Disclaimer: I'm not cool enough to own Naruto. For now, I only own Nao.

Warning: Fighting. Drama. Thievery. Itachi.

Beta: Kalafina94

Beta: silverseed

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Interlude - Omniscient - 9

Tenten entered the home with practiced ease. She loved coming over to Nao's home —the girl had the best private training grounds out of all her friends. Even Neji's had nothing on Nao's— not only to train, but to simply relax. She remembered how she frequently visited the place in her academy days, and again when Nao lost her eye and needed assistance in re-adjusting. Even now, years after the incident, Nao had to switch up her routine and Tenten had to assist her to get her back in the game.

Tonight, though, Tenten didn't come over to train or help her childhood friend. Tonight was all about relaxing, giggling, and generally having a good time.

"Hiya, Tenten!" Ino chirped, rushing past Tenten as she carried a tray of goodies. Tenten closed the front door behind her, slipping off her shoes and putting on slippers.

"Oi, Ino-chan, slow down," Tenten said, her lips twitching with amusement as she followed behind the blonde girl.

Ino turned around long enough to stick her tongue out before she turned back around and skipped away.

Tenten laughed, ignoring Inoichi's exasperated eye-roll as he turned the page in his novel. Tenten followed Ino into her room, finding that Hinata, Nao and. Temari. were there.

"Temari-san?" Tenten asked, blinking in surprise.

Temari waved her fingers in a greeting. "I'm as surprised as you. I'm here as an ambassador for Sand, and Shikamaru mentioned to Ino that I was here and I guess she thought I would be perfect for this."

"Oh hush, you party pooper," Ino snorted, setting down the tray of. mmm. dangos and tea. Nao and Hinata both smiled faintly in amusement at Ino's annoyance. Tenten sat down next to Hinata, who sat next to Nao, who sat across from Temari and Ino.

"Now that everyone is here, though," Temari said pointedly, "what are we supposed to do?"

Ino clapped her hands excitedly. "Ooo! Let's dress up and do make-up!"

Nao paled, a plaintive whimper escaping her and Tenten had to smother her snickers. She remembered that Ino absolutely adored using her younger sister as a doll when they were younger. The poor girl was probably scarred for life.

"No," Temari said bluntly.

Ino pouted.

"Fine," Ino finally sighed, "but then you have to answer some questions, missy."

Temari raised a mocking eyebrow.

"So how long have you and Shikamaru been dating?" Ino asked slyly, and Hinata, who had been taking a dainty sip of her tea, choked a bit. Her face took on a bright red hue. Tenten snickered and Nao tilted her head curiously, a faint blush on her cheeks.

Temari flushed. "W-We are not dating. A-As if I would ever date such a lazy ass!"

Ino cackled and Tenten smirked, slyly saying, "So defensive, Temari-san."

Ino nodded her head in agreement. "Yeah, Temari-chan. What're you hiding? Maybe you aren't dating (yet), but maybe you waaaaant to?"

Temari glared. "That's none of your concern! And what about you? Are you dating anyone?"

Ino gave a woeful sigh. "Alas, I am not."

"And you?" Temari challenged, turning to Tenten.

Tenten blushed brightly. "N-Not dating, exactly."

And like a shark that smelt fresh blood, Ino was on her in an instant. "Who do you like?"

"Ino-chan," Tenten whined, "go back to questioning Temari-san."

Ino smirked.

"Nao-chan, control your sister!" Tenten begged.

Nao hesitated a moment before she stood up and glomped her sister from behind. She wrapped her arms and legs around her and, due to her small stature, was able to body hug the teenager without causing any real trouble for her.

Ino gave a giggle. "Aww. I love you, too, Nao-chan."

"Sis, I want to do something else," Nao mumbled into her sister's back. "Please? For me?"

Ino melted. "Awww, okay. What do you wanna do?"

Temari hid her snickers behind her hand and Tenten and her exchanged amused glances.

Whipped, Temari mouthed.

So much, Tenten mouthed in return.

"I know!" Ino said suddenly, jumping up onto her feet. "Let's put our kunoichi prowess to the test! Let's steal something!"

Nao stared dumbstruck at her sister, so shocked that she released her hold on her and fell on her bum. Hinata gasped, her eyes wide, and Tenten and Temari exchanged more glances.

"Don't worry, we'll return everything tomorrow," Ino said quickly, "but how much fun would it be? Come on!"

"I-I don't think that's a very good idea," Hinata said hesitantly.

"Sis, what if we get in trouble?" Nao asked, shifting nervously.

"If you get caught then I guess you aren't that good of a kunoichi," Ino declared. "Let's make a game out of it. We'll all come up with three items to steal, put them on slips of paper, and put 'em in a bucket. And they have to be hard items to steal —like Tsunade-sama's sake! Then we'll draw three slips from each bucket and the first person to steal all three —without getting caught— by the end of the night, wins the title Kunoichi of the Year!"

They all exchanged glances.

"I'm in," Temari said, smirking. "This seems interesting and it beats sitting around and gossiping."

"Alright, I guess I'm up for it," Tenten admitted.

Nao swallowed roughly, her fingers jammed into her pockets. "O-Okay."

"I. I guess," Hinata whispered slowly, still looking uncertain.

"Good! Then let's go!"

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"Now everyone has to draw three slips," Ino said, holding out the bucket.

Each girl withdrew three slips of paper and in perfect synch, they all groaned.

"Fuck," Temari muttered.

"My," Tenten grumbled.

"Life," Ino, Hinata, and Nao chorused.

. . .

. .

.

"Team Saigo-no-Shudan has returned from our mission, Hokage-sama," Yagura said evenly. "We have succeeded in obtaining evidence to confirm and persecute the suspect, Danzō."

Tsunade stared at the group for several moments, her eyes resting on each member before lingering a little longer on Sasuke. "Good work, team. I've already heard Shiori's report on what information was found. I deem this mission a success, then. Sai, can you take selected members to the ROOT bases?"

Sai gave a slow nod.

"Shizune, please escort Sai to T&I. Inform Inoichi that he, Shikaku, Chōza, and Ibiki will follow behind Sai to the bases. You will accompany them. Do not engage the bases, merely note that they are there, and confirm that they are ROOT bases. When you have done that, locate Danzō."

Shizune bowed lowly before leaving the room and locking the door behind her. Tsunade stood up from her desk and moved to the wall, activating a seal. Intricate drawings activated around the walls, glowing red and blue. Tsunade closed her eyes, her hands raised into the Rat seal as she activated even more seals that we could not see.

A full minute ticked by before she finally lowered her hands and moved to sit behind her desk. Her eyes were hard. "There is more evidence against Danzō. More reasons for his persecution, and for his inevitable execution. These reasons must be brought to light before the Council, but not before the world. Do you understand?"

I had a feeling where this was leading. I snuck a glance at Sasuke, a worried frown pulling my lips down.

"Yes, Hokage-sama," Yagura answered for us.

"What you are about to hear will be difficult, and you will want to deny it," Tsunade said, her eyes on Sasuke. "However, I can assure you this is very much fact. It is. it is regarding the Uchiha Massacre and Uchiha Itachi."

Sasuke stiffened and I instinctively stepped towards him. I reached out a hesitant hand and placed it on his arm, knowing what was coming would be difficult. Naruto, seeming to catch the hint, moved to stand on Sasuke's other side and placed a hand on his shoulder. Sasuke didn't seem to notice us, his eyes focused completely on Tsunade. Kakashi and Yamato shifted to stand on either side of us, and Yagura glanced away, out the window.

Tsunade let out a slow breath. "It seems that months before the Massacre, the Uchiha Clan was planning a coup d'état against the Leaf."

"That's a lie," Sasuke immediately hissed, anger flaring in his eyes.

"Yeah, the Uchiha Clan was one of the big clans, right?" Naruto demanded, his brow furrowed.

"This is a fact," Tsunade said flatly. "We have multiple reasons to believe this, and we have found multiple ways to confirm it —and confirm it, we have. The Third Hokage learned of this coup d'état and attempted to negotiate with the Clan to prevent the civil war. Before negotiations could be completed, however, Danzō ordered an ANBU operative to eliminate the threat."

A heavy silence fell upon us.

"What?" Sasuke asked, seeming to say the word as if it were a heavy rock.

Tsunade stood up from her desk, turning away and looking out at the Leaf from the window. "Uchiha Itachi was ordered by Danzō to massacre the Uchiha Clan in secret and defect from Leaf. From there, he was to become a spy for any potential threats against the Leaf and pass information along back to us through Jiraiya's spy network. This order was against the Third Hokage's wishes and by the time the Hokage learned of this, the massacre was done. However, Uchiha Itachi was unable to completely fulfil this order, leaving behind a child. The one person he could not kill.

"The truth was to be buried with the trio. If the truth came out, an uproar would come about in the Leaf and due to its state from the Kyūbi, that was the last thing that was needed," Tsunade finished.

"That's. that's not true," Sasuke snapped. "Itachi. That Man."

"It's been confirmed," Tsunade said levelly, her eyes resting on Yagura. "From sources that we know are true."

"It sounds like something Itachi would do," I said quietly. "He wanted. he wanted to keep the truth from you, right? And we. we already knew that the massacre was fishy."

Sasuke didn't seem to be hearing me. He stared at Tsunade, his expression disbelieving.

Tsunade did not turn around. "Yagura. If you would please."

Yagura moved forward and rested a hand on Sasuke's shoulder. "Come on, boy. There's someone you need to talk to."

Sasuke didn't respond or seem to even notice as Yagura guided him out of the room.

"Wait. where are you going? Where's he taking him?" Naruto turned to me, watching as the door closed behind them and locked.

"To see him," I said quietly.

Naruto's eyes widened in disbelief.

"And how did you sneak someone like him in the Leaf?" Kakashi murmured.

Tsunade gave a snort. "Don't concern yourself with that."

"But still." Yamato trailed off. "What are we going to do about Itachi? Is he. I mean. will he still be a missing-nin?"

"We have reason to believe that Itachi did not slaughter the Uchiha Clan alone, nor was Danzō the only one interested in their demise," Tsunade said vaguely, turning back around.

"We were right that he wasn't alone!" Naruto exclaimed, looking triumphant.

Tsunade gave a slow nod. "It's time that you know Yagura's story. Nao, if you would please."

I stepped forward, taking a deep breath before I began. "As you know, I had been allowed to go on a training trip of my own after the rest of Team 7 left for theirs. On a routine trip, I happened across a scene where I found a young boy in mortal danger, surrounded by hostile targets. I engaged and eliminated the threats before checking on the boy. He claimed to have amnesia and uncertain of what to do. I brought him back to the Leaf with me for further instructions."

"When Nao and the boy returned to Leaf, Inoichi quickly identified him and brought him to T&I. There, we confirmed that he was Yagura, ex-Mizukage. It seemed that he had been betrayed, a coup d'état had formed against him and he was tricked. They, the Mist, assumed —still do from our sources— that Yagura died. But they aren't our concern. You see. from before Yagura's reign, a couple months in fact, Yagura was approached by a young, masked man. And within moments of eye-contact, Yagura was ensnared within a Genjutsu and lost complete control over himself."

"What?" Naruto exclaimed and Yamato gasped, Kakashi's eye narrowed.

"It was only until the coup d'état that Yagura was able to slip out of the Genjutsu. He would have died had Nao not intervened," Tsunade said swiftly, taking a seat back behind her desk. "During the interrogation, information came to light. The masked man goes by the name of Uchiha Madara. He is not the same Uchiha Madara that we know, though, and the masked man currently goes by the name of Tobi. He's in the Akatsuki, and we have reason to believe that not only is he the real reason, but that it was he who assisted Itachi in the Massacre."

"Who exactly is this Tobi?" Kakashi asked.

Tsunade shook her head. "We don't know. It was thanks to Yagura that we were able to discover this information in the first place. He's our main source regarding the Akatsuki, as well. We were lucky that he was able to escape Tobi and the 'Mist's plans for him and come to us."

"But you didn't answer our question. what are we going to do about Itachi?" Yamato asked.

"The official cover story will be that Danzō arranged a very dangerous criminal, who's name will remain anonymous due to lack of substantial information, to massacre the Uchiha Clan. Itachi returned home to find the majority of his clan already dead, and quickly realizing the situation, attempted to eliminate the threat. Realizing the threat was too powerful, he had no choice but to allow him to escape. After informing the Third Hokage of the situation, the Hokage saw the potential of the situation. He knew that the other countries would be shaken up if such a strong shinobi was able to enter the Leaf, and he knew there was a mole, but he couldn't figure out who. So he sent out Uchiha Itachi to claim the massacre as his own.

"He knew the real culprit wouldn't take credit, as the real culprit didn't want to draw attention to themselves. He claimed the massacre as his own and became a missing-nin to serve as a spy for the Leaf. He was to gather information on the real murderer, as well as any other potential threat. He was to uncover the mole and when he did, he was to return to Jiraiya with the information."

"But that's." Naruto frowned. "that's lying."

"That's part of the job, Naruto. The civilians couldn't handle the truth," Tsunade said quietly. "They couldn't deal with your truth, Naruto. Do you really want them to start thinking that the Uchiha Clan was prepared to turn and slaughter them all?"

Naruto pursed his lips, looking away stubbornly. "Ttt."

"There will be times in a shinobi's career where difficult choices have to be made," Kakashi said, surprisingly gently, at Naruto. "It'll be even harder as Hokage."

"So then. Itachi will be returning to Konoha with his mission complete?" Yamato summarized.

"Correct. He will be present during Danzō's meeting and will be adding his own evidence against him."

"Speaking of Danzō." Kakashi trailed off. "when will we be?"

"We'll need both Uchihas present. When Sasuke is ready, we'll move to detain Danzō and bring him forth before the council. I don't want Sasuke being unable to control himself and attempting to kill Danzō before he could be properly tried," Tsunade said dryly.

"What do you want us to do until then?" Kakashi asked.

Tsunade gave a small smile. "Yagura will have escorted Sasuke outside the village to meet with. him. They'll be out of the village until he's ready to return. In the meantime, I want you guys to stay in the village and relax. There's a lot coming up and I want you guys able to respond instantaneously."

"Aren't you worried about Danzō catching wind of Sai's betrayal and leaving?" I asked.

Tsunade's smile took a predatory turn. "I'm actually hoping he'll try. My most trusted ANBU are more than anxious to be the ones to detain him —after all, it would seem awfully guilty if he started running at the first sign of trouble."

Naruto looked away. "I know you want us around, and all, Baa-chan, but. this has to be hard for Sasuke and he's family."

"I know you want to go to him," Tsunade said gently, "but right now, you're going to have to give him and Itachi some space. Now, I want a report on my desk by tomorrow morning. You're dismissed."

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Naruto swung an arm around my shoulder as he guided me away from the Hokage tower, sighing. "Man, this sucks."

"At least the problem should be resolved soon enough," I pointed out tentatively.

Naruto sighed again, this time more loudly. "It still sucks!"

I gave a faint smile. "I know. What do you want to do?"

"Knowing Sasuke, he'll be having a temper tantrum for days," Naruto whined. "What are we supposed to do until then?"

"Well. you could try training."

We both stopped, turning around to find Jiraiya hopping down from a nearby roof and giving us a wide grin.

"Ack. Didn't I ditch you when I returned to Konoha?" Naruto accused, already pushing me behind him. "You're here to hit on my teammate, aren't you? She's too young!"

"I am not," Jiraiya muttered. "I was on my way to switch with Yagura in babysitting duty, but I'm not expected for a while, so I figured I might as well hang out with my favorite student."

Naruto's eyes narrowed and he scrutinized Jiraiya. "What do you want?"

Jiraiya gave a gasp. "What makes you think I want anything? Can't a teacher want to hang out with his student?"

Naruto folded his arms over his chest. He asked again, stubbornly, "What do you want?"

Jiraiya huffed. "I need a place to stay."

"Ah-ha!" Naruto exclaimed, pointing a finger at him. "I knew it. Well the answer is no."

"You can stay with my family, Jiraiya-sama," I offered politely. Despite his perverseness, he was still a Sanin and I was certain that Papa wouldn't refuse. Jiraiya looked triumphant and Naruto looked horrified.

"No!" Naruto shouted, crossing his arms in an x fashion. "Absolutely not! Stay away from my teammate, Pedo! Fine, you can stay with me."

Jiraiya grinned widely. "Thanks, brat. So what are we having for dinner?"

"I'm having ramen, you're having whatever you scrounge from the trash," Naruto grouched.

Jiraiya gave a wounded whine. "So mean. Nao-chan, you wouldn't treat your sensei like that, would you?"

"My sensei wouldn't really like it if I did that," I admitted, giggling at Naruto's annoyance. "But we have a different relationship than you two."

"So I've noticed," Jiraiya said, his tone no longer filled with good-natured humor and his eyes taking a gleam to it. I felt uncomfortable at the shift, and frowned. Naruto didn't seem to notice, because he rolled his eyes.

Naruto patted the top of my head. "Alright, if that's all you want, Nao and I will be on our way to Ichiraku. She promised to pay."

I winced. "I know."

Jiraiya giggled with glee at my distaste. "Then I guess I better go switch with Yagura. Later, kiddies."

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"I found this puppy on my way to pick you up," Yagura said dryly, leaning into the doorway of my home. Shikamaru looked up from his seat in front of me, placing another piece and muttering a quiet check-mate. Ino was still taking a shower from their last mission —it had apparently been a rather gross one and when I had inquired, she merely squealed in distaste, glaring at the air, before running off. Chōji was at the store with my mother, as he had offered to help her get the groceries and Shikamaru was playing with me.

Yagura walked into the room, adjusting his mask to better cover his face and behind him, Jūgo walked in. He looked uncertain, but when he found me, he gave a tentative smile and moved to stand behind me.

I stood up from my seat, eyeing him warily and looking over at Yagura.

"The puppy's memories were checked and extracted," Yagura drawled. "He's had his blood taken, among a few other things, but for the most part he's been deemed. acceptable. So long as he's in the company of one of the team's members. He seemed to be more inclined to obey you, though, than anyone else."

I blushed at that, embarrassed both at Jūgo's unwavering stare and the fact that it seemed I was trusted to take responsibility over Jūgo.

"And what's the puppy's name?" Shikamaru asked, placing the pieces away.

Jūgo looked uncertain, shifting uncomfortably.

He probably has to take a new name now that he's in Konoha. I wonder if this means he'll become a shinobi of the Leaf? Doubtful. Judging from the seals on his wrist —chakra sealing, S-Rank— he's not entirely trusted, yet. Maybe time will tell, though.

"His name is Orenji Koinu," Yagura said smoothly, "you can formally meet him later, though. We need to get back to training, dove. Let's go."

"Hai."

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Jūgo sat against a tree, numerous birds resting over him and he seemed actually content with the circumstances. Yagura sat on a boulder in the middle of a large clearing, his mask discarded. It seemed he wasn't concerned if Jūgo knew his real identity, but then again, neither was I—I sat on the grass below the boulder, looking up at him.

"Life-chakra?" I echoed, staring in confusion.

"A lesson I wished I'd never have to teach you," Yagura said softly, his eyes trailing downcast. "However. however it's something that must be done. You know how when you call forth a Shinigami to seal something, or someone, away, you lose your life in consequence?"

I nodded my head.

"That's because you're using a very different kind of chakra. You understand how chakra is the fusion of both physical and spiritual energy. I must emphasize on fusion, because life-chakra. life-chakra is raw spiritual energy."

My eyes widened.

"It's the strongest kind of chakra. Even bijū chakra looks laughably weak in comparison," Yagura murmured. "But the risks in using the chakra. We fuse our chakra because our physical bodies were never meant to use life-chakra naturally. The spiritual energy inside of us. the energy we draw on is our very essence. Our very soul.

"Each time we fuse the energy, we draw on the echoes of the energy. When we fuse our chakra, we never draw upon the real energy, the wisps and discarded parts. It is that which flows through us, wrapping around outer nervous and cardiac systems. Even drawing upon the echoes, it taxes us. It's why chakra-exhaustion and chakra-overload is such a dangerous and real threat. Our body needs those reminiscences of our spiritual energy flowing through us to survive. But too much and our physical forms can't handle it.

"When you call on life-chakra, you are destroying your physical form. Even a little bit will severely shorten your life. The amount required to summon a Shinigami. the amount required to summon a Shinigami is only a small portion, and even then you lose your life," Yagura said, his voice quiet, but it held an edge to it.

I chewed on my bottom lip. "If it's so strong, why don't more use it? Why don't shinobi use it for kamikaze missions. take down as many enemies as they can?"

"Because not everyone can call upon it," Yagura finally said. "But I—I think you can. That's why I'm going to tell you all I can about it. I don't want you to try. I don't want you to practice or train in this. I twant you to be able to have the knowledge in case. in case you need to."

"Can you call on it?" I asked quietly.

"Yes," Yagura admitted.

I shifted. "Is that why you think I can? You see something of yourself in me?"

"No," Yagura answered, shaking his head slowly. "I can't put my finger on it, but. but I have a feeling you're more attuned to your soul than most. I almost feel like."

When he fell silent, I whispered, "Please continue, Sensei."

"I almost feel like you're more spirit than you are physical," Yagura finally answered.

The giggles echoed in my head.

(More there and here, huh? More there than here! Hehehehe! But how right is he? Is our body so frail that justa puff-puff-puff of wind will blow-blow-blow us away? Have us fly-fly-fly up-up and away? At least we'd be free-free-free! Hehehe!)

Goosebumps crawled up and down my arms, and my stomach churned at the high-pitched voice. My fingers curled into my palms, digging into the skin.

Yagura placed a hand on top of my head. When I looked up, Yagura was awarding me with one of his rare, soft smiles. "Don't take it the wrong way, Nao-chan. It's like your intuition —it's simply another characteristic of you. Now listen closely, Nao-chan. This is the only lesson I'll give on the matter."

I closed my eyes, nodding my head. "Yes, Yagura-sensei."

.

. .

. . .

Interlude - Nao's POV - 9

I fidgeted nervously at the hospital. I sat on the hospital bed, Tsunade examining my eye. She pulled back, her face somber and she shook her head. "No change. I'm sorry, Nao-chan."

I gave a soft smile. "It's alright, Tsunade-sama. Truth be told, I didn't expect anything different."

Papa cleared his throat, wrapping an arm around my shoulders and squeezing my shoulder with his hand. "And—and her?"

Tsunade smiled. "It seems her tumor hasn't made a resurface, as predicted. She's still in good health, Inoichi-san."

Papa's shoulders seemed to sag with relief. "Thank you, Hokage-sama. I'm sorry for any trouble, it's that when she fainted the other day, I just..."

Tsunade gave a nod, her eyes taking a sympathetic light. "Considering how it's a miracle in the first place she survived her childhood, I understand your concern. It seems, however, it was only a fainting spell. I can't find anything physically wrong with her, apart from her eye, and I can assure you it has no connection."

Papa's smile seemed a little strained. I leaned against him, offering him what comfort I could.

"It's okay, Papa," I whispered quietly. "I promise I'm okay."

And that was the first lie.

Because what caused my fainting was nothing physical. At least, I didn't perceive it that way.

No, no.

It was the high-pitched giggles that overtook my senses and the terrible, horrible feeling of waves crashing over me and burying me.

(Liar, liar~)

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Question: What are on the slips of papers the girls found? Give me at least six (because I can only think of two.!). Or you know, if you don't want to then tell me about your Thanksgiving dinner(s).

Reviews are love!