THIRD PERSON POINT OF VIEW

"Haha! Twobi! Stwop that twickles!" The little girl whispered with her lisp. Tobi continued to tickle her until she was giggling loudly. The little girl was rolling on the ground as the masked man continued to make her smile.

"Haha! Tobi is a good boy! Tell Tobi he's a good boy!" He giggled as he tickled her. She continued to smile before poking him.

"Twobi's a good boy!" Tobi stopped tickling her and pulled her into a hug.

"Tobi will always protect Shina-chan!" The little girl tried climbing up the man's leg but failed terribly, Tobi catching her before she could fall on the ground and get hurt.

"See! Tobi protects Shina-shan!" Shinasui climbed up his arms before settling on his shoulders, messing with his spiky black hair.

"Twobi is so cool!" Tobi smiled a genuine smile under his mask, making a mental promise to always protect the little girl, no matter what came his way. It was the same promise he made about Mina years ago.

"Tobi loves Shina-chan!" Shinasui smiled before giving a toddler hug to Tobi's mask.

"Shina wuvs Twobi twoo!"

"Shina! Where are you! The babysitters are here!" Tobi quickly put her down then gave her the little stuffed black bear.

"Tobi will be back soon! Goodbye Shina-chan!" He whispered. The little girl smiled before hugging his pant leg and running into the living room to greet her father.

"Daddy!" Kakashi smiled at his baby girl before picking her up and twirling her around.

"Hey baby girl. You sounded like you were having fun! What were you up to honey?" Shinasui played with her daddy's silver hair, a grin on her face.

"I was pwaying with Twobi!" Kakashi ruffled her hair before kissing her cheek.

"Alright honey well look, your new sitters are here since Mommy won't be home for a little while." Shinasui looked at her dad with a confused look in her violet eyes.

"Who daddy?" All of a sudden a man in a green jumpsuit and a boy with big round eyes popped out of nowhere.

"Team Gai is on the case!" The man said. Kakashi looked around while raising his eyebrow at Gai and his brand new genin team.

"Um Gai, where are the other two?" When Kakashi asked that, an annoyed Hyuga and an embarrassed brunette girl game out of the same room.

"Yeah, we're here..." They groaned.

"Hiya there Shinasui! It's your favorite Uncle Gai! These kids here are my students. This is Lee..." The young boy saluted, his hair was a little long and frayed at the ends.

"...Tenten..." The girl had buns in her hair and gave the little girl a cute smile.

"...and Neji..." The little girl's eyes sparkled when she saw Neji and she immediately wanted to go to him. Shinasui popped down on the ground before running towards the long haired Hyuga's legs and hugging them. He looked a little uncomfortable but after seeing Tenten give him a stern look, he gave in and pat her head.

"Um..hi..." He said awkwardly. Shinasui blushed before waving at him, clearly crushing on Neji.

"I'm Shina!" Neji looked uncomfortable while Tenten started to squeal.

"Ohh! You're so cute!!" Kakashi sweatdropped before leaning down to hug Shina and give her a kiss on the cheek.

"Daddy's gotta go to work now. Naruto, Sasuke, and Itachi will be over later okay? I'll be home in two days!" Shinasui quickly gave her Daddy a kiss before running back to Neji.

"Gai, take care of her or I'll kill you." Gai sweatdropped while giving his best friend a thumbs up.

"Noooooo problem!"

TWO HOURS LATER

Shinasui was running around with a cookie in each hand and one in her mouth, giving muffled giggles to the genin who desperately tried to capture her.

"Shina! You are quite youthful!" Lee sighed as he tried to chase the speedy two year old. She continued giggling, dodging Tenten as she rounded a corner.

"How is she so elusive?!" Tenten gasped. Neji stood however in the middle of the living room with his arms crossed in front of him.

"Shinasui Hatake! End this foolish behavior at once!" Shina looked at Neji with a heartbroken expression on her face. The cookie fell out of her mouth and she dropped the two others, tears welling in her eyes. Neji had a guilty expression on his face, a hand half extended towards the toddler. The little girl began to cry, rubbing her eyes as hot tears fell down her cheeks.

"Aw Neji look what you did! You made her cry!" Lee said as he came up to the little girl and tried to wipe her face.

"You might be the top genin but you aren't a great babysitter. It seems Lee has this down well." Gai commented. Determination shined in Neji's eyes before he crossed his arms.

"No! I will be the best at everything!" Neji argued. The little girl was still crying, Tenten soothing her hair and Lee wiping her face of tears.

"Neji hates me!" Shinasui wailed. Neji got a disapproving look from all of his teammates before coming towards Shinasui and kneeling down to her level. He gave her an awkward smile, before extending his arms out towards her, not knowing how to hug.

"I apologize for causing you to be upset. Please forgive me...Shinasui." Shinasui looked up, entirely enamored by the boy. She sniffled before holding her arms up, signaling she wanted to be picked up. Neji complied and picked her up, the little Hatake containing a victorious grin on her face.

"Cwookie?" Shina asked Neji with a pouty look. He sighed before giving her back one of the cookies she sacrificed. She smiled at him before munching on the cookie and hugging Neji tightly. After eating the cookie, she was off the wall with energy, bouncing about and giggling about nothing, sometimes demanding Neji be a pony so she could ride on his back... Anytime Neji tried to put her down she would start to cry again, only wanting to be held by him. His face was a slight pink out of the embarrassment of being adored by a toddler and the mocking words of his teammates. 

Shinasui fell asleep after a while and leaned her head in the crook of Neji's neck. He looked down at the sleeping little girl with a soft expression on his face. Despite her annoying and pestering behavior, he was beginning to feel fond of the toddler. She played him so well to get what she wanted and Neji knew it. After all, little Shinasui has a way of melting cold hearts.

~~

MINAKO'S POINT OF VIEW

"So you're saying it'll take a month to get to the mountain!? What the hell Jiraiya!?" I yelled at the Sannin. He had a vein mark on his head, clearly annoyed.

"Don't you think I know that you idiot!? Without having a toad to reverse summon us there, we have to take the trail by foot!! You're lucky I know the trail at all!" I grumbled before pulling at my hair a bit. How am I supposed to leave my baby girl and Naruto for that long?! Oh god...what if someone gives Shinasui cookies. The girl will be insane on that much sugar. I learned the hard way with that...

"I can't be away from my children for so long Jiraiya! You have no idea what it's like to be a parent! My children need me ya know!" Jiraiya sighed before putting his hands on my shoulders and looking me in the eyes.

"Minako. I may not be a Dad, or even want to be...but that doesn't mean I don't understand the sacrifice of leaving loved ones behind. If you want out, fine. Leave now then and I won't stop you. I am asking you however to stay and to please help me with this. All of the gamas are at stake right now...even their wives and children. Something much bigger than ourselves is happening and it will be only a matter of time before it affects Konoha and your family. Come on... have a little faith in Kakashi. He loves you and he loves those kids very much. He will be alright for that time. Shina is a strong little girl, just like her mother...and Naruto is tough kid, just like his mom..." I sighed remembering Kushina. She would have been all over Shinasui, especially since she has our eyes. Both of those kids have an Uzumaki personality, something I'm thankful for considering Kakashi was such a stuck up cocky brat as a kid.

"The point is, Mina, that if we don't do this now...we are putting your family and village in danger later...and we won't even have the power to stop it." I looked down at my feet and grimaced. There's nothing I hated more than leaving my babies...nothing at all. Even when I was a teenager, caring for Naruto, I was never gone from his side more than a week...hell, I even broke up my sage training a few times just to make sure I was home for Naruto when he was sick...but an entire month?! I thought of Minato and Kushina...they ended their entire lives and future to ensure the safety of their son, was I really too selfish to give up a single month?

"Fine...I'll do it...Lead the way..." Jiraiya grinned before adjusting his backpack and turning into the forest.

"Alright...this direction. This is a top secret path, passed down only through sages. The gamas taught me and I, in return, am now teaching it to you. It is TOP SECRET! So don't tell anyone!!" I rolled my eyes before continuing into the forest more.

~~

After four weeks of traveling, we finally reached the foot of the mountain. The area was tropical, nothing like the forest that surrounded it. It was like Jiraiya and I were placed in some random part of the world. I always loved Mount Myoboku. It was always comfortable and fun for me to relax there. Most of the toads used for battles were males, different from the summon I usually use, a healer. The toad I'm connected to is Gamabunta's wife, Ashi. Her and I started off rough but when she learned that I took over as Naruto's mother, we bonded completely. I still could summon any toad I desired but I mostly only used her. I hope she's alright...

"If we work fast, it could take us a minimum of a day to get to the top." I sighed before nodding.

"Well, let's get going, shall we?" I nodded to Jiraiya. We continued traveling, him rattling off ideas for the next book in the series he writes.

"I'm thinking this time that the girl gets amnesia and the only way she remembers the guy is when she feels him up. What do you think!?" He asked. I sighed before rolling my eyes.

"That's so weak! God, it's like you've never written a book." He had a vein pop on his forehead before he growled at me.

"Oh yeah?! I'd like to see you come up with something!" I smirked.

"I'll tell you but I have to receive fifteen percent of the profits." He laughed.

"Yeah well no idea is gonna be that good."

"Well your last book ended with him asking her out right? Make the story be that his past as a criminal starts to resurface just as she lands a new job at a police station. He's trying to hide his tracks while she's trying to uncover them, having no clue it's the guy she's living with." Jiraiya paused before looking at me oddly.

"That's-...actually not that bad..." I smirked before heading up the hidden pathway leading towards the toads' nesting area, finally reaching our destination.

"I expect my fifteen percent. Actually, make it twenty." Jiraiya groaned before noticing I froze at the entrance of the gamas' home.

"Mina what's wrong?" My eyes were wide, hands shaking. Jiraiya saw what I was looking at and froze.

"They have... turned to stone."