile.

Kakashi offered them a familiar thumbs up and ushered them back to the Hokage for the good news.

The Uchiha siblings entered their home and felt their previous energy leave them. Tsunade had dismissed them shortly after Kakashi concluded the test, and offered them positive feedback. With any luck, they would be considered for higher positions given their display of strength; Sasuki did not feel like staying a genin forever, after all.

"I hope Mikoto-san has dinner ready. I'm starved," Naruto said with a yawn.

Naruto unzipped his jacket to reveal his Uchiha underclothes—a simple shirt and pants with the clan's symbol emblazoned on his back.

"I'm sure Kaa-san had plenty of time, considering she skipped our test." Sasuki said with no small amount of chagrin.

They found out later that she had been asked to join the council, but that did not bother Sasuki as much as the fact that she did so without even arguing against the order. If it were up to the young heiress, the elder council would be ignored on the best of days. They were always up to something, and kept her sick to her stomach.

"Don't be like that Sasuki, she has a lot of things to worry about."

Naruto always sided with Mikoto when it came to arguments, so Sasuki just grunted and pressed forward. It was better to drop the subject than to butt heads with Naruto; he would talk your ear off until he won.

Together, they entered the family room, which had been the only room to have any lights on. Inside, Mikoto waited for her children with a modest meal, as it was already very late. They needed their rest, for tomorrow.

"Naruto, Sasuki. Welcome home," Mikoto addressed them warmly, though something seemed off.

Naruto could not put his finger on it, but something was definitely bothering his mother. The look in her eye and the slight quiver in her voice told him that the council meeting had not gone well. But, he knew she would not tell him anything; Mikoto hated to weigh others down with her own problems.

So, he chose to sit next to Sasuki and quietly enjoy his meal. All the while, he would sneak glances at the older woman, hoping that she would finally confide in them something personal.

Whether Mikoto realized his feelings or not, Naruto did not plan on leaving anytime soon. If not today, he would wait for the next.

"Naruto, Sasuki." Mikoto spoke up after they had gone through most of their meal. "There is something I need to speak with you about, concerning the clan."

Naruto and Sasuki looked between each other, then back at Mikoto. They were obviously lost, and so as their mother, Mikoto did her best to smile. She had to put them at ease.

"As per the council's request, your marriage will be soon." Upon hearing the word marriage, both of them blushed like children. "And with marriage, the council will expect you to start having children."

There was no use in sugercoating the order; they were old enough to know what was required of them. To be honest, Mikoto was surprised they were able to keep their hands off of each other during training. Now, they had no such distractions or inhibitions, but unfortunately they were being pushed together by the council.

"Ch-ch-ch-ch..." Naruto was like a broken record as thoughts of parenting filled his mind.

Sasuki had managed to recover herself rather quickly, considering the situation. Her face betrayed no obvious emotion, but if she were displeased, the young woman would have surely made it clear. She simply took Naruto's flailing hand into hers, and began to calm him down.

"I understand, mother," Sasuki said with a short, respectful nod. She turned to Naruto, who nervously met her gaze. "Come on, Naruto. We should go to bed."

Stunned by her soothing display, Naruto could do nothing but nod. He let himself be pulled up and led away like a stray puppy, right up the stairs to his own room.

Mikoto let out a breath she had not realized she had been holding. Her body shook as she discovered just how much her nerves had been bothering her; there was a distinct ringing in her ears as her senses slowly returned.

Thank you, Sasuki. I don't think I would have been able to hold it together if you hadn't.

Mikoto cursed her weakness, both of her own body and that of her inability to fight the council. She wanted her children to make their own way in life, not have it be forced on them. This was no way to start a family, but the elders did not care.

Not even Mikoto could escape from their grasp.

Danzo's words still rang in her mind.

"Your new husband has been decided. Kakashi Hatake, son of the White Fang."

With her children out of earshot, Mikoto finally let herself crumble. Tears fell to the floor as her barriers caved in on themselves, revealing not the heart of an Uchiha matriarch, but of a young woman who was alone and isolated.

The solace she once found in her daughter's happiness had evaporated as her own feelings were trampled on. Mikoto could not die in peace with Fugaku in the others, as she was to be made the village's breeding stock.

The Sandaime had promised her justice once, but she now realized there was no justice.

There was only suffering.

The two year training trip is just about over now...

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Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.