AN: Hey All! I'm finally back with a new chapter. I know it's been a while but it is a nice and long one loaded with plots, secrets, and a crap load of flashbacks. So, I hope you enjoy. Also, remember I cross post on AO3 and usually there first.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or make money off of it. I wish I did, but I don't.

One Month to Train

"This concludes the preliminary portion of the Chuunin Exams," Hayate declared with a raise of his hand.

"Wait, wait. Hold up," Jagaa called out as he and Sakura, the girl steadying herself on her sensei's right arm, came back up the stairs to join the rest of their team. "We were only gone for twenty minutes. They got through three more fights in that little time?"

"Yes, and perhaps that was still not quite long enough," Kurenai said pointedly while looking at Sakura, clearly commenting on the fact the girl had to hold tightly to the man's right arm and was clearly having trouble standing on her own.

Jagaa shrugged his left shoulder. "Believe it or not, I actually did try to convince her to stay in bed and rest. Even offered to stay with her. But she was determined to come back and be with her teammates." Sakura nodded her confirmation of the man's words and Kurenai let out a small sigh that was followed by a small smile of approval. She couldn't fault the girl for wanting to see things to the end. It was also a sign of her growth that she was still pushing forward and not wallowing in self pity at the loss. She could see the determination behind her eyes and felt a genuine happiness coming from the girl.

Kurenai's eyes shifted to her Jagaa who was carefully helping the girl get steady on the rail. She didn't know what had happened, but she knew that he was somehow the primary reason Sakura was doing so well and resolved to ask him about it later.

"Don't worry Nii-san, Sakura-chan," Naruto said, "you really didn't miss much." The boy pointed down the way to the Aburame. "So, that Shino guy was matched with a guy from sound named Duso-"

"Dosu," Tenten corrected.

"Yeah, that. Anyway, the Doku guy was bragging about sound waves and no defense and some other bullshit. Then he tried to flick this metal thing on his arm but freaked out when a bunch of bugs came out of it." Naruto paused to giggle at the memory. "I guess Shino has bugs that live in him and feed off his chakra that he can use for battle. When he saw Dobu bragging about his sound thing he sent his bugs to secretly clog it up so it couldn't make sound. After that he just pretty much just pummeled the guy for a quick knockout."

"Bugs live inside him?" Jagaa clarified while looking thoughtful. "I guess that explains the weird chakra movements I was sensing from him. So what was next?"

"I was matched up against Hinata after that," Ino interjected sourly. "You can pretty much guess how it went."

"You should not be so hard on yourself, Yamanaka." Hinata said while glancing sideways at the other girl. "I know what your skills were back in the academy and I can honestly say you have improved greatly. You were also quite brave to engage me in close quarter combat and the use of kunai to counter my Jyuuken was clever. If you had started training in earnest earlier in life, it might have been a difficult fight."

Ino laughed. "Okay, forgetting the fact you took me out in about thirty seconds, did you just politely tell me that I went from being complete garbage at taijutsu to being pretty decent at it?"

"I wouldn't say 'decent'," Hinata said with a sly smirk, "maybe adequate…or, perhaps, a step up from embarrassing."

Ino laughed again and threw an arm around the slightly shorter girl. "Yeah yeah. You're pretty adequate as well, Hyuuga."

"How the times have changed," Kakashi commented, raising an amused eye from his book while Kurenai and Jagaa nodded their agreement.

Naruto cleared his throat. "Anyway, so the last match was Temari-chan against that Zabo guy-"

"Zaku!" Tenten let out in exasperation. "Are you really this clueless or are you trying to irritate me?"

"Don't answer that," Jagaa warned, "it's a trap."

Kurenai smirked and elbowed the man lightly in the ribs, getting a good natured laugh in response.

Either taking his brother's advice or simply not having heard any of them, Naruto continued on unfazed. "So that Za-something guy was going on and on about how he was going to blow Temari-chan away and that she should just give up, yada yada. Then Temari-chan told him to quit stalling and fight. So the guy puts his hands out- oh yeah! His hands had holes in them! Anyway he puts his holy hands out and yells something and a huge blast of air comes out. He starts bragging again only to see Temari-chan isn't there anymore. She was actually above him on riding her fan. She jumps off it and refolds it and then smashes him in the head from above. He goes down instantly and Temari-chan stands over him all cool like and says 'you shouldn't use air against the Mistress of the Wind'."

Naruto stops and puts a finger to his chin in thought. "You know, I don't think the fights should have even been twenty minutes. They only took that long because the Oto people really seem to like hearing themselves talk. That Kin girl was kinda the same way, now that I think about it."

"If that's what you think, then we will have to believe you," Sasuke said while side-eyeing Naruto. "Since you are the authority on talking too much."

The blond had just started nodding before realizing what was said and glaring at the other boy. "Shut up, Teme."

"He's really walking into all the insults today, isn't he," Kiba said with a laugh.

Hayate's more deliberate cough turned the attention to him. "Would all the winners please come and line up in front of the platform to receive the explanation for the next stage of the exams. All others please take place behind them."

Bits of chatter between the groups could be heard as everyone moved down to the floor. Gaara took up the end where he and Temari stood at the far left as the only two non-konoha genin. Shino had taken the spot next to Temari, followed by Hinata, Sasuke, and Naruto. Team Gai took up the right end of the line, with Tenten next to Naruto, followed by Lee and Neji.

"I didn't notice until now, but Konoha pretty much dominated this test, didn't they," Jagaa commented idly as he took note of the lineup. "Only two of them are from a different village."

"Yes, our teams did quite well," Kakashi added, his exposed eye twinkling in amusement as he glanced at the younger man. "But I must be the best teacher of the first year genin, because two of mine got through while you only had one make it."

"Don't flatter yourself, Cyclops," Jagaa snarked. "Those three were already well trained before they ever got to you. In fact, if we are comparing actual improvement, then Princess and I have the better team. Ino and Sakura's growth has been amazing and Sasuke would have lost that fight a couple months ago. That just shows how good Kurenai is at this teaching thing."

Kurenai felt herself blushing and was about to contradict her partner's praise when Sasuke spun around looking offended.

"What do you mean 'I would have lost'?" The boy demanded indignantly.

"Because you would have," Jagaa cooly replied to the boy. "If you had fought Kiba in these exact settings before the mission to Wave, you would have lost. And I say 'exact settings' to include you not having access to your sharingan because, yes, that would have probably given you an advantage to win. Without them though? No. Not a chance in hell. You were too filled with rage. Too eager to prove your power. It made it ridiculously easy to goad into fighting angry which made you sloppy and prone to mistakes. By learning to care about others and empathize with the pain you could cause, you have started to fight more intelligently. Believe it or not, Emo, putting your anger aside has made you much more powerful than before."

As Sasuke stared at his male sensei with a shocked look of realization, Kurenai felt herself mentally reeling when several things clicked into place for her. While she knew that some of it really was that he just enjoyed annoying people, Jagaa had been intentionally antagonizing Sasuke to try and make him aware of his own weakness. With almost frightening clarity, the Jounin could now mark the times during spars and training that Jagaa would stop teasing for his own amusement and become more antagonistic in order to goad the boy to anger. She could also tell where, when Sasuke had started letting his anger make him careless, the taunts changed to critiques and coaching while being disguised as insults.

"That swing was so wide a newbie would have found that opening. It's like you want me to put a kunai in your chest."

"Wait, that was supposed to be a kick? I thought you were just stretching your leg. No control, no snap. Sheesh, did someone teach you that kick or were you just copying how a toddler would kick at a ball?"

"What were you trying to hit with that Kunai? You do know people actually move, right? But I guess trying to predict an opponent's moves is to advance for you. Don't worry. Everybody is bad at something. You're just bad at more things than others."

Kurenai mused on how this had, sadly, been an effective strategy. After every spar, Sasuke, who normally refused any criticism of his skill, would go off on his own and start training to correct whatever Jagaa had mocked him on; tightening his punch to reduce openings for counter attack, focusing on the form of his kick as opposed to the power, trying to pin leaves to trees as they fell from the branches. It was all done out of pride and the drive to prove Jagaa wrong, but it had been done.

It was also true that, after the mission to Wave, Sasuke had begun to listen to guidance and accepted that he still had a lot to learn. She had even been able to coach him on the most effective ways to implement genjustsu, now that he had activated his sharingan. Without doubt, Sasuke's growth had been much more obvious since then.

As she looked at the man, who was now ruffling Sasuke's hair and laughing as the boy slapped his hand away, Kurenai felt her chest tighten with an emotion she could only attribute to frustration. Every time she thought she was on the cusp of actually understanding him, Jagaa's words or actions would unlock a whole new set of questions.

"If I may have your attention," The Sandaime's words pulled Kurenai out of her thoughts, "I will explain how the finals will be handled."

The old man scanned along the row of winning Genin, "first, you should know that the finals will not be happening today." He paused to allow the surprised comments, "the actual finals are going to be held in one month's time. In a much different and far grander setting than our current location."

"Eh, why?" Naruto half whined in response. "Can't we just finish it all today?"

The Hokage shook his head, "I told you earlier that you all represent your villages in this more civil form of war, but that is not all there is to it. You also represent what your village has to offer to any foreign power that might want to higher the Ninja of your village for various missions. As such, the finals could be looked at as more of an exhibition for all prospective clients to watch. For this reason, the hosting village will open its doors to the outside world on the day of the finals. As such, the Genin who made it to the finals must be at their best. That is why, on top of allowing the village time to prepare to host visitors, this month will provide you the opportunity to rest and recover as well as prepare for your upcoming matches." As he finished, Sarutobi glanced at Hayate who nodded in response.

Lifting a box with a hole in the top, he proceeded to the end of the line and stopped just in front of Gaara. "As I pass by you, please reach in and pull out a number," he said loud enough for everyone to hear, "once you have it, show it Mitarashi-san so she can put you in your slot." He started moving down the line pausing only long enough for a quick grab by each genin before moving on.

"I am three," Gaara said calmly.

"Number one," Temari said with a small note of amusement at the implication.

"Two," Shino followed.

"I have pulled number six," Hinata stated.

"I have eight," Sasuke held up his number to corroborate.

"Oh, yeah. Lucky number seven." Naruto claimed exuberantly.

"Mine is nine," Tenten said before laughing. "Hey, that rhymed."

"My youthful energy has called forth the number four!" Lee declared in excitement.

"I have drawn number five," Neji's calm voice was a stark contrast to his teammate's.

The Hokage nodded his acknowledgement and then looked over at Anko, who was writing on a board that was turned away from the line. "Now that you have all given your numbers, it is time to reveal the lineup for the final tournament."

"Wait, a tournament?" Naruto exclaimed in surprise. "The finals are gonna be a tournament?"

"Kinda makes sense if you think about it," Jagaa cut in, getting Naruto and several others to look back at him. "The geezer said that people are going to be coming to watch. What better way to make it a spectator sport than to make it a tournament. Not to mention the financial boost they could get if they have a way to coordinate placing bets on the outcomes."

The Hokage cleared his throat while looking slightly uncomfortable, "while we don't publicly condone gambling on the matches, it would be foolish of us not to keep the inevitable bets as regulated, and as fair, as possible." He chose to ignore Jagaa's knowing smirk as he continued. "The main reason for this arrangement is that it gives each Genin a chance to know all the possible opponents they may face. During this preliminary, you were put into situations that required you to confront enemies without any prior knowledge of their abilities and adapt accordingly. Just as you would if you were to encounter an unknown enemy while on a mission. For the finals, you will be able to use the knowledge you have gleaned today to prepare for each fight. You may want to change a certain aspect of your attack style, to learn a new technique that could give you an advantage, or to prepare countermeasures for techniques you have already witnessed. How you use this month will very likely determine whether you achieve victory or defeat in the tournament."

"Okay, kiddies," Anko said happily, "take a look at who you get to fight." After a dramatic twirl of the board, the Geniin were finally able to see the match ups.

Block 1: Temari vs. Shino

Block 2: Gaara vs. Lee

Block 3: Neji vs. Hinata

Block 4: Naruto vs. Sasuke (winner vs. Tenten)

"Yosh! It was surely my powerfly burning youth that has led to me being able to go against such a strong opponent!" Lee gave Gaara his best 'nice guy' pose, complete with flashing teeth. "I eagerly await our battle, Gaara-kun!"

The red-haired boy raised one eyebrow in surprise but simply nodded his acceptance of the declaration.

"I can't say I've ever seen someone actually excited to fight Gaara," Temari said with an amused shake of her head before looking at Shino. "Let's have a good match, yeah?" The boy let out a low hum of agreement.

Hinata smiled as she looked at the board and then at her cousin. "I'm looking forward to having a real match with you, Neji-nii-san. Don't you dare hold back."

"Wouldn't dream of it, Hinata-sama," Neji replied with a small smile.

"Ah, crap! Can I trade someone for their number?" Naruto suddenly cried out. "I don't want to fight Bun-chan. She scares me."

Tenten laughed loudly at that while Sasuke turned to glare at the blond. "You don't have to worry about that, moron. To fight her you'll have to beat me first and that isn't going to happen."

Naruto smirked back, "I saw the match ups and I said what I said, teme."

"Hey, old man," Jagaa yelled over the noise, "where will we be able to place bets? Ow!" The man started rubbing the spot on his arm that Kurenai had pinched.

Sarutobi couldn't help but chuckle at the chaos before raising his voice. "These will be the matches for the finals in one month's time." The Sandaime reiterated grandly. "Look carefully at who you are matched against as well as those you could potentially be matched against. Be prepared to do your best and make your village proud. Until then, you are all dismissed."

X

"Why are we out here again, Nii-san?" Naruto asked as he walked beside his older brother. The pair of them had ended up in a more rural area of the village that was known for its nature based recreational activities along with the largest onsen in Konoha. At this point, Naruto had seen several villagers pass by, some in groups and some walking alone, in that relaxed manner of one just enjoying a stroll through the woods. He had also seen an older man and a young boy, a father and son he guessed, happily setting up a tent a ways off of the path. After so many years on the road and camping out of necessity when no inns were available, Naruto found the idea of camping for fun to be a very strange concept. Why would a person willingly sleep on the hard, rocky ground when they could be in a soft and comfortable bed?

Jagaa shrugged in response to the question, "I figured it would give us a chance to talk. You've been through a lot in the last week. I wanted to know how you are holding up."

Naruto responded with a large, foxy grin and his eyes closed while clasping his hands behind his head. "Are you kidding, nii-san? I'm doing awesome. I'm gonna kick ass in this tournament just like I have been through this whole exam."

Jagaa stopped walking and turned to face Naruto. Even through the glasses, the boy could feel the intensity of the older blond's gaze. "Don't do that, Naruto. I want the truth. Not that bullshit persona you use to hide your insecurities behind."

The boy's grin faded away as his hands slowly came down to rest at his side. When he opened his eyes again, he knew that he knew that his emotions were probably shining through them and his voice had become resigned. "How did you know something was bothering me? I thought I was keeping it hidden pretty well."

"Yes you were," Jagaa nodded with his confirmation, "but that's also what gave it away."

"What do you mean?"

The man sighed, "I know you, Naruto. I know you can be as excitable as a toddler or as professional as a seasoned warrior. I know you can be a complete air head and a bit of a dunce, but you can also be as wise as a sage. I know you will be the first to give someone a chance to walk away from a fight but will also be merciless against an enemy. I know all of this." Jagaa paused, taking a long, slow breath. "That's why I also know, when you are trying to hide your emotions, all of those traits become exaggerated."

Naruto felt his mouth open to protest but was cut off by Jagaa's raised hand. "You can be an airhead, but you are not actually that bad at remembering names. Yet, for some reason, you couldn't remember two names as simple as Zaku and Dosu. Also, I made it seem like you went easy on her, and know you kind of did because I'm pretty sure you were gonna kill her before the mission comment, but we both know you were far more brutal to Kin than you would normally have been. With how much weaker she was than you, you could have easily taken her down with almost no damage to her person. Instead you pretty much pummeled her. That's out of character for you, kid." Naruto turned his head away as Jagaa continued, "Also, don't think I didn't notice that it only happened with the genin from Oto. So, I know it has something to do with that."

Naruto continued to stare into the trees once his brother had stopped talking. For a time, they simply stood in silence, Jagaa patiently waiting for the boy to formulate his thoughts.

"Nii-san," the boy started slowly, almost hesitantly, "have you ever been afraid? Not startled, like something jumping out at you or scared, like the suspense in a horror film. But truly, down to the very core of your soul, afraid?"

"...yes. I have." Jagaa admitted.

Naruto turned back to his brother, his eyes glistening. "I hadn't. I thought I knew what being afraid was, but I didn't. Not until the Forest of Death. Not until Orochimaru." Naruto took a long, steadying breath, "I knew something felt wrong. Even when it seemed like we were putting up a good fight, even when it looked like we won, something wasn't sitting right. It was like something was slowly twisting a knife inside my stomach and the air was being pulled from my lungs. When he dropped his disguise and I saw his real eye, it was like I was seeing evil, true evil, for the first time in my life and I froze. I froze until Sasuke's scream forced me to move." Naruto raised his arms and put his palms flat on his temples, "I kept it hidden. I stood strong. But I was so, absolutely sure that I was about to be killed and I knew there was nothing I could do to stop it. I was so afraid."

"And he is the leader of Oto." Jagaa said in understanding. At the boy's slight nod the scarred man pulled Naruto into a comforting hug. "Okay. I get it now."

"I'm still afraid, Nii-san," Naruto admitted. "When I remember the fight. How easily he brushed off our attacks. How we only lived because he chose to let us. I'm still afraid." Naruto pushed away and looked up at his brother. "How do I stop being afraid?"

Jagaa shook his head, "you don't. You use it." Naruto's eyes widened as the man continued. "Remember that fear. Don't let fear rule you but instead let it drive you. Let it give you a reason to be stronger. Hold on to that fear until the day you are strong enough to fight. And don't let it go until the day you have beaten its source."

Naruto couldn't keep the shock off his face, "are you saying that it's okay to be afraid?"

Jagaa nodded, "Yes. Emotions are not weakness and they all serve a purpose. It is how you use the emotion that is important. How you direct it. Remember what I've told you before, Naruto? Everything has at least two possible outcomes. The chance of something good, the chance of something bad. Sometimes the outcomes are chosen for you but this is one you get to choose for yourself." Jagaa knelt down and leveled his face with Naruto's. "So, what will you do?"

Naruto closed his eyes and took a deep breath through his nose. When he opened his eyes again, they were filled with steely resolve. "I'm going to become stronger. I'm going to train hard and, some day, I'm going to kick that fucker's ass!"

Jagaa smiled and gave the boy a light punch in the shoulder, "See? I knew you'd find the right answer."

Naruto gave a grin of his own and shoved back at his brother, "Don't forget, Nii-san, you are on my list of people whose ass I need to kick."

"I wouldn't have it any other way, Brat."

Naruto laughed again and looked around, "Hey, Nii-san, since we're already out here anyway, do you want to go to the onsen?" The boy raised his arm and threw his thumb over his shoulder to indicate the building. Jagaa tilted his head thoughtfully for a moment before shrugging in acceptance and the two of them started for the door. As they were about to cross the bridge over the small river they both stopped at the sound of a vaguely familiar laugh. A laugh that they had once heard in a very similar situation. The two blonds looked at each other with raised eyebrows.

"There's no way, right?" Naruto asked.

"I guess there is only one way to find out," Jagaa replied, and the two of them started moving quietly so they could follow the sound which was slowly getting louder as they closed in. Glancing at each other once more the pair rounded the corner and stopped short as a sense of deja vu passed over them. Sure enough, just like in the past, they found themselves staring at the back of a large man that was crouched down with his face pressed to a small hole in the onsen wall. The red, sleeveless overcoat that framed his military green shinobi attire could barely be seen beneath the long, white head of hair that was nearly touching the ground from the crouched position.

Naruto loudly cleared his throat and the man jumped, spinning around with his hands defensively in front of him and revealing the Konoha hitai-ate above his brow. "I wasn't doing any- wait, don't I know you two?"

"Yeah, this is the second time we found you doing this, you old pervert," Naruto snapped at the man whose eyes lit up in recollection.

"Excuse me, but I believe I told you before that I am not a pervert," The man huffed in annoyance.

"You're a super pervert," the blonds finished in unison with Naruto adding, "yeah, we remember."

The man nodded in satisfaction before eyeing the two warily, "so what are you two doing in Konoha? You aren't stalking me to force more techniques out of me, are you?"

Jagaa shook his head, "nope. This is pure coincidence. We ended up becoming Konoha Shinobi, which is the only reason we are here at all." The older blond used his left thumb to indicate the hitai-ate on his arm while Naruto adjusted his own on his forehead, "The brat here just finished passing the Chuunin Exam Preliminaries and we were planning to go relax at the onsen when we heard that obnoxious giggle of yours."

The old man looked offended at his giggle being called obnoxious but made no comment on it. Instead, raising his eyebrow curiously at Jagaa, "I seem to recall you being adamant that you would not be joining any villages. Especially when I mentioned Konoha. What happened to change your mind?"

The scarred man let out a sigh, tilting his head forward and rubbing his forehead. "I had my reasons. Still do, in fact. Sadly, the brat's loyalty to the village he was born in won out over my dislike of it for how they treated him."

"Come on, Nii-san, we had to stay. If not for the village then for the sake of my introduction," the younger boy grinned impishly as Jagaa groaned.

The old man tilted his head in confusion. "Introduction? What introduction?"

Jagaa's head shot up to face the man, "No! Don't ask-"

Naruto was already leaping forward, crouching slightly and angling his arms slightly upward, his left arm fully extended and his right was pulled back by his head with palms open and facing down, in an over-the-top pose that he knew would absolutely annoy his older brother. "My name is Uzumaki Naruto! The future, and future greatest, Hokage of Konoha!" He smirked at the groaning man, knowing that the extra addition to his introduction was the irritating icing on the 'annoying his Nii-san' cake.

"...is it too late to take you back to the forest that I found you in?" Jagaa half groaned, half growled, "There has to be some kind of return policy on obnoxious brats."

"Hah! You wish, Nii-san."

"I do. Oh, how I do." Jagaa ignored when Naruto stuck out his tongue and focused on the old man who was still standing near them but with eyes now slightly widened, "what's with you?"

The man shook his head quickly, as if coming out of daze, before giving a huge grin, "I was just so impressed by such a great introduction. I feel I must now answer with my own." The old man leapt over them to put his back to the river, spreading his arms and rotating his head so that his hair almost formed a circle. "I am the man who has no enemies in the East or the West!" The man began hopping on one foot, his wooden sandal striking the ground audibly, "I am one of the Sannin of Konoha whose power is known throughout the land!" He suddenly stopped hopping and slammed his other foot down, tilting his body so that one arm was now extended in front of him and the other arm behind him, "I am the Toad Sage, Jiraiya!"

Naruto started clapping as the man, Jiraiya, finished his speech. "Now that is how you do an introduction." The boy side-eyed his brother mischievously, "you think he might be willing to help me improve on mine?"

Jagaa's hand smacked against his forehead, "sometimes, I think I can't die soon enough."

"Wow, that's dark, Nii-san," Naruto chided.

"Boy," Jiraiya said as he stepped closer to them, "if you truly want to learn from me, I will be happy to teach you. Not only how to do an amazing self introduction," Jagaa's pained groan was clearly heard, "but also more of my incredibly powerful techniques. I'm sure they would be a huge help in the Chuunin Exam Finals."

Naruto's widened in excitement, "really? Like what? I mean, yomi no muma is awesome and even helped me pass my genin test! Do you have things even better than that?"

Jiraiya put his hands on his hips proudly, "do I have better techniques? Watch and be amazed!" He quickly bit the end of his thumb and his hands flashed through seals before he smacked the bleeding hand on to the ground. "Kuchiose no Jutsu!"

A large burst of smoke filled the area but quickly cleared to show the man was now standing on top of a toad, with pale green skin and vibrant red stripes running down its head and back, that was nearly as big as a two story house. Looking down at Naruto, Jiraiya grinned and flashed a victory sign. "What do you think, boy, are you interested in learning this technique?"

Naruto's eyes were wide as he grabbed Jagaa's arm and started shaking it violently, "Nii-san, Nii-san, Nii-san! Please, please, please let him teach me how to do that!"

"Okay, first, stop doing that," Jagaa emphasized by forcefully pulling his arm free. "Second, before anybody agrees to anything, I want to talk to this guy alone. So how about you head into the onsen and we'll join you after we talk. Okay?"

Naruto scoffed, "what? Are you worried about his training style? There is no way it could be worse than anything you've done."

"Just go, brat," Jagaa said in exasperation, "unless you want to find out if I can do worse than I've done before?"

The boy blanched visibly, "right, got it. Going to the onsen now. I'll see you in a bit." He quickly went around the corner to the front door, leaving the two adults alone. As soon as he was sure Naruto was gone, Jagaa turned back to the older man.

"How much do you actually know about Naruto?"

Jiraiya blinked in surprise at the suddenness of the question, "if you are asking if I know about what he carries inside him, then I am well aware. I also knew the person who created the seal in the first place and that he was supposed to be seen as a hero for holding back the scourge. What I don't know is what he was doing outside of Konoha with a wandering Nin. If I had realized who he was back then I would have brought him back."

"You would have tried," Jagaa growled menacingly. "The reason he was with me was because the people of this village were abusing him. Forget being treated like a hero, they were beating him down, refusing to sell him food, and, from what I've heard him scream during his nightmares, almost killed him several times."

Jiraiya paled more with each word spoken and his mouth had fallen open in disbelief, "that can't…how could…he should have been under the protection of the Sandaime?"

"You can ask that fucking geezer about what his idea of protection is," Jagaa's face was dark as his anger began simmering back to the surface. Shaking his thoughts free and forcing himself to calm, he focused again on the man in front of him. "Also, you just said that you are one of the Sannin. Does that mean that you were on Orochimaru's team?"

This time it was Jiraiya whose face darkened. "Yes, that is true. Why?"

"Because he's somewhere in the village." Jagaa's statement caused Jiraiya's eyes to widen. "He infiltrated the Chuunin exams and attacked several genin, including Naruto and my team. Fortunately he didn't kill any of them but he did put some kind of 'cursed seal' on Sasuke, one of my gennin, and threatened to attack Konoha if we try to call off the exams."

"Sasuke? As in Uchiha Sasuke?" Jiraiya asked and received a nod of confirmation. "That…is bad. It also makes it even more important that you let me train Naruto. If Orochimaru is here, I have no doubt he is going to attack the village even if we do follow his demands."

"Is being able to summon large frogs really going to make that much of a difference?"

Jiraiya took a deep breath and squared his shoulders, "It could, but that is not all I want to teach him. I also want to teach him how to use the power of the Kyuubi." He eyed the younger man warily, not sure how the information would be received.

Jagaa gave no initial reaction, which Jiraiya took as a good sign, as he contemplated the statement. "How?" he finally asked after several moments.

Jiraiya sighed in relief that he was dealing with someone who appeared to be rational, "There are several approaches, some more extreme than others. The first would be to simply force him to exhaust his normal chakra reserves and then try to tap into the latent chakra of the Kyuubi." Jagaa nodded in understanding. "The most drastic would be to put him in a situation that puts his life in danger and force him to draw on the power to save himself."

"And how likely is it that you would have to resort to that 'most drastic' method?"

"That would be dependent on him. I have no desire to do such a thing but I am not above resorting to it if I have to." Jiraiya knew he was probably pushing his luck but he felt that being truthful would be a far better approach than attempting to hide anything.

Jagaa once again paused in thought until he took a deep breath which he let out slowly. "Okay. You are being honest with me, so I'm inclined to trust that you do have Naruto's best interest in mind. Also, when I was learning about your team, the geezer spoke highly of you. As much as I hate to admit it, his endorsement is another reason I will agree with you training Naruto. However," Jagaa's voice came out like a blade being slowly drawn across a stone and the air around them seemed to shift dangerously with his words, "if anything happens to my otouto, you will pay for it. That I promise you."

Jiraiya felt a chill run down his spine and he resisted the urge to gulp. There was no reason he should fear this young man in front of him, but something deep inside told him that this was a threat he should take very seriously. "I understand," he replied, keeping his voice neutral.

Jagaa nodded his acknowledgement, "okay, let's join the brat in the onsen and give him the good news. I'm sure he's going to be excited."

Jiraiya gave a responding nod and followed the younger man into the building, all the while wondering just what kind of person his old teacher had entrusted Naruto to.

X

Hinata stood firm, tightly controlling her facial expressions as her father, Hyuuga Hiashi, stared haughtily down at her from the platform in front of a large chair that marked his position as the head of the family.

"You passed the preliminaries." He said, his arrogant voice making it sound as if her passing was nothing of note. "I expect no less from the next head of the clan. I trust you will continue to display our clan's prowess and why we are the strongest in Konoha."

'It's all about our image, as usual.' Hinata grit her teeth slowly, trying not to let the act be noticed. "Of course, father."

"And you," Hiashi looked at Neji as if he were not worthy to be in his presence, "you would be wise not to disappoint as well. I also expect that you will not impede Hinata's becoming a chuunin."

"Of course not, Hiashi-sama." Neji said quickly, staring straight ahead and not meeting the clan leader's eyes.

Hinata clenched her fist at her father's tone but did her best to push down her ire. "I'm sure you've heard, father, but Neji-n…Neji and I will be opponents during the first rounds. As you know he is very skilled, and while I have no intention of losing, the possibility that I will does exist."

Hiashi seemed to contemplate this before turning stern eyes on Neji, "this is true, but we cannot allow our future clan head to appear weak. Neji, after an appropriate display of your skill, you will throw the fight." The boy simply nodded his understanding.

"Don't you DARE!" Hinata's furious shout had both the other Hyuuga looking at her in surprise.

Hiashi's face shifted back to stern but his eyebrow was raised questioningly, "Why do you object? You are aware of our standing. We cannot show weakness."

"I am not weak," Hinata said through grit teeth. "I am amongst the best of my year and the only reason I didn't claim the title of number one was because of our clan's emphasis on Juuken instead of the standard jutsu and the fact the last Uchiha was amongst my peers. We all know he has been receiving special treatment because of his status." Hinata had come to have more respect for the raven haired boy, but she was well aware, as were most of the heads of the clans and their heirs, that Uchiha Sasuke was never going to be allowed to fail or feel like he had while under the council's watch. They wanted a strong, confident Uchiha they could use, even if it meant stroking his ego.

Hinata took a calming breath, "Also, Neji is not weak either. He was the number one in his class and has been keeping to his training. If the two of us fight, both with the full intent to win, it would be an even better display of our prowess. Should I lose, the spectators would simply dismiss it as my lack of real mission experience compared to a more seasoned genin. It could even serve to strengthen our image to the public because they would see that even our branch members are strong. Therefore, father, I respectfully request that you rescind the command that Neji throw the fight."

Hiashi looked at his eldest daughter for a time, his stern features narrowed in contemplation, before nodding. "I see. If you had simply been against it for the sake of your own pride, I would dismiss your request. However, it seems you have kept the pride of the clan in mind as well and presented sound reasoning." He turned his attention back to Neji, "I revoke the order for you to intentionally lose the match. You will fight at your full abilities with the intent to win. I will inform the other members of the main family of my decision. So do not fear any punishment for any harm that may come to Hinata." He glanced sideways at his daughter, "it is, afterall, her own choice."

"Understood, Hiashi-sama, and I thank you for your assurances." Neji bowed low, his eyes not once moving toward the clan head.

"Thank you, father." Hinata almost sighed in relief but stopped herself. She knew she could not display that sort of weakness in front of her father.

Hiashi nodded his acknowledgement. "You are dismissed, Hinata. Go begin preparations for your training this coming month. Neji, I want you to remain and give me your report of what happened in the Forest of Death. My daughter's account does not answer all the questions I have."

"Of course, Hiashi-sama." Neji had yet to raise from his bow.

"Father…" Hinata said, a slight warning in her tone.

"I have no intention of going back on your request, daughter," He said simply, "now do as you were instructed and begin your preparations."

"Yes, father," Hinata also bowed in respect but used the opportunity to whisper to her cousin, "if he hurts or threatens you, tell me." Neji made a low grunt of understanding and the girl raised her head before purposefully walking through the door.

With his head still bowed, Neji heard the door slide shut. A few seconds later there was an audible thud as a body landed heavily in a chair.

"Raise your head, Neji. The privacy seals are up." He heard the tired voice of the clan head say in a tone that was nowhere near the severity it had been just moments ago. Looking up, Neji saw Hiashi sitting unceremoniously in his chair with a hand covering his eyes. "This is getting more difficult every time, nephew. Do you have any idea how hard it was not to show the pride I felt for my daughter when she argued against my decision?"

"I understand, Uncle. She was much more forceful against you than I have ever seen before," the younger Hyuuga said with a small grin. "I was surprised when you ordered me to lose the match. I thought you would use it as a way to encourage her growth. Possibly by threatening to make her use the seal on me again if she were to lose." Neji emphasized his words by pointing to his forehead.

Hiashi nodded, "I admit that I considered that approach, but decided against it." The man beckoned for the boy to sit in one of the smaller chairs next to him, "She needs to believe in her own strength. If I had threatened you, then even if she won legitimately, she would still think you lost on purpose in order to avoid the punishment." Neji nodded his agreement. "I also know how much she cares for you and the respect she has for your abilities. Surpassing you is one of the goals that drive her to grow stronger, as she has never beaten you in a spar. I was hoping the possibility of her first victory against you being cheapend to nothing more than clan politics, and not a result of her own skills, would drive her to speak out against it." The older Hyuuga smiled wistfully, "I confess that I never expected her to shout at me like that. That fire in her eyes, it reminded me so much of her mother. And the steel in her voice was just like Hizashi when he…"

Neji felt his heart clench at the mention of the event that started it all. When the Shinobi of Kumogakuri attempted to kidnap Hinata in order to gain the secrets of the byakugan. The foreign nin had been easily dispatched by Hiashi, but the other village used it as an excuse to demand the death and body of the Hyuuga clan head or face a war. Since Konoha was still recovering from the third great war and the Kyuubi attack, the village and the clan had agreed to the demand. Except, it wasn't Hiashi who was sacrificed for peace, but Neji's father, Hyuuga Hizashi. The identical twin brother of the Hyuuga Hiashi. Because his father had been part of the branch family he also bore the seal that not only allowed the main family to inflict pain, but also destroyed their eyes when they died and made it impossible for enemy ninja to gain any knowledge from them.

What hurt Neji the most was that his father had volunteered to die in his brother's place as a way to finally have even a single choice in his own fate.

Neji's mind drifted to the day he went to confront his uncle. He was so angry, he didn't care what would happen to him. He had searched the entire compound until he found the clan head in the Hyuuga private training grounds but was stopped in his tracks as he saw the area in a state of devastation. Training dummies were scattered around the area in multiple pieces, round pits scattered the area surrounded by upturned rocks and dirt, kunai and shuriken were scattered across the area, and several strike logs had been ripped from the ground. Neji found the clan head sitting against one of the very few logs still standing, his head in his hands, and he slowly walked up to him.

/Flashback/

Neji had never seen the head of the Hyuuga clan show any weakness, physical or emotional. He had always been proud, firm, and imposing. Everything you would expect from the head of the most powerful clan in Konoha. He was the standard all Hyuuga were supposed to adhere to.

That was not the person Neji saw now.

As he approached, Neji could see the still bleeding cracks on his uncle's knuckles with the bloody fist imprints on the log making the source clear. For the Hyuuga, masters of juuken, to use something considered as barbaric as gouken, especially to the point of bleeding, was telling of just how consumed by emotion the clan head was. Never would the young Hyuuga have thought that the cold, proud head of the clan would fall to such a state, but he could not deny the sight in front of him. When he was almost upon his uncle, Neji noticed the shaking in his shoulders and could hear the man's voice slightly muffled through his hands.

"A few minutes. That's it. A few minutes…It should have been me. You were stronger. You should have been head. I was just…a few minutes…"

Neji kneeled down cautiously, "Hiashi-sama?" He inquired in a low tone.

The man's face instantly came out of his hands and Neji could see the puffy redness and glossy sheen clearly showing he had been crying. Before he could attempt to say anything else, Hiashi's arms shot out and pulled Neji into a tight embrace.

"I'm sorry, nephew. I'm so sorry. It should have been me…it should have been me."

The anger Neji had arrived with had quickly been overcome by the shock of what was happening. The shock then slowly began to fade as his own eyes began to fill. He didn't say anything, the tightness in his throat stopping words from forming even if he could find them. He slowly returned the embrace and allowed the grief he had been holding back. Between this and his cousin's actions he could no longer restrain his tears. Neither could he hate the man that now cried with him.

"It has to change," Hiashi's voice came out low and hoarse, "the clan has to change."

At that moment, Neji felt as if his entire destiny had shifted.

/Flashback End/

Neji pulled himself from his memories and looked again at his uncle who had produced an old photo. In it Hiashi's face looked calm, happy even, as he held a five year old Hinata in his right arm. His left hand was wrapped protectively around the waist of a beautiful, very pregnant woman who bore a striking resemblance to his cousin. Neji had never met his aunt but had heard about how kind she was, much like Hinata. It was also clear that Hinata's resemblance to the woman was increasing ever more as she grew. Neji felt a stab of sympathy for his uncle at the sacrifice he was making. To intentionally gain the hatred of your own child, especially one that so closely resembled his late wife, must be harder than could be imagined.

"She would have tried to talk me out of it, you know." Neji was startled at the sudden comment and only then realized his uncle was looking at him. Neji's confusion must have been showing on his face because Hiashi smiled sadly and turned the picture so his nephew could see it more clearly. "Hinata and Hanabi's mother. She would have tried to talk me out of this plan. She would have said there were other ways to change the clan that didn't need me to vilify myself to my daughter." Hiashi paused and shook his head at that but continued soon. "But I had already lost her…and only weeks later I lost my brother. Both of them died because of the clan and its supposed needs."

The man took a long, shuddering breath, "The pregnancy with Hinata was very hard on my wife. Her body didn't handle it well and the birth itself was dangerous. Thankfully, she and Hinata both came through it but it had been very close. After that, I didn't want to have another child. At least not for a long while. Long enough that new safety measures might be found. But the clan elders were concerned that I did not have a son. So they pushed for us to have another child. I managed to keep them at bay for several years but then they started suggesting that I could take on a mistress or second wife to birth another child. When she heard that my wife declared she could handle having more children…and that ended up killing her. After losing both her and my brother in so short a time…I lost all faith in our clan."

Hiashi looked directly into Neji's eyes, "Never misunderstand, I love my daughters. I would never give up Hanabi nor have I ever blamed her for her mothers death. Anyone who dares to suggest otherwise will feel my full fury upon them, of this I promise. But that does not change the fact that my wife died because of the clan's desires." A small smile formed on the patriarch's lips despite the grief in his eyes, "my wife died because of them and they still didn't get the son they so desperately wanted. Sometimes I wonder if that wasn't her way of getting some revenge upon them. My little Hanabi has definitely lived up to the explosiveness of her name and caused the elders a great deal of difficulty with her fiery personality."

Neji nodded in amusement, having heard tales of the younger heiress sneaking into the kitchens to steal sweets or setting up traps that ranged from playful to painful. All the while claiming it was training to improve her stealth skills. Some of the traps, all of which had been focused on the elders, had proven to be rather dangerous at some points and Neji couldn't help but wonder if there was a reason for that. "Does she know about your intentions, Uncle?"

The man shook his head, "I have tried to keep her distanced from this as well as distanced from me. Partly to protect her from the possible fallout of this plan, but mostly so I do not have to be cold toward both my daughters. It is one of the reasons I have allowed her so much freedom. I have already burdened one daughter with my selfishness. I can't force that upon my second daughter as well." The man sighed ruefully and leaned back in his chair.

Neji nodded. He may not fully believe that his youngest cousins' knowing would somehow hinder the plan, he tended to think it would be beneficial, but he could understand the patriarch's reservations. Especially after having already lost and sacrificed so much. Standing up he bowed to the man, "forgive me, Uncle, but I feel I should go to Hinata soon or she might come back to check. I hate to say this, but I think she believes you are torturing me to get my compliance whenever she is not around."

His uncle grimaced, "that is both good news, as it means the plan is working, and devastating news for, sadly, the same reason."

The boy smiled empathetically and turned to leave. As he had just begun to open the door, his uncle's voice stopped him. "Neji, I was serious when I told you I wanted you to fight to win. I know Hinata is strong and, even if I cannot tell her, I am proud of how she has grown. But I also know how strong you are and take just as much pride in your abilities. That's why I want you to show everyone, especially the elders of the clan, just what kind of potential our foolish system is trying to suppress and the people whose talent we lose because of it. Show them what you, the son of Hyuuga Hizashi, is capable of."

Neji's grip on the door tightened as he fought to suppress the emotion in his chest. "Yes, Uncle," he said, his voice firm with resolve despite the stinging in his eyes, "I will show them all." He heard the man's satisfied hum and proceeded out the door.

It didn't take long for Neji to find his cousin. She had, as he expected, gone directly to the furthest point in the training ground. She stood in the middle of the field, her byakugan active as several branch members surrounded her. Each branch member held a basket full of rocks and were throwing them at the heiress while moving erratically in an attempt to confuse her. Neji nodded to another branch member that was closer to him and was keeping lookout for any main family members that could happen upon them. Despite the fact that this training method was something Hinata herself had come up with, it was still forbidden for branch family members to intentionally do anything that could harm a main family member. It had taken a great deal of persuasiveness and the placing of contingencies; such as the lookout, a medic on standby, and the use of the most remote section of the Hyuuga training grounds to get his kin to agree, but she had won them over in the end. While some had suspected subterfuge from the heiress, perhaps an attempt to weed out potential threats by finding those willing to risk harm to a main family member, Hinata's kindness, sincerity, and drive to succeed quickly dispelled those concerns. It was the common belief throughout the branch families that Hinata-sama was the best hope they had for a better future.

Just as Hiashi had wanted.

For the second time that day, Neji found himself thinking about the past as he recalled that night after he had been told what happened to his father.

/Flashback/

It wasn't fair.

It wasn't fair that he had to lose his father.

What even for?

For peace?

For the village?

For the clan?

Why did they give in to the demands of attempted kidnappers? Why did his father have to be sacrificed to appease an enemy? They had attempted to take Hinata-sama! They had been the one to break the treaty! Why should Konoha be the ones held at fault? It was-

"It's not fair!"

Neji whirled around and found his younger cousin standing just behind him. Her small fists were clenched and tears streamed down her cheeks from her tightly closed eyes. "Why did Uncle have to die? It's not fair!" The little girl furiously rubbed her eyes, "if I were stronger, this wouldn't have happened. I should have been able to fight long enough for someone to come and scare him away. I'm so sorry, Neji-nii-san. It's not fair and it's all my fault!"

Neji clenched his teeth and turned back around, "it is the duty of the branch family to protect the main family, Hinata-sama, that is all. I'm sure my father was happy to die for the sake of the family." It was a lie and he was certain they both knew that. Even being so young they were both well aware of the way the clan worked. He didn't blame his cousin for almost being kidnapped by an older, much stronger enemy, even if he did hate that the event had caused his father's death. But Neji would not cry. He would not show weakness. He would be strong like he knew his father had been.

Two arms encircled him from behind and Neji stiffened as a small head was pressed against his back, her tears dampening the spot that it rested. "It's okay to be angry, Neji-nii-san. It's okay to hate the people who made you lose someone you love." Her arms tightened a little as she spoke, "and it's okay to cry for them."

Neji's bit his lip and was met with the taste of blood, "I will be angry, Hinata-sama, but I will not cry. My father was proud. My father was strong. He would not have cried. So I will not cry."

He felt the girl nod against his back, "then I'll cry for you."

Neji almost broke. The simple statement almost destroyed the gates holding back his grief, but he shored them up with his anger. He would not cry, but he was going to confront the man who let his own brother die in his place. He would confront him and make his voice heard, no matter what consequences he faced. But, for now, he would allow himself to let this small girl grieve for his father in a way he could not. Not yet.

His voice shook only slightly as he addressed the girl holding him. "Thank you, Hinata-sama."

/Flashback End/

"-all right? Neji!"

The boy blinked and found his cousin's face very close to his own, "yes, Hinata-sama?", he asked as if he had not been surprised by her proximity.

"I asked if you were alright," the girl said with a huff. "You were just staring into the distance. Did my father do anything to you?"

Neji could not suppress a small smile at the girl's concern, "No, he simply wanted my report. He also reminded me that I needed to train hard during this month so as not to be a disappointment during the tournament."

"Of course he did," Hinata half growled. "You should start training now, just in case he sends someone to check on you."

Neji nodded and his cousin went back to her own training. He could understand his uncle's exhaustion, keeping the charade was quite draining. At least in the mental sense. He could only hope that it would all be worth it in the end, just as Hiashi kept claiming it would.

X

In the room provided to them by Konoha for the duration of their stay, the Suna genin and their Jounin sat in silence. Baki leaned against the wall, the visible half of his face turned down in a slight frown as he stared at nothing. Temari sat on the edge of a bed, slowly moving her hand in circles as she polished her metal fan. Kankuro was cross legged on the floor and had parts of his puppets laid out in front of him, the head of Karasu in his left hand while he distractedly attempted to make repairs. Gaara was leaned back inside the window frame, one leg on the windowsill and the other on the floor to keep him in place, as he silently looked out into the village they were in.

"We have to call it off," Temari suddenly declared, throwing her polish rag on the bed beside her. "Father never would have agreed to this plan if he knew that Naruto and Jagaa were here."

Kankuro looked up and nodded, "I agree with Nee-san. I don't think anyone in Suna would have even considered attacking the village if we knew those two were living in it."

Baki sighed and moved his single eye between the two with a calm seriousness behind it. "I am well aware of that. I sent a message to the Kazekage as soon as I was made aware of their presence. We should hear back soon." The Jounin glanced at the red haired boy sitting in the window frame, "what are your thoughts, Gaara."

Gaara made no initial response as his mind drifted back to when he first met the brothers.

/Flashback/

Gaara watched the children back away from him, their eyes alight with fear. He didn't understand why. All he wanted to do was help. Maybe even make a friend. He had focused so hard to control the sand and get their ball back for them, but they were acting like he was trying to hurt them. It wasn't fair. Why did everyone hate him when he never did anything to him?

The eight year old boy closed his eyes as he felt a deep anger building up inside him, telling him to make them pay. To give them the monster they wanted. He had fought this feeling for so long, but now he would listen. He would make them suffer like he had suffered. He slowly opened his eyes and looked up, only to find a pair of bright blue eyes right in front of him. Gaara gasped in surprise and fell backwards, the sand catching him before he could potentially injure himself on the ground and putting him safely on his feet.

"That…was…so…COOL!" The boy yelled, making Gaara flinch a little at the volume. Taking a better look at the new arrival, Gaara could easily tell he wasn't from the village. There was no one with that color hair anywhere in the village and the three marks on his cheeks did not belong to any clan that Gaara knew of. He was also pretty sure that no Suna resident would be caught dead in that orange jumpsuit that the boy was wearing.

The new boy once again put his face close to Gaara's, "How do you do that with the sand? Can you make it do anything you want? Can you teach me how to do that? What's your name? My name is Uzumaki Naruto, the future Hok-OUCH!" Gaara blinked in surprise again when another new person, this one older, possibly a teenager, wearing all black and a pair of sunglasses appeared and smacked the other boy upside the head.

"Stop doing that," the new male said sternly. "I told you, that introduction is banned while we travel. Also, quit running off. I'm having a hard enough time trying to find Hitomi without having to hunt you down."

"Sorry, sensei," the boy, Naruto, grinned sheepishly while rubbing his head, "I was just really excited. This kid can control sand! He used it to get a ball down from a high spot and then it caught him when he fell over!"

"Okay, and your point?"

Gaara did a slight double take at the response. Until now, everyone seemed to be afraid of his ability. Now he had met a boy his own age that was amazed by it and a young man that seemed unimpressed.

The new boy gasped, "what? How could you not think that is amazing? He can control SAND!"

"Lots of people can do lots of different things," The young man said with a shrug.

"Oh yeah? What can you do that is so amazing that you aren't even a little impressed?" The boy threw an accusing finger at the man he had called his sensei, said person just sighing and rubbing his temple.

"...Okay, fine. It's very impressive that this kid has control of sand. Do you feel better now, brat?"

The boy smiled smugly, "yes, thank you."

"Excuse me," Gaara cut in hesitantly, "but who are you and who is it you are looking for?"

The teen's face turned directly to Gaara, "Oh yeah, my name is Jagaa and this is Naruto," the other boy grinned and put his hands behind his head, "I doubt you know her, but I'm looking for someone named Kiyomizu Hitomi. I heard she was last seen in this area."

"Kiyomizu-san? I do know her. She is visiting my father today. It is also the reason he sent me out for the day," Gaara dropped his head, "he was worried I might lose control of my sand and embarrass him in front of her."

"Your dad sounds like a dick," the teen stated and Gaara's eyes widened.

"You mustn't say things like that. He is the Kazekage."

Jagaa shrugged, "doesn't mean he's not a dick."

"Wait! You're the son of the Kazekage?" Naruto suddenly said excitedly. "You can control sand and your dad is the strongest in your village? That is so freaking cool!"

"So you said that you sometimes lose control?" Jagaa asked, ignoring the younger blond's outburst. Gaara simply nodded.

"But he got this ball from up there just fine." Naruto said as he picked the object off the ground. With a quick toss, the ball was back in the same area that Gaara had retrieved it from earlier. "Watch, he can get it super easy."

Gaara wanted to object but the confidence and excitement in the other boy's face made him quickly change his mind. It was so strange to have someone wanting to be around him and not fear his power, but it was nice. Focusing on the task, Gaara was able to once again retrieve the ball with relative ease and place it in the grinning blond's hands.

"See? Cool, right?" Naruto asked.

"...do you always have to concentrate that hard?"

Gaara blinked at the reply, only just registering the upset muttering from Naruto about being ignored. "I…what do you mean?"

The young man's voice was contemplative, "you control the sand through your intentions, right? I was just curious about how hard you seemed to be focusing on it. Is it always like that or are there times that it just feels natural? As if you were simply moving a part of your body?"

Gaara thought back through times he had used his sand, "I guess there are times it does what I want easily. Other times it is very hard and takes all my concentration to do something simple."

"Sensei, what are you trying to figure out?" The blond boy asked.

"What about how it feels?" the teen asked, ignoring the other boy's indignant 'hey' at being brushed off again. "Are you able to feel things your sand touches? Can you use it to find people or objects that you can't see or to scout out surrounding areas?"

Gaara was almost reeling from the questions, "I don't-I guess I can sort of feel things through my sand. I never really tried to though."

"HEY!" Naruto shouted very loudly, likely to make sure he wouldn't be ignored, "I've got an idea. What if we played hide and seek?" The blond grinned at the confused frowns. "I'll go hide and then-uh," Naruto looked at Gaara, "what was your name, again?"

"My name is Gaara," he replied.

"Gaara? Okay, so I'll go hide on the playground and Gaara can try to find me using his sand. We can train and play at the same time. We'd be play-ning!" The boy seemed so proud of his idea that Gaara couldn't bring himself to mention how strange the naming was.

"First, that's a stupid name for it," okay, so Jagaa did not have the same reservations that Gaara did, "second, despite the name, it's not a bad idea if he wants to try."

"Pleeeaaase," the blond whined, putting his hands in front of Gaara as if he were praying, "it could be so much fun. And, and, you'd get practice with your sand and I'd get practice with my stealth. Please, let's do some play-ning together!"

"Still a stupid name."

Gaara looked between the pair in wonder. A child his own age wanted to play with him, even if it was also a form of training, and an adult (or close to one) was not bothered by his presence or trying to drive him off. Besides his uncle, Gaara could not remember another person that had ever seemed comfortable, or even tolerant, with being near him.

"Okay, I'm going to hide. Gaara, close your eyes and count to ten then try to find me with your sand. GO!" The blond shot off as Gaara closed his eyes, slowly counting. Once he finished he started to open his eyes again only to have a hand touch his shoulder.

"Keep them closed," he heard Jagaa's voice say, "focus on what you can feel, not what you can see." Gaara tried but the sand remained imobile, "don't think about the sand. Think about yourself, your chakra. Let it flow into the air around you and link to your sand naturally." Gaara slowly exhaled as he did as instructed, letting his chakra seep out with his breath. He could feel something different but wasn't quite sure how to describe it. "Good. Now, don't think about the sand. Think about your arm. Your hand. Reach out in front of you and grasp the air around you. Just let yourself feel the way your fingers curl and stretch. The way your wrist rotates and flexes-"

"HOLY CRAP! The sand looks like a giant hand now!"

Gaara's eyes snapped open and, for just a moment before it crumbled, saw the large appendage of sand in the unmistakable form of a hand and even rotated the same way his actual hand had been.

The older boy let out a frustrated sigh, "yes, Brat, that was the idea. Now shut up and hide."

"Yosu!"

Jagaa shook his head and focused back on Gaara, "you were doing great before the idiot felt the need to interrupt. Try to remember that feeling when you try again."

Gaara nodded and closed his eyes, listening to the scarred young man's calm instruction. He was spending time with a child his age, a friend. He was being given instruction from someone who showed not the slightest trace of fear of him. And, for the first time, he had been manipulating his sand so easily he had not even realized it was happening. Without even being in danger to make it active.

Gaara was happy, and it was a feeling he never realized he had been missing until now.

/Flashback End/

"...I will not attack Naruto's home." Gaara's voice was soft, but there was no room for interpretation.

"I'm with Gaara," Kankuro said, as he picked up another piece of his puppet, "the kid may annoy me but I would never actually want to hurt him and I'm sure as hell not stupid enough to fight Jagaa."

Temari stood up and leaned on her freshly polished fan, "even if we didn't have a personal relationship with them Jagaa and Naruto are the reason we have our little brother again. At the very least we owe them for that." Temari cast a fond smile at her youngest brother who gave her the smallest smile in return as his eyes softened in affection for his older sister.

Baki simply nodded. He knew, as did everyone in the village, that the arrival of the boy and his mentor had been the catalyst in Gaara's learning to control his powers. The fear that had surrounded the boy had slowly changed. First, into carefully tolerated acceptance, then into calm grudging respect, and finally into full pride and admiration. The boy's strength had been slowly growing Suna's renown amongst clients for his ability to come through even B-ranked missions successfully and without a scratch. Baki also suspected that it was Gaara's strength that had led Oto to seek out an alliance in the first place.

He looked past Gaara to the sky beyond the window for any sign of a returning messenger bird, "If we have not received any response or new orders within a week then I will go to Suna and speak to our Kazekage personally."

The siblings all nodded their agreement and Gaara returned to staring out the window, his thoughts drifting through the possibilities of the coming month and what could happen. He truly hoped that everything could be resolved without a fight, not just for the sake of his friendship, but for the wellbeing of both villages.

X

"You need to focus on the element not just the chakra." Kakashi sighed and closed his book. "Especially when you start your approach. Electricity is always looking for a path to travel to the ground. If you don't keep tight control of the element itself it will slip into whatever object is nearby to give it that path and you'll lose power in the attack."

Sasuke cursed as he massaged the hand he had just slammed full force into a thick log. The lightning was supposed to tear through the object and protect his hand from damage but he kept losing it at the last second. He was doing damage, that was true, but it was not even close to what he had witnessed Kakashi-sensei do. Even more frustrating was that it had been nearly a week since he started learning the technique and he felt like he was making almost no progress. Glaring at the minor damage to the log he turned and sat down with his back against it tilting his head back and staring up at the sky. "I don't understand why I am having so much trouble with this. The concept is simple enough but I can't seem to keep the lightning where I want it. I can't understand why I'm not good enough to be trained by…why I'm not good enough to do the technique."

The Jounin felt a flash of understanding and sat a little to Sasuke's side, also leaning back against the log. "I thought you seemed distracted. Is it because you feel like you are being neglected?"

"Neglected? More like disregarded," the boy muttered bitterly. "I know I haven't been the greatest student but I thought I was doing better. Maybe even enough that he was starting to like being my teacher. But he dumped me off on someone else. Probably so he could train his brother instead."

Kakashi mused on his options for a moment. Sure he was told not to reveal anything, but he didn't recall actually promising not to tell Sasuke. "He didn't abandon you or dump you off on me, you know. He asked me to train you because he thought I would be your best chance for getting stronger during this month." The boy's clearly disbelieving stare made the silver haired man chuckle. "Yes, I understand the doubt, but it is true nonetheless."

"He told me to come talk to you about training because he'd 'rather go drinking' and 'knew your lazy ass was free'," Sasuke deadpanned and Kakashi nearly choked on his own saliva from laughing, earning another accusing stare from the Uchiha.

"I'm sorry. It's just that it sounds exactly like something he would say, normally." His visible eye twinkled in amusement as he looked at the now confused boy, "would you like to know what he actually said when we talked?"

/Flashback/

Kakashi sighed as he walked through the village. He was a little disappointed. Two of his genin had made it to the finals but he was not going to be able to train either one of them. Hinata had her clan, who were certainly not going to let an outsider join in on their training, and Naruto had disappeared with Jagaa. The latter that Kakashi assumed was going to train his younger brother. He sighed again. Well, even if he wasn't going to be able to train them, he could at least be proud that two of his students made it through. Maybe he could just use the next month to binge read all his favorite books.

"Oy, there you are, Cyclops," a very familiar voice called to him, "I've been looking for you."

Kakashi turned to the younger man and immediately noticed that Naruto was not with him. "Uuuh, Jagaa-kun, did you happen to lose my student somewhere? I thought you were planning to train him."

Jagaa scratched the side of his neck, "yeah, that was part of the plan, but we ran into someone else who offered to train him. Since I think it will actually be better for Naruto and his growth, I agreed to it."

Kakashi raised his eyebrow. "Oh? Who?"

"Some old guy named Jiraiya," was the nonchalant reply.

If his mouth could be seen, Kakashi would have treated onlookers to the sight of his mouth falling open in shock. "Jiraiya…as in, Jiraiya of the Sannin?"

"Yeah, him, but that's not important," Kakashi almost smacked his face at the younger man treating a meeting with such a legendary ninja, one who offered to train his younger brother no less, as a trivial event, "the reason I'm here is because I want you to train Sasuke for me."

Kakashi shook his head to refocus and stared at the other man, "excuse me?"

"I, want, you, to, train, Sasuke." Jagaa said as if talking to a toddler and Kakashi couldn't help but feel a little offended.

"And why don't you train Sasuke?" Kakashi asked with a bit of irritation in his voice, "he is your genin after all."

Jagaa sighed pensively and raked his fingers through his hair. "I was going to. My original plan was to take them both but keep them apart from each other, but still close enough for me to help either if needed. I may have also been planning to use their rivalry to push them. You know, casually praise one when I was with the other. Just to give them that competitive drive. Anyway, after I left Naruto with the toad guy I started looking for Sasuke but, before I found him, I realized something. If I want him to get the most out of this month he'll need to train with someone who can teach him things that I can't. Someone who is compatible."

"Compatible?" Kakashi tilted his head in question.

"Your lightning affinity."

Kakashi was sure his surprise was showing on his face. "How do you know my elemental affinity? It is not something I have made common knowledge."

"I have my ways," Jagaa said cryptically, "the important thing is that Sasuke also has a strong lightning affinity as well as fire. Then there's the whole thing with the sharingan and techniques that can only be done by someone else that has it. Long story short, I think training under you for a month could be really good for him." Jagaa paused and tilted his head in warning, "just a month though. The emo is still one of my genin and you aren't allowed to keep him."

Kakashi chuckled at the declaration, choosing not to mention how not that long ago Jagaa would have done everything he could to give his team away. "Okay, I agree to your terms. There is one question I have though," Jagaa nodded for him to continue, "Sasuke is going to be fighting Naruto in the first round. Are you not worried about Sasuke beating him?"

"Why would I be worried about that?" Jagaa asked with a raise of his eyebrow. "It will be a great opportunity for them to test their abilities against each other and, win or lose, they will both come away stronger from it."

Once again, Kakashi was taken by surprise at the response but did his best not to show it. "Okay, I understand. So, should I go find Sasuke or will you tell him?"

"No, you just act like you didn't know he was coming and keep your mouth shut about this. I'll say I have other stuff to do. Later." Kakashi didn't even have time to respond before the other man vanished in a swirl of leaves.

/Flashback End/

Sasuke was stunned at what he had just been told, "he really said all that?" Getting a nod in confirmation Sasuke wasn't sure what had him feeling more surprised: that his male sensei was genuinely trying to give him the best chance at victory against Naruto, or that he had declared Sasuke as his genin that no one else was allowed to take. All he knew was that he felt happy that his sensei was looking out for him. Even if his methods left much to be desired.

Sasuke stood up and dusted off his shorts before looking back down to Kakashi, "you might want to move, Kakashi-sensei. I am going to destroy this log soon."

Kakashi smiled and complied with the request. He had a feeling the boy was going to start progressing very quickly from this point on.

X

Kurenai watched her two female students with quiet pride as she observed them working on their newest goals for improvement. For Ino, it was driven by the frustration of her loss because of her clan's techniques being, by her words "completely fucking useless in combat", which had Kurenai laughing to herself despite the vulgarity of the language because of who the girl sounded like.

Red eyes drifted over to Sakura, the girl deep in meditation as she focused on sharpening images in her mind. Kurenai was surprised when Hyuuga Hinata came to her and said she should test Sakura's aptitude for genjutsu. A few months ago, the Jounin woman would have thought it was an attempt at a prank but, after the wave mission and the growing closeness of teams seven and eight, she felt confident that the suggestion was for Sakura's benefit.

It was a small test, almost nonsensical in its application. Kurenai told Sakura to meet her on a training field at noon. Before the girl arrived, the Jounin poured some water into a dirt area and made a mud puddle on the path. She then cast a simple genjutsu that would disguise the puddle to look just like the rest of the dirt path and stepped into the trees to wait for her student. Sakura, ever punctual, was walking up the path five minutes before noon. A few meters from the puddle the girl came to a sudden stop. Kurenai watched with growing anticipation as Sakura scrutinized the area ahead of her. After a minute or so Sakura moved off the path and gave the puddle a wide berth as she passed it, her eyes never losing track of the spot.

/Flashback/

"Wonderful!" Kurenai said in joy and making the girl jump in surprise, a kunai appearing in her hand instantly. The Jounin filed that away to compliment her, and Jagaa by extension, for the quick defensive reaction. At the moment she couldn't help the excitement she was feeling at the prospect of having a student to pass down her genjutsu knowledge to. Seeing the girl eyeing her warily, Kurenai took a breath and gave the girl a reassuring smile.

"That was wonderful, Sakura, even some Jounin would not have noticed such a simple and subtle genjutsu. But you not only sensed it, you were able to identify the exact place it was located." The girl blushed a little at the praise as she put her kunai away, "tell me, how did you know it was there?"

The pink haired girl scratched her left arm nervously with the right arm that was now across her torso, "I wouldn't say I knew it was there. I just felt like something wasn't right in that spot and decided to avoid it, just in case."

"Exactly," Kurenai replied, putting a hand on each of Sakura's shoulders, "you knew something was off and you could also sense the source of the disturbance. It also means that it is a natural gift you possess because Jagaa and I have focused on your basic skills and physical abilities since you were behind most genin in your year." Kurenai felt a sting of guilt for adding the last part when she saw the girl wince and drop her eyes a little. Before she could apologize, her student looked back to her with a calm resolve that caught the Jounin off guard.

"I know, Sensei, I hadn't been taking being a kunoichi seriously enough until recently. I'm going to change that though." Kurenai was quite proud of the girl's realization and she knew her eyes must have shown it because the girl suddenly averted her own eyes in embarrassment and smiled sheepishly, "I'm sorry for interrupting, Sensei. What were you saying about genjutsu?"

Kurenai blinked and mentally pulled herself back to the topic, "right, as I was saying, we have not started working with any of you on detecting or dispelling genjutsu yet, so being able to sense one, especially one so small, means you have a natural aptitude. I am quite certain your memory and attention to detail plays a key role in that." Kurenai gripped her chin in thought. From what she recalled in the girl's profile, Sakura had perfect marks in every written assignment and exam she had done. If it had not been for her subpar practical skills she could have been top of her class. Kurenai refocused her attention on the girl standing anxiously in front of her, "Sakura, if you are interested, I would like to start putting more focus on your genjutsu skills," she saw Sakura's eyes light up, a good sign, but still held up her hand in caution, "but you should know, this means your training regimen will get much more difficult. As I said, you are still behind most of your peers in physical combat abilities. You will not be given leniency in either aspect of training. Both your mind and body will be pushed to the limits, and then pushed beyond them. Are you still willing to commit to this course?"

Kurenai expected to see some hesitancy, even a single moment of doubt from the girl. Instead she was instantly greeted with eyes filled with fire and a look of steeled resolve.

"I told Jagaa-sensei that I was going to become a powerful Kunoichi, to always strive to be stronger, and I will. I will not stop moving forward. Please teach me genjutsu, Kurenai-sense!"

Kurenai would never be able to describe just how much pride she felt in that moment.

/Flashback End/

After that, Kurenai had asked if Sakura would be willing to share what she and Jagaa had talked about, which the girl happily did. She told the woman about how she had found Jagaa in the forest and the talk they shared beneath the large tree. She proudly spoke about how he had helped her discover her own goals and motivations. Finally, with a soft, happy smile she told her how Jagaa's words and encouragement in the infirmary made her realize that she may have lost the fight to Tenten but she won a battle that was far more important. She won the battle against her doubts, her fears, and she would never let them hold her back again. The determination shining in the girl's green eyes, tinted with a deep respect for the man she spoke of, had filled Kurenai with a strange, almost maternal happiness.

Kurenai shook her head, a thoughtful frown on her lips. It wasn't just Sakura, there was also the approach he had taken with Sasuke. When Kurenai found out Kakashi was going to be training Sasuke, she was livid that her partner was pushing his responsibilities onto someone else. Kakashi had quickly pulled her aside and hurriedly whispered the truth to her. Kakashi had left the woman speechless with her anger going cold and her mind reeling.

She wished that she could argue that the scarred man was lying, just wanting to be lazy, but she knew that wasn't true. As easy as it would be to deny it, she had learned that the man truly cared about their team and was always trying to help them even if his approaches were easily misinterpreted. Something that she was coming to believe was very likely done intentionally.

Kurenai loathed to admit it but, other than the few shared moments that he dropped his guard, she still knew practically nothing about the man. Every time she was sure she had him figured out he would show a completely new side that would put everything into question. How much of his personality was a charade to keep people out? How much was his genuine self? Was everything about him a facade or was everything exactly who he is with not a single ounce of dishonesty? She had started to realize that she may never fully understand the man she was partnered with and that bothered her for deeper reasons than she wanted to acknowledge.

Sakura opened her eyes and stood up, forming a seal as she did so. "Okay, Sensei, I'm ready to try." Kurenai nodded and called Ino over so they could both have the technique cast on them. Once the blonde was in position next to Kurenai, Sakura focused and activated the genjutsu.

The pair looked at a nearby tree and watched as several leaves began to fall from its branches. At first, it looked perfectly normal, but soon they were able to make out oddities. A few of the leaves were a shade or two darker than the rest of them. Others were twisting in the air as if falling but were not actually going toward the ground. In opposition, there were a few that raced down at a much faster rate than would be considered normal. Kurenai turned to Ino and nodded. Taking a deep breath, the blonde brought her hand up and focused her chakra. "KAI!" As Ino's chakra burst out, disrupting the technique, the odd leaves vanished and left only the normal ones behind.

Sakura dropped to the ground and leaned back on her hands, her breath a little heavy and a small bit of sweat on her brow. "Damnit, why am I having so much trouble with this? I'm just trying to make leaves look like they are falling. So much for having a natural gift for genjutsu."

"Stop your whining, Forehead," Ino chastised with no hostility, "you are definitely getting better. Or have you forgotten about the bright blue and pink leaves?" Sakura laughed sheepishly in response while nodding her acknowledgment of the other girl's point.

Kurenai chuckled softly at the pair, happy at how much their relationship had changed from that first introduction. "Ino is right, Sakura, you are improving. You have to remember that I designed the genjutsu for the sole purpose of training my attention to detail. The reason genjutsu is not widely used is because many ninja are not able to maintain the images in their mind to sustain them. A single stray thought such as: are the leaves the right color, or, are they falling too fast? Too slow? All of these can throw off the technique. Confidence in your details is a very large part of a successful genjutsu."

Sakura had tilted her head in contemplation as Kurenai continued, "It's the reason the Uchiha clan was so accomplished in the field. When activated, the sharingan observes and reports absolutely everything it sees to their mind down to the most miniscule detail. The tiniest flaw in the image would be noticed and unconsciously dispel the technique. Conversely, they never missed creating those minute details which made the genjutsu they cast so hard to detect or dispel. This is also the reason that Kakashi cannot use the sharingan he possesses for very long. Because he was not born an Uchiha, his brain did not receive the genetic conditioning required to take in and process the excessive load of information it receives. That is why he is both physically and mentally exhausted for days after he uses it."

Sakura frowned at that, "so would that mean that no matter how hard I train, Sasuke will always be better than me at genjutsu?"

"Not necessarily," Kurenai replied with a shake of her head, "as much as detail is important, imagination is also a major component of genjuts. Many genjutsu are not actually subtle or meant to be hidden. Sometimes the best genjutsu is one that the target is very much aware of, like being engulfed in total darkness or having the entire world shifting and rolling around them. While Uchiha are incredibly skilled at realistic genjutsu, they are not as proficient at altering a target's perception of the world to be completely different from reality."

Ino tilted her head in thought, "but wouldn't it be easy to break the illusion if you knew what was happening? I mean, I would just immediately dispel it if I knew I was under a genjutsu."

Kurenai smiled fondly at the question, remembering a time she had voiced a similar one to her own teacher. "I can see why you would think that but it is not as easy as you are implying. First, a large-scale genjutsu is going to require a very large chakra pulse to disrupt. So a lack of sufficient chakra could be a handicap. Also, it can be difficult to focus on dispelling the technique if you are feeling nauseous from the world moving around you or you instinctively jump away from a fissure forming in front of you. You may know, logically, that nothing that is happening is real but it can be hard to fight your natural reflexes. That is not even including the fact that many genjutsu users practice putting real dangers alongside the illusionary ones so you can never be truly sure if it's safe to ignore whatever you are seeing. In short, it can be very difficult to focus long enough to dispel a genjutsu. Even if you know what is going on."

Ino did not look fully convinced by the explanation, "it still seems like it would be easier to break free of but I'll take your word on it, Kurenai-sensei." The Jounin woman shook her head at the lack of understanding but she wasn't offended. She had a very similar reaction when she had been instructed.

"Sensei," Sakura pulled her out of her thoughts, "can I try to cast another genjutsu so Ino can practice dispelling them."

There was something about the way Sakura asked that raised Kurenai's suspicions but Ino quickly agreed to the idea before the woman could voice them so she simply nodded her permission. The girl smiled at her before closing her eyes in concentration, Kurenai would have to work with her on breaking that habit, and went through the seals for the falling leaves but with a few changes that had Kurenai eyeing the girl curiously.

When the area was suddenly covered with a grayish hew Kurenai glanced up to see if a cloud had passed in front of the sun. The clear skies, despite the change, quickly made her aware that this was part of Sakura's genjutsu and she pursed her lips in anticipation for what the girl was aiming for.

"Hey, what gives?" Ino, who had been intently watching the tree for new leaves, demanded as she too noticed the lack of clouds causing the change. "Is this you, Forehead? You trying for something bigger than leaves? Well, I can still break it." The blonde raised her hand and began to focus but faltered when a low rumbling started emanating from the ground around them, slowly getting louder until abruptly stopping. Ino was starting to look a little nervous as she glanced at the other girl, "Sakura? What are you-" the scream that followed had Kurenai wincing as she watched rotting hands burst from the ground and decayed human bodies start rising from the dirt. The detail in the way the putrid, diseased flesh was falling away from the muscle and bones was quite graphic and more than a little disturbing if she were being honest.

"NO! STAY AWAY!" Kurenai watched in mild amusement as her blonde student slashed at the animated corpses, her kunai passing through the images harmlessly. Rather than being reminded that it was simply a genjutsu to be dispelled, the lack of resistance only seemed to make the girl panic more. When Ino started throwing shuriken wildly, Kurenai knew it was time to end things. Raising her hand, she let her chakra explode outwards and the creatures instantly disappeared. Ino let out an audible sound of relief and fell backwards into a tree, sliding down its trunk until she was sitting on the ground where she put her head between her knees and took long, deep breaths.

Kurenai watched for a moment to make sure the blonde girl was not going to pass out or hyperventilate before turning back to Sakura, "that was interesting. What made you think of creating a zombie attack, if you don't mind my asking?"

Sakura smiled, "years ago, Ino and I started watching a zombie movie accidentally, because it was in the wrong case, and it terrified us. Especially Ino. When she was talking about how easy it would be to break a genjutsu you knew was there, I remembered her reaction to the movie and wanted to see what would happen if I recreated it as a genjutsu."

Kurenai was quite impressed. While the application was simple, as she was just recreating a memory rather than trying to create it all from nothing, to so easily adapt the falling leaf training into a horror movie reproduction was not something most genin would have been able to do. Especially when just starting out. The girl also didn't seem to realize just how well she had done in creating the illusion. Kurenai strongly suspected that Sakura had not been thinking too hard about the process, seeing as she was doing it for fun, which had helped her to unconsciously stabilize the technique as a whole. It raised some interesting possibilities on how to help the girl improve both her technique and her confidence in the field.

"I knew you did it on purpose!" Ino snarled. "I was going to try and give you the benefit of the doubt that you forgot how scared I am of zombies, but noooo. You were just being a bitch!"

Sakura eyed the other girl, an amused smirk resting underneath teasing green eyes. "What's wrong, Ino-pig? You knew it was a genjutsu so it should have been easy to break out of it. That's what you said, wasn't it?"

Ino's eyes narrowed and Kurenai could almost see the overlay of her partner Jounin before the words even left the girl's mouth.

"I hate you!"

Kurenai couldn't hold in her laughter.

X

'We're running out of time.' Jiraiya thought as he watched dozens of identical blonds attacking a lone one in the middle of the lake.

Almost three weeks into his training, Naruto had still not been able to tap into the power of the kyuubi. Jiraiya had known that it might be difficult if the boy still had access to his own chakra, which is why he had to drain it before they could even begin, but the toad sannin had not expected how that simple task would become a challenge in itself.

It only took a single summon for Jiraiya to realize he was dealing with a boy that had far above average chakra reserves. He had shown the boy the technique and watched in amusement at the excited blond's immediate attempt. Jiraiya had felt the small hiccup of chakra, the boy having not concentrated correctly in his eagerness, which would severely reduce the effectiveness of the summon and suppressed the smile of what he knew was coming. Maybe seeing a tadpole, if he was lucky, would get the boy to slow down and concentrate more.

That's why he almost fell over in shock when a toad just a little larger than a horse appeared.

Naruto had been proud of his first attempt, even if he was disappointed that his summon wasn't as big as 'ero sennin'. The old man, after recovering from his shock, had told the boy about the slip up and immediately set the boy to sparring with clones. Jiraiya had used the excuse that, by trying to do the technique when he was exhausted, he would learn to keep focus and improve his overall summoning ability. In reality, Jiraiya was worried the boy might summon a fully grown toad and flatten half the town if he did the summoning correctly with his full chakra capacity available.

That was not even accounting for the need of the boy to get in touch with and learn to consciously harness the kyuubi's chakra.

It had worked well enough to begin with. The summons after that were much smaller and it did, in fact, help the boy with correctly focusing on the technique. A week or so after, Jiraiya came to the realization that it was taking the blond longer to drain his reserves every day. He had not been surprised that the boy recovered from chakra exhaustion in a single night considering the kyuubi's presence, but he had not considered the impact the sparring would have on the boy's taijutsu.

It was clear that Naruto was not consciously aware of the secret ability of the kagebunshin technique, but he was still benefiting from it. Through his constant spars with his clones, Naruto was learning how to fight himself. When Naruto destroyed a clone, the clone's understanding of what happened would be put into the original's head. Naruto would then start protecting himself from similar mistakes. When a clone was able to land a solid blow or block Naruto's attack, its experience would be transferred upon its eventual defeat and Naruto would know how he had gotten through and be able to defend against it in the future. Everyday, Naruto would walk away with a complete knowledge of both victory and defeat from all sides. The next day, the new clones would have that knowledge as well and change tactics accordingly. The openings in his stance began to fade away and flaws in technique were slowly fixed with every bout. The boy had never been lacking in his fighting skill but soon, what started out as practically a brawl that the boy was just doing for fun and would barely last an hour was turning into a much more strategic and refined match that would last half the day.

Naruto had yet to notice the difference and still considered it a fun brawl. He had also shown no signs of tapping into the latent power source within him.

"Oy, ero sennin," Naruto came trudging out of the water, breathing heavily and looking ready to collapse, "I'm ready for today's training."

Putting his thoughts aside, Jiraiya stared at the exhausted boy. He didn't want to do it, and he knew the boy's brother would be coming after him if it failed, but there was no other choice. Naruto needed to know how to use the chakra of the kyuubi and they no longer had time for safety. "Are you absolutely sure you have expended all your own chakra?"

Naruto responded with a flat look, "I've been doing this for almost a month. I know how it feels when I'm drained. Can we start training now?"

Jiraiya nodded, "yes, but we are going to try something a bit different today." He walked over and put his hand on the boy's shoulder, turning him so that his back was no longer facing the lake. "Are you ready?"

The boy smiled eagerly. "Do you really have to ask? I'm always ready to train."

Naruto's trusting grin almost made Jiraiya abandon the idea, but he steeled himself and his resolve. "Okay, let's begin, and Naruto," the man put his finger to the boy's hitai-ate, "I really hope you don't die."

"Wha-" The force that he felt left him partially stunned as he flew backwards through the trees and bushes at incredible speed. He felt a momentary relief when he stopped feeling leaves and branches smacking into his back but it disappeared as soon as he realized the reason was because he was now in the middle of a huge chasm. Eyes widened in horror as he realized just how deep it was and started falling into an inky blackness that would most certainly be his death. "Oh fu-"

"-ck!" Naruto shot up, panting and looking around in panic. "What the…where am I?"

Dim lights barely made the stone walls and leaking pipes visible as Naruto looked around in confusion. He stepped forward as he turned and the splash alerted him to the fact he was standing in a shallow layer of water. It didn't make sense how he could have gotten to this strange place but, for some reason, he didn't question that he was here. He turned his head to look down the dark hallway, a strange pulling sensation urging him to walk into it, and he listened. With a confidence that he could not understand, Naruto started to follow the feeling. It did not take long, or perhaps it took hours, time did not feel correct to him, and Naruto entered a huge room. While the expanse of the room was impressive it was the large barred doors at the back that caught the boy's attention. He knew that the pull he was feeling was coming from there.

As he contemplated whether he should get closer or not a shifting in the air behind the bars caught his attention. In an almost dreaded fascination Naruto saw two, enormous red eyes materialize behind the bars, hovering over a massive mouth filled with teeth longer and sharper than the sword Zabuza carried. The mouth was fixed into a grin that might have been considered welcoming if Naruto couldn't feel the malice radiating from the prison cell.

"Kyuubi," he whispered as he stared into the blood red irises.

"Indeed, boy. I'm glad you know who I am, seeing as you are my jailor." The laugh that followed the statement made Naruto shudder. "Why don't you come closer, boy?"

"Because I'm not that stupid," Naruto deadpanned, feeling some satisfaction when the fox's eyes widened slightly in surprise. "If I were in your position, I'd want to kill whoever was keeping me caged. So, yeah, I'm gonna keep my distance thank you very much."

The Kyuubi roared out a laugh that shook the walls, "Indeed, I would like nothing more than to rip you to shreds. But, fortunately for you, boy, my life is dependent upon yours. If you die, by my hand or another's, I die as well. So you are safe from me…for now."

"Uh…good to know?" Naruto scratched his head at the admission and looked around again. "Speaking of dying, wasn't I falling to my death a minute ago?"

"You still are."

"Kyuubi say what now?"

"Your physical body is still falling. We are inside the recesses of your mind. The subconscious part of your thoughts that connects to my power. The time spent within your mind is immensely longer than the time that passes outside."

Naruto's brow furrowed, "right. I think I remember reading something about mindscape connections when I was researching…" He looked back up to the glowing red eyes. "You act like you know everything. How much time do we have?"

"In this place? You have what would seem like hours. In the real world?" The giant fox's smile was sinister in its amusement. "Very much less."

Naruto narrowed his eyes, "Okay," he sat down in the shallow water and propped his arms on his knees, "then let's talk." The boy smirked smugly when the giant eyes widened once more before becoming menacing again.

"What stupidity is this? You wish to spend your final moments speaking with a demon? You are a fool."

"Nii-san would probably agree with you," Naruto replied with a grin. "But you already said we have hours in 'brain time' so we have plenty of time to talk. Unless the great Kyuubi no Yoko is not as smart as he thinks he is."

The enormous creature snarled in anger at the comment and Naruto thought he might have gone too far. Fortunately, the kyuubi gave a grunt of resigned disgust and sat back on its haunches. It was the action that made Naruto realize he was able to make out more of the demon's form. The eyes and teeth were still the most prevalent, but Naruto could now make out the outline of its body. He could even make out the beast's tails, lashing back and forth in irritation.

"Fine, what answers do you seek, boy?"

Clear blue eyes locked firmly onto the blood red irises behind the cage, "why did you attack Konoha?"

"That is your question?" the kyuubi scoffed incredulously, "I am destruction. I am death. I leave devastation wherever I go. A single sweep of my tails can destroy mountains and create tsunami. Destroying an insignificant village on a whim is nothing to me."

"You didn't answer my question," Naruto's eyes narrowed at the evasive response. There was something familiar about it, but he pushed it aside. "I want to know why you attacked my village."

"I believe you will find I've attacked and destroyed many villages, boy." The fox's fanged grin returned in full force, "what is one more dead village to me?"

"Because you weren't attacked first, this time." Naruto knew his words had an effect when the grin vanished and the fox simply blinked impassively. "After he told me about you, I started going out when Nii-san was sleeping and sneaking into the archives. I started looking for everything that there was about you so I could find a way to get rid of you." The fox made a strangely understanding hum, "but while I was looking, I noticed something really weird."

Naruto stood back up as he continued to lock eyes with the demon, "you never attacked first. Everything I found mentioned someone trying to take you out. Subjugation forces that wanted to 'end the threat of the demon for the good of the world' and other crap. Every village you destroyed was the village of whoever came after you and no other villages were ever damaged during your attacks. The only thing I found about you destroying something before that was a legend about your rage decimating a mountain range and drying up rivers. But even then, there was nothing about you attacking anybody first…until Konoha."

Naruto was beginning to see the fox in more detail as it sat staring back silently. He was just able to make out the orange-red of the hair that was bristled uncomfortably. He could see the giant paws flexing rhythmically, digging claws into the ground and raising back up with each tense movement. More than anything, Naruto felt as if its appearance was becoming less intimidating. The fox was still massive, its claws and fangs still terrifyingly deadly, and its eyes still burning with murderous fury, but now Naruto was seeing it less as a creature of nightmares and more as the incredibly large, nine-tailed fox that it was.

The kyuubi let out a long breath that nearly knocked Naruto back to the ground and closed its eyes. "I know not what to make of you, boy. By rights, you should be raging at me for destroying your life. Instead, you seek to understand my reasons. You remind me of someone long departed from this world." The beast shook its massive head and opened its eyes again, fixing the boy with a firm glare. "I will not reveal the reason for my attack for it is of no consequence to you as of present. I shall, instead, allow you to touch upon my power to save our life."

A deep red chakra began to flow out from behind the bars and wrap itself around Naruto. He could feel the energy begin to burn inside his body and grunted in discomfort as he looked back at the fox who was once again grinning malevolently.

"I will help you, when needed, but I still seek freedom from this prison. I will not waste an opportunity if presented. Should rage and despair consume you, I will claim your soul and my freedom. Remember this, boy." The kyuubi's laugh was chilling as the chakra engulfed Naruto's head.

A blink later, Naruto was once again falling into the dark chasm.

"Stupid fucking fox," Naruto growled, but feeling the massive chakra swirling inside him, he quickly bit his thumb, "but thanks for the chakra." His hands flashed through the signs that had become so familiar now, "KUCHIOSE NO JUTSU!"

Naruto wasn't quite prepared for the massive explosion of smoke that actually managed to slow his fall or the abrupt slam into a rough mass but the relief of no longer falling to his death made up for the mild pain of the landing.

"Where the hell am I?"

Oh, yeah, he had summoned a toad to save himself.

Pushing off the rough, bumpy surface, Naruto realized he was on top of a red toad that was wearing a blue robe and was larger than he could have imagined. Its legs were spread out to each side of the canyon and were holding them in place. A large pipe stuck out of its mouth and moved as it yelled out in a massive voice. "Jiraiya, where are you? Why did you summon me to this pit?"

"Uh, excuse me," Naruto called with a bit of hesitation, "Ero Sennin didn't summon you. I did."

Large, yellow amphibian eyes rotated around to see the boy on top of his head and let out a large mocking laugh. "You? A little boy like you summoned me? That is hilarious!"

"Why do you think that's so funny?" Naruto growled in irritation.

"As if a boy like you could ever have enough chakra to summon me," the toad mocked. "You would need another twenty years of training, at least."

"Since when does age automatically determine chakra, you dumb ass!" Naruto had not even realized that his chakra reserves had been replenished by the kyuubi's power when he unconsciously enhanced his fist and slammed it into the toads head earning a grunt of discomfort. "And do you think someone who can borrow chakra from the Kyuubi wouldn't be able to summon you either?"

The toad's eyes narrowed in thought. He had been surprised by the power behind the punch since it had actually stung a little, like a small bug bite, but it was the last part that caught his attention. He took a slow breath and let himself sense the boy's chakra and nearly gasped when he felt the power that resided in the boy. Both the kyuubi's and the boy's own. "Young ninja, what is your name?"

Naruto blinked at the sudden shift in the toad's attitude, "my name is Uzumaki Naruto."

"Uzumaki…I see," the toad released a long exhale of air, "I am Gamabunta. The leader of the toads. I will accept that you were the one who summoned me and will agree to answer your call in the future, if you have need of me."

Now Naruto was completely baffled by the toad, but he decided it was better to just accept the win. "Oh, uh, thank you, Gamabunta." Naruto looked around at the walls of the chasm they were still suspended in. "So, speaking of needing help, any chance you can get us out of here?"

The toad smirked, "Easily. I suggest you hold on tight, Naruto." The toads legs flexed against the walls and they shot upwards out of the chasm. The speed of the jump had Naruto flattened against the massive head until the apex of the jump. For a brief second, Naruto was able to see every part of Konoha as if were a model on a board, but he quickly had to latch on to the toads head with chakra when the giant creature began his rapid descent. The pair slammed into the ground and sent out a shockwave of air swept through the woods like a storm.

"THAT WAS AWESOME!" Naruto whooped with excitement, "can we do it again?"

The giant toad chuckled at the antics as he reached up and lifted the boy away from his head and set him carefully on the ground. "Not this time, young ninja. Perhaps the next time you need me. Farewell, Uzumaki Naruto." With another enormous burst of smoke, the red toad returned to his own home.

Naruto was staring at the trees that had been crushed under the gargantuan animal when Jiraiya made himself known. "I didn't expect you to summon him. Even with the power of the kyuubi, that is impressive."

The boy spun around and pointed at the man aggressively, "OY! Ero Sennin! You could have killed me!"

"That was kind of the point," Jiraiya replied with a shrug, "you needed to be in danger to tap into the latent power."

Naruto frowned, "was there really no other way I could have gotten into my mind to talk with the kyuubi? I mean, meditation or something? There has to be a way that doesn't involve me being thrown off a cliff any time I want to chat with him again."

"Wait, what do you mean 'talk with the kyuubi'? Are you saying you actually interacted with the demon sealed inside you?"

Naruto raised his eyebrows, "Isn't that what you wanted?"

"I…no…that," the old man looked truly shocked, "I just wanted you to be able to access the chakra, not have a conversion with the demon."

"I wouldn't say it was a conversation," Naruto scratched his head, "it was mostly just him telling me he wanted to kill me but couldn't because he would die too. I tried to talk more but he kinda shut me down. He did give me the chakra though, even if he did make sure to tell me he was going to eat my soul some day. Seriously, what an annoying fox. I need to figure out how to get back into my own head safely. That bastard owes me answers and he won't be able to wriggle out of them if he can't use me being about to die as an excuse."

Jiraiya gaped at the boy, not sure if he should be amazed or concerned that the blond was completely nonchalant about meeting and talking with the most powerful demon ever known. His eyes drifted over to the Hokage mountain, focusing on the last face in the line, and a fond expression came to his face. 'I guess I should expect things like this.'

"Oy, ero sennin," Naruto's voice pulled the man from his thoughts, "you threw me off a freaking cliff. The least you can do is treat me to some ramen." Jiraiya shook his head at the declaration.

"Okay, kid, we'll get you some ramen." Jiraiya let out another amused chuckle as the blond walked with a happy spring in his step. This boy was going to keep him on his toes. Of that he was sure.

X

'It's finally here.'

Sarutobi Hiruzen stood at his office window, his Hokage robes swaying in the breeze he had allowed in. He pulled the pipe from his mouth and let out a breath of smoke as he watched the people, both foreign and citizen, filing into the large stadium that would serve as the arena for the matches. His mind went back through the last month. His worries about Orochimaru's plans had taken the forefront of his mind during the time and he had constantly been watching through his crystal ball for any signs of trouble and to check on the progress of the Konoha genin he could see.

The compounds of the major clans had wards that prevented being spied on through techniques like the one he was using but he was able to easily see the training of the genin that were in more public places. He had started with Gai's team and was happy with the skills they were showing. He was a little concerned about Tenten's absolute focus on weapons, he already knew why Lee needed to focus on taijutsu, and felt he should bring it up to Gai. Tenten being specialized was fine, but it should be compounded with other skills as well.

Sarutobi was overjoyed when he learned that Sakura was showing promise as a genjutsu user. They were not common among Konoha shinobi who did not have a kekkei genkai and could be quite powerful when properly trained. Ino had not had the best luck with adapting her family's techniques to battle. What she had done was develop a few of her own while using the clan skills as a foundation. He didn't know if she had shared them with her father yet but Sarutobi was pretty sure Inoichi was going to be ecstatic with his daughter's accomplishments. Both girls had been growing and improving steadily under the watchful tutelage of Kurenai.

Sasuke's training with Kakashi was equally as impressive. They boy had been showing great skill with his sharingan and was becoming very proficient at the use of Kakashi's most powerful original technique. While part of the sandaime lamented at having to replace so many training logs and dummies, he was glad that they had helped the boy develop the skill.

When Sarutobi saw Naruto with his old student he nearly fell out of his chair. Seeing the boy's steady improvement with his taijutsu and summoning ability had been welcome but he wasn't sure what Jiraiya's goal was with depleting the boy's chakra reserves every day. He had approached his student one night to ask about his return and his plans for Naruto but had been subjected to a scathing condemnation about Naruto's childhood that shut him down. The sandaime was left feeling far too guilty to ask any questions at that point. Sarutobi was happy that his student had returned, especially with the threat of Orochimaru in the air, but being told a second time about how badly he had failed made the old man feel like a hole had been drilled through his stomach.

This had him thinking about the first person to make him feel that way. Jagaa had been an enigma with his behavior. He would often show up to the training areas where any of his genin were present. Going over theories with Ino, exercising with Sakura, sparring with Sasuke, the man was clearly dedicated to his students. But, for some reason, he would always act like he just happened to be in the area and was just killing time because he was bored. The old man simply could not understand the charade or the need for it.

Sarutobi had also received several reports from various ANBU that Jagaa would frequently be found on different rooftops and gazing out over the village with a bottle of Sake in his hand. When Sarutobi had personally seen the young man on a rooftop, barely because of the distance, the sandaime had slipped out of his office and sneaked his way toward Jagaa to observe what he was doing. It was when the scarred man turned directly toward him, blowing a raspberry and flipping him off before dropping to the ground, that the old man realized Jagaa was patrolling the village and keeping watch for danger. He wasn't sure if Jagaa was actually drinking the Sake that he carried but he was certain it was being used as a guise, much like with his genin, to make his actions seem more random and casual.

Sarutobi closed his eyes and sighed. In this case, the Hokage had a good idea why Jagaa was so vigilant. After the shocking visit from the Suna team, he couldn't say he blamed the man.

/Flashback/

"Konoha is going to be attacked."

Sarutobi stilled as his eyes took in the sight of Jagaa bursting through his office door with the four Suna team members right behind him. "What are you talking about, Jagaa?"

The man in question moved to the side and faced the Suna team before using his head to motion towards the Hokage, "tell him what you told me."

Baki, Kankuro, and Temari were hesitant but Gaara stepped forward with his face impassive, "my father formed an alliance with Oto. They made a plan to attack Konoha on the day of the Chuunin Exam finals."

The aged Hokage leaned back heavily in his chair, "Oto? The village that Orochimaru founded?"

Baki nodded, his facial covering shifting from the action, "Indeed. Several months ago Orochimaru arrived in Suna and requested an audience with the Kazekage. He convinced Kazekage-sama that Konoha was responsible for our current decline and that the only way we could save our village was to join forces with him to destroy Konoha." Baki shook his head at the memory, "Kazekage-sama was reluctant at first, but several of the advisors spoke out about the lack of resources, such as food, due to lack of steady job requests. As well as the increase in orphaned children from being forced to take so many of the most dangerous missions that other villages refused in order to get any source of revenue possible. So, in the end, Kazekage-sama agreed."

"We don't know exactly what time the attack will commence, Hokage-sama," Temari spoke up while stepping forward, "only that it is going to be during the tournament."

Sarutobi narrowed his eyes and placed his chin on his folded hands, "why are you telling me this? You are not only part of Suna, you are the Kazekage's children. Why would you betray your village?"

"I will never attack Naruto or his home." Gaara's firm statement and steely eyes caught the old man off guard.

Baki cleared his throat tactfully, "yes, well, learning that Naruto-kun and Jagaa-san were here is the reason we thought to recommend that Kazekage-sama dissolve our alliance with Oto. But it was Kazekage-sama's reaction to the news that brought us here."

"He didn't care!" Kankuro suddenly shouted, startling them, "when Baki-sensei told him, he said he didn't care what random friend happened to be here and that we were going to attack anyway!"

Baki put a calming hand on Kankuro's shoulder, "after we received that message, I returned to Suna and sought an audience with Kazekage-sama. I needed to know why he would risk an attack on a village that was home to Naruto and Jagaa when he knew how important they were to him." Baki's face darkened, "his reply was that Gaara could make new friends and that the attack was for the good of all Suna. It was then that I suspected foul play."

The Sandaime tilted his head slightly, "why would that be a sign of foul play? In his position I would likely think the same."

"Because Naruto isn't just any Suna genin's best friend. He is Gaara's best friend." Temari said with a hard voice that, for some reason, seemed to hold a hint of grief.

"I still don't see-"

"I am the carrier of the shukaku," Gaara stated calmly.

The old man's jaw snapped shut and his eyes widened at the admission. He knew of the shukaku. It was a demon of sand that had plagued the lands of wind for most of its history. It had suddenly vanished a hundred or so years ago and there were rumors that it may have finally been defeated but no one knew how. Looking at the red haired boy in front of him, many things suddenly became clear as he recalled the fight with Shikimaru.

The young man continued, his voice keeping its impassive tone, "when I was younger, I was unable to fully control the power sealed inside of me. I was also known through the village as the carrier of Shukaku and it made people afraid of me. No matter how hard I tried I could not make friends with other children. Adults treated me like a menace just waiting to destroy them. Even my siblings would keep their distance from me," behind him, Temari and Kankuro lowered their eyes in shame and regret, "I often feel the only reason their aggression never escalated beyond words and glares was due to my father's status."

Sarutobi felt as if his heart were being squeezed as he listened to an all too familiar story.

"The day Naruto arrived, I had reached my limit. I had tried to help some other children and they screamed, calling me a monster and running away. I was so angry, so hurt, I wanted to make them suffer like I was suffering. I was going to hurt them, to kill them." Gaara's eyes softened and the smallest trace of smile reached his lips, "and then Naruto was there. He thought my sand was amazing. He wanted to be my friend. For the first time in my life, I had someone who wanted to be around me and I was happy. That would have been more than enough for me, but then Jagaa-san was able to help me gain control over the sand. Over my own powers." Gaara paused and looked directly into the Hokage's eyes. "I do not know who or what I would be if it were not for them."

"Long story short, the Kazekage owes us." Jagaa stated.

The Sandaime slowly nodded his understanding. Not just to Jagaa's statement, but to the unspoken fear he saw in Baki's visible eye. Sunagakuri was in a very dangerous situation. Not only because of the inherent risk of a war but also the very real danger they faced if the shukaku's holder were to lose himself at the loss of his best friend. Suna could very well destroy Konoha only to be destroyed themselves by a demon released by rage and grief. To move forward on with the attack, at this point, could almost be considered village suicide. Baki's comment of suspected foul play also made far more sense. There was a good chance that Kazekage was being controlled somehow, if not completely replaced.

The Sandaime leaned forward in his chair, his fingertips coming together in a point in front of his face as he rested his elbows on his desk. "I admit that, while I understand the reasoning, I'm at a loss as to what I should do. By rights, I should be having you all arrested and preparing to capture anyone from Suna who walks through our gates. However, that would reveal that Konoha was aware of the impending attack and force a desperation move from Oto, Suna, or both. I'm also not foolish enough to try and imprison one who has the power of Shukaku available to him. You are also friends of Naruto and came to me with information that may save both our villages if used correctly but could still have you branded traitors to your own village." The Hokage closed his eyes for a moment as he contemplated. Finding no solutions coming to him he opened them again and looked to each of the assembled ninja before settling on Jagaa. "What are your thoughts, Jagaa-kun?"

"Sex, drinking, and violence mostly," the man replied with a teasing smirk but his tone quickly shifted to serious. "We can't call off the exam. Like you said, it may cause them to do a desperation attack on an unknown day. At least this way, we know when it will happen and can plan for it."

"And what of the Suna team?" Sarutobi asked, causing most of the members to stiffen nervously.

"Leave them be." Jagaa's voice took on a hint of warning, not that the Hokage was surprised. Despite his claims, Jagaa had been proving that he was very loyal to and protective of the people he cared about. He couldn't, however, let that be his only reason for not restraining or, at the very least, restricting the team of a hostile village.

Baki took the opportunity to step forward. "If I may, Hokage-sama, I was hoping you might allow us a chance to help." The old man's eyebrow raised in question and he nodded for the Jounin to continue. "As I said before, there is hardly any ninja in Suna that would willingly attack the home of Naruto and Jagaa. My plan is to, discreetly, begin passing the information to other Suna shinobi I trust. With any luck, we can have most of Suna either immediately surrendering to avoid the fight or, better yet, turning on Oto and helping repel the attack." The man frowned. "I wish I could promise we would all stand with you but with my suspicions about the Kazekage, and the knowledge that he may not be the only one compromised, I will have to be very careful who I contact."

"No matter the outcome, I will stand with Naruto." Gaara stated, "I will not harm shinobi from Suna or Konoha, but I will fight against Oto. You have my word."

"It's the best option we have, Old man," Jagaa said in resolution.

Sarutobi took another long breath, "I will need to spread the information about the coming attack to our own forces and begin to prepare discreetly so as to minimize damage and loss of life. I will also be telling them of Suna's intended cooperation. Hopefully, this will limit any animosity towards you or Suna in general, but I have learned that sometimes my faith in my village's better nature has been vastly misplaced."

"Would you please relay to the Konoha Shinobi that I would like to personally request that they leave my brother's friends alone and that I will be quite upset if anything were to happen to them." The polite tone and warm smile that Jagaa presented at those words filled Sarutobi with more dread than he cared to admit and he had a feeling anyone who received the message would understand its implication very clearly.

"Let us begin the preparations," the old man said, his voice carrying the firm tone of authority.

/Flashback End/

Sarutobi felt a chill run down his spine as he realized just how close they had come to possible destruction. While they had been putting countermeasures in place should Orochimaru attack the village would have been vastly underprepared for a combined attack from Oto and Suna. If not for the friendship Naruto had with the Kazekage's children…

The thought took the old man back to that night, six years ago, when he had allowed Naruto a chance at happiness outside the village walls. If Sarutobi had chosen to prioritize the village protocols over the boy's happiness, had chosen to force the boy to come back…the thought made him cringe. It was only because of Naruto getting to travel with Jagaa, making connections and friends outside of the village, that they were given such a rare opportunity to prepare for, and possibly even prevent, an attack that would have claimed many lives. He may never fully know what made him choose to allow Naruto to leave, even with the knowledge of the boy's pain, but he thanked whatever force had guided him that night.

He noticed a Suna kunoichi approaching Konoha Chuunin and narrowed his eyes attentively. As the Suna nin passed she discreetly revealed her left hand, forming a circle with her thumb and index finger while scratching her left elbow three times. The Konoha nin responded by scratching his left shoulder three times before dragging his hand across his chest and stretching out his right arm as if stretching. All of this disguised by a simple, firm nod of acknowledgement as they passed each other. The interaction was quick and casual to the point an observer would make no note of it, but the importance of it was immense.

He watched as another Suna nin was about to pass the same Chuunin. This time, the foreign nin made no circle or scratch his elbow. The pair still nodded to each other in passing but as soon they were distanced the Konoha nin made a quick tilt of his head toward the Suna ninja. A moment later the Suna shinobi was stealthily snatched from the path and rendered unconscious by Konoha ANBU before being taken away to a holding cell.

It had been a bold strategy, recommended by Baki, to identify those of Suna who would stand with them and those who were either unaware of the situation, thus would still attack, or were openly in support of attack. Some of the council were concerned that Suna was actually doing the opposite, trying to fill their ranks with hostile forces while reducing the number of sympathizers, but were silenced when the Hokage pointed out how idiotic a plan like that would be. Not only would they have revealed their attack plans, they would be reducing their own fighting force. They would not even be able to use the proximity to betray them because the Konoha nin would still be on guard around any Suna shinobi even if they claimed to be an all. It was human nature.

Sarutobi rolled his shoulders, his combat armor shifting under his robes as he stared out over the peaceful village that would soon be engulfed in the chaos of battle. 'We have prepared all we can and we are as ready as possible.' He turned from the window and began his journey to take his place in the stadium. 'The rest is up to fate.'

A/N: Thank you for making it to the end of the chap. Let me know what you think. Comments are always welcome on either site. Later.