I lose my breath the very moment Naruto, Sakura, and Sai step onto the bridge. Why, well, as I'd expected, Naruto's emotions had been raging the second we began setting up for our mission. No matter what we said or did to get him to try and calm down, he refused, as it's difficult for me to stay focused in battle. His chakra is just too overwhelming.

A great breeze rolls over the bridge. It does nothing to diffuse the emotions gathered on its wood today.

A good fifteen feet away from me, Kabuto sneers at us. "You again, hm?" he says, eyes on Naruto.

Orochimaru stares between us all with the same expression, with the exception of his sharp, snake-like features.

"I know that face all too well," he muses, referring to Sakura. "And it looks like the Nine-Tail's tagged along. Well, we might as well have a little fun together. Let's find out who's gotten stronger? You? Or Sasuke?"

From his position on the bridge, I can see the muscles in Naruto's back grow tight and tense, and his cheekbones rise as if he were snarling. He dips his head toward the ground.

"Give Sasuke back," I hear him growl. I bite back a complaintive noise of my own, as Naruto's and the Nine-Tail's chakra flares once more, this time... becoming visible, just like it had that time with Gaara and the Akatsuki.

"It's not as simple as "giving him back"," Kabuto says, pushing his glasses further up his nose. "You're way off here. Sasuke came to us of his own accord. You can't dwell on the past like this. It's... unbecoming of a man."

"Shut up, four-eyes!" Sakura instantly shouts at him. "You don't understand how people really feel! You only understand cold logic!"

"If you really want to know about Sasuke, then I'm afraid you're going to have to force it out of me," Orochimaru tells us. "If you think you're up to it."

The very sudden spike in Naruto's chakra tipped me off. I'd reached for him the second I sensed it—but I was too late. He'd already rushed at Orochimaru, hand raised, and nails sharpened to points. To my surprise, Naruto lands a hit on him, straight across his face, sending him flying far back into the forest on the opposite side of the bridge. The strength of it has the bridge, formerly quite sturdy and firmly in place, swaying.

In a split second, Naruto's attention turns onto Kabuto, his eyes red and darkened, his pupils dilated to slits reminiscent of a beast. The most amount of tails Naruto has ever reached in this Nine-Tails chakra cloak of his, according to Master Jiraiya, is four. During their three years of training, Naruto lost consciousness at this point, and nearly killed him. "Like a miniature Nine-Tails," he'd told me.

One thing is for sure: if I use the sealing tag on him now, at a single tail, it will put him out of commission for the entire battle. If I don't... we risk Naruto injuring not only himself, but us, as well. He won't be able to retain his sanity or be able to differentiate friend from foe.

"Naruto! You've come a long way as a Jinchuriki, haven't you?" Kabuto says. "The power of the Nine Tails grows stronger and stronger..."

To my dismay, Orochimaru has reappeared from the tree line. His head hung toward the ground, I can still see that Naruto's attack in this form has caused considerable damage to his superficial appearance. Beneath his skin, just like a snake, resides the body of whomever his last victim had been.

"You're starting to act more and more like a Jinchuriki... aren't you, boy?" he rasps. Orochimaru's eyes narrow in on Captain Yamato. "Now I see," he adds, moving toward us once more. "That's why he was chosen to be your watchdog, eh? Seems some of my experiments came in handy, after all. Honestly, the Leaf Village really ought to be more grateful to me. Wouldn't you agree, my darling little test subject?"

Our Captain's response? A growl. Bitter and short... clearly Orochimaru had victimized him in some terrible way.

"Test subject?" Kabuto repeats. "Who exactly is this guy?"

Orochimaru, having lifted his hand to his cover his face, begins mending it. "Years ago, when I still walked among the fools of the Hidden Leaf Village, I sought the power of the Shinobi who was not only the ultimate Wood Style Ninjutsu master, but also the one person who had total control over Tailed Beasts... The First Hokage.

"I extracted some DNA samples from the Firsts' remains, and conducted an experiment, implanting genetic components into the cells of sixteen worthy children, but their bodies violently rejected the treatment. They perished in rapid succession, one after another. Just as I was closing a wound on a subject, someone stumbled upon one of my other experiments. I was forced to flee, leaving my laboratory exactly as it was.

"I thought all the test subjects had succumbed," he adds, lowering his hand, and revealing a fully-healed face. "I never dreamed there'd be any survivors."

It makes sense now. When we were still in the Academy, that had been when I first learned of the First Hokage and his strength. To this day, I thought he'd been the only user of the Wood Style Ninjutsu. I had no idea the extent of its capabilities, but to be the only one capable of using it within the entire Shinobi nation, even then, I knew how important that was. But this Orochimaru, having gone and defiled the Firsts' grave and body to conduct an experiment like this, and on children, no less...

"You're despicable," I growl.

Orochimaru chuckles in response. "Perhaps."

"How fascinating," Kabuto says. "We're looking at the end result of your work, all those years ago. You can observe the fruits of your labour."

"There's no question he's intriguing," Orochimaru agrees, "but I wonder more about Sasuke. He needs to stretch his wings. Maybe we could put his growth to the test by pitting him against Naruto, here."

"... you don't own him," Naruto says. To my ever-increasing horror, two more tails sprout from behind him, wagging furiously. "Sasuke doesn't belong to you! Don't you talk about Sasuke, like you own him! Especially in front of me, you rotten bastard!!"

I begin my struggle to breathe as, being unable to restrain himself any further, Naruto releases a whirlwind of Nine-Tails chakra above him. For a moment, I consider putting up a barrier to shield us from it, but considering how easily it's weakened me, and destroyed even the steel beams along the bridge, I wonder if it would do any good.

Suddenly, Naruto's chakra surges once more, and only I am knocked off my feet. "Damn," I curse, putting an arm up to shield my eyes. I'd been trying so hard not to keep my Scope up, but with such an overload of chakra around me, I couldn't keep it off. I've been incapacitated without being incapacitated. And it's starting to hurt as if I were, physically incapacitated.

Through my squinted eyes, I catch Kabuto muster up the gall to try and attack Naruto, in his current state, from behind. Without lifting a single finger, Naruto screams in Kabuto's direction, releasing a wave of light at him. It throws him off his feet – I'd sensed the outcome of this attack, feeling just how much chakra had been put behind it, and forced myself onto my knees before the bridge could fully splinter where I'd fallen – and in the process, he clinches Sakura, who'd incidentally been in his path.

The collision is hard, and sends her flying toward us by several meters, a loud, solid thud following. Oh no, I realize, my eyes wide, she's hit her head!

Before us, the bridge has already begun crumbling. Sakura, unconscious, has begun sliding over the edge of it.

"Captain, Sai, get off this bridge!" I shout, already moving in her direction, my legs carrying me faster than I thought they ever possibly could. In seconds, I'm at her side, lifting her carefully over my shoulder— but the sudden appearance of my weight has begun to affect how well her small piece of bridge had been holding together. The ground beneath me jerks, and I'm nearly thrown off my feet, Sakura's weight having barely thrown me off-balance.

"Kari, hold on!" I hear Captain Yamato call. "Wood Style Jutsu!"

I don't see anything wood-like emerge from around us, so it startles me when suddenly, the bridge is lifted a good meter back into the air. But I can't regain my footing; the bridge is still on such a slant that I can't gain any traction. Grabbing onto it with some chakra is impossible with my hands tied up in such a situation.

"I can't hold it!" I hear Captain Yamato shout. I grit my teeth, and using my right arm thrown around Sakura's waist, I use my left to latch onto the bridge. My fingertips burn, and tears spring to my eyes—in a matter of minutes, I've gotten so weak from being exposed to such toxic Tailed Beast chakra, I'm absolutely useless to the cause.

"Damn it!" I scream in frustration. My fingers give out – I'd felt something snap within two of them from the strain and pressure – and our weightlessness becomes us as we begin falling to the river below. Teeth gritted, I maneuver Sakura in order to dull the fall for both of us when we hit the water.

"Sai, get them!" I barely hear our Captain say. Relief floods within me when I hear this. Sai, of all people, is gonna save us? Yeah, right.

And I am right.

On his stupid ink bird, he'd dove down into the ravine, only to do a vertical U-shaped turn up and out and in the direction of Naruto and Orochimaru. It gave me the idea to Summon Aosagi or Tobari, but in this position, and the timing, I know it wouldn't be possible.

Suddenly, something solid and hard has entrapped both Sakura and myself together. Spitting my hair from my face, I look back up to see that Captain Yamato's Wood Style Ninjutsu has nabbed us, just in time. I allow myself a breath of relief when he carefully begins lifting us back up toward the bridge, and onto solid ground once more. He releases his Jutsu, letting us loose. I gently roll Sakura out of my arms and onto the ground between us.

"Sakura," Captain Yamato starts calling, trying to stir her awake. "Come on, wake up! Hey, Sakura!"

She cringes, her lips trembling, her eyes strained. She eventually regains consciousness, her eyes heavy, her irises dark.

"Sakura, are you okay?" I ask, frantically checking her all over for any physical injuries.

"... yeah," she breathes. Slowly, she sits up. "Yeah, I'm fin—" she cuts herself off, clutching the back of her head in her hands and whimpering. She did hit her head rather hard.

"Are you sure?" Captain Yamato asks.

"... sorry," she says. "I... think I'm okay now." I sigh deeply in response to this news.

"All right, then," I say. "That's good." I stand. "In that case, then, Captain Yamato..."

"Yes?"

"... please look after Sakura. Because I'm going after Naruto."

I run to the end of the bridge, ignoring Captain Yamato's shouts after me. Using a variation of Shirin Kekkai, I create a platform beneath me, and use it to propel myself to the other side of the ravine. I land harshly, and closer to the edge than I'd meant to. I gather myself before I can fall backwards and take off along the path created by Naruto's destruction.

My heart is pounding. Even from a mile away where I am, his chakra remains relentless. I can feel each of his strikes in my chest; it's frightening, and it rattles me to my very core.

I pat the pocket containing the sealing tags. They're still there. However, now that I'm moving closer to Naruto's location, I just don't think they'll be of any use. I've never felt anything quite so volatile before. I wouldn't even know where to start to stop Naruto, and here I am, running after him. I've learned so much in the time I'd been away from Konoha, but nothing in order to help my friend.

I stop short at the tree line. My lips part as I take in the emptiness around me; a huge crater now sits in the middle of the forest, devoid of any trees or life aside from Orochimaru, who I spot standing a good twenty feet away from where a large, four-tailed, red and black creature stands. Naruto, I realize.

His chakra has grown too intense. Now that I'm at such a close range, it's become difficult to tolerate it again. Before, yes, it was strong, and it hurt to have to sense it. Now, it's... it's agonizing. Even more painful... is watching Naruto's body be used by the Nine-Tails'. He must've manipulated Naruto's anger somehow, and using it as a catalyst, he's taken control.

I swallow, when from Naruto's four-tailed form, dozens of red and blue orbs fly out into the open. Chakra, I think. It must be. And in its most potent form... So dense... it's got to be hurting him!

Suddenly, the orbs gather together, forming a great purple sphere at the points of each of his tails. A sudden shockwave sends Orochimaru leaping even further away from Naruto. And then, to my horror, Naruto swallows the sphere of chakra. His body shakes and trembles, until it starts inflating, like a great balloon. Orochimaru bites his two thumbs and presses his palms against the ground, just as Naruto releases a wave of pure power at him.

"Triple Rashomon!" I hear him shout, and the three great demon gates pop up from the ground against the blast. All around me, the earth is torn up, as well as the three gates meant to protect Orochimaru. They didn't even do a thing against it. They were annihilated... instantly.

As the dust clears and the earth settles once more, I see Orochimaru's body contorted and twisted at nearly all angles, his head lodged in the dirt. I narrow my eyes at the scene and assume correctly when Orochimaru's head pops out of the earth, a snake with a sword for a tongue emerging from between his own lips. It snags Naruto in the middle – I'd screamed out his name out of habit, completely disregarding and just forgetting how dangerous a situation this has become – and sends him flying back toward the bridge. Back toward... Sakura.

I'm running back now; I fear that I won't make it in time. In time for what, though? Just what can I do to stop Naruto? He destroyed those Rashomon like they were nothing; that sword of Orochimaru's didn't even give him a papercut! Just what can I do?

A LITTLE WHILE AGO

It's been a challenge, concealing both my physical presence and my chakra from Naruto. Of course, if he ever knew I was doing it intentionally, I just know he'd be hurt. But in this scenario, there's no choice. I have to be discreet. Naruto's safety depends on it.

I lean out of the alley way next to a tall set of apartments only slightly, just enough to be able to see down both ends of the adjacent street. Across the way stands the villages' most popular dango shop, known not only for its delicious food, but as a general meeting place between those with one or more secrets. I never thought that I'd be someone to have to keep one, considering all the trouble I've gone through over the past four years to discover all the ones about me.

Past the noren signs, I spot a pair of geta and the end of a long, white ponytail. The person I'm supposed to meet with is Master Jiraiya. Naruto would be doubly hurt if he ever found out we had.

With a deep sigh, I quickly step out from the alley way and cross the busy street. I swipe the noren aside and step lower into the dango shop. Master Jiraiya raises his head immediately, and upon seeing that it's who he'd been hoping for, sighs, too.

"All this secrecy has me tense," he admits, rubbing the back of his neck. "Maybe we should've done this elsewhere."

"It wouldn't be right," I say lowly. "Besides, I'm a bit of a sucker for traditions."

Master Jiraiya chuckles. "Sounds like somebody else I once knew," he says.

"I'm sure," I say, knowing full-well who he'd meant. "But we didn't come here to talk about my mother, did we." Suddenly garnering a serious expression on his previously amused face, I sit down across from him. One of the matrons of the shack approaches, and we order two sweet teas and an order of chichi dango. "So," I say, turning back to Jiraiya, "why exactly did I have a frog as my wake up call this morning? And I hope you gave him some reprimand; I didn't exactly appreciate being assaulted by an amphibian."

"I'm sorry, I'd thought you might appreciate a lighter mood with the message."

I suddenly laugh, myself, but not because I'd found what he'd said funny.

"When it comes to Naruto, no. You should know me a bit better than that, Master Jiraiya." We blow on our tea. I dare to take a sip, and of course, it scalds me. I take a moment to recover from the sting before setting my cup down and looking over at him. "So. Please. Let's cut to the chase. I'm supposed to cook breakfast for him today."

"Well..." I wait for him to take a sip of his own tea. "... I assume, by now, you're fully aware of Naruto's... condition, let's call it," he says, glancing from side to side. I nod, doing the same.

"Before I knew what it meant to be a Shinobi, truly... I was forced to accept that my friend had been given nothing less than a curse," I whisper. "That somebody decided it was a clever idea to seal such a... a... creature, into a child. And the fact that this has happened twice in a single generation is, in my opinion, just plain evil."

"I won't argue you with that, Kari," Master Jiraiya says, "but there's always a reason behind an action. I'd like to share this reason with you. And it can never leave this table. Do you understand?"

For Naruto? "Yes," I say. He pops a dango in his mouth and leans into the table. "But I have to say... I'm surprised by your choice to be telling me a secret so well-kept for so long... why me?"

To my surprise, Master Jiraiya bursts out laughing, gaining the attention of the other shop goers. I'm immediately hushing him, red-faced.

"It's because you're in love with him, of course!"

I choke on my own saliva.

"J-Jeez, Master Jiraiya," I pant, still recovering, "I know you're a super smart Sannin and all that, but saying that out loud and so loudly was pretty stupid, y-you know... And why do you think that, anyway..."

"I think you should really be asking yourself if you've been being discreet about it," he muses, "because it's pretty obvious to me that you are." Despite the extreme heat, I gulp down my tea. He laughs again. "Naruto needs someone willing to put their all into him, and even though you've known him the least out of everyone in this village... I feel it in my heart that that someone is you."

"... j-just get on with what you were saying," I mumble, still red in the face.

"Then I'll put this bit into short form, then," he says. "Sixteen years ago, as you know from your history lessons, the Nine-Tailed Fox attacked the village. To save it, the Fourth Hokage gave his life to seal the beast inside a newborn child— Naruto.

"Now, you also know that I taught the Fourth Hokage. Back then, I was convinced that he was the Child of Prophecy, with his genius and natural talent... but the incident changed that. The prophecy told by the Great Toad Sage did not directly involve M—The Fourth Hokage." I raise an eyebrow at the Masters' correction, but I remain silent.

"What you must understand is that it's not just the Nine-Tailed Fox that's to blame. Up until that point, it'd been sealed within another person, when the seal was broken by another during childbirth."

"Who?" I ask.

"... if I knew who was responsible, Kari, I..." Sighing deeply, I wave off my question and encourage him to continue with the story. "This person is still alive. Even though he was defeated by the Fourth Hokage, he's still out there. And I have reason to believe that somehow, he's connected with the Akatsuki, somehow."

"The Akatsuki?!" I repeat, accidentally hitting the table as I'd shot up in my seat in reaction to this news.

"Yes. I now have reason to believe that Naruto is the true Child of Prophecy. Coincidentally, so did the Fourth Hokage. The man responsible was strong enough to control the Nine-Tails."

"Strong enough to control something like that, huh..."

"The Fourth Hokage believed that by sealing it into Naruto, he could one day stop this man. He believed Naruto would become powerful enough to use the Nine-Tails' strength to face him."

"That's why Naruto was made a Jinchūriki?" I say, my jaw slack. "That's why he had to suffer for so long? Because the Fourth Hokage put such a horrible burden on him? A newborn baby? He can't have possibly—"

The expression – the sad expression – on Master Jiraiya's face has me cutting myself off, allowing my mind to slowly piece things together. Naruto wasn't even... a day old... when the Nine-Tails was sealed inside of him. A woman would have to be the obvious choice as the previous Jinchūriki to the Nine-Tails. Where else would the Fourth Hokage have found a newborn child to be able to seal it into?

"... Master Jiraiya, tell me..." I lower my voice to below a whisper and lean toward him into the table. "... is the Fourth Hokage..." A single, slight nod is my answer to my unfinished question. My lip quivers. "I-I'd always thought the resemblance between the Fourth Hokage and Naruto was a bit uncanny... Is that why you agreed to take Naruto on as your student? It all makes sense now... and this prophecy of yours... it has to come true, doesn't it...?"

"The fate of the world depends on it, Kari," he says. I nod, several more times than I'd meant to.

"... okay. Then... how can I ease his burden, Master Jiraiya?" I ask. "If there's anything I can possibly do to help him, I must. Please." I reach over and grab his hand. "I'll do anything."

"... I was hoping you'd say that, Kari." I let out a heavy, shaking breath, and sit back in my seat. "Lucky for us, not only are you the perfect person for this job because of your desire to protect Naruto, but also because you are a Yamada."

I frown. Minako's proposal of me returning to the Hidden Snow is still fresh in my mind, but I'd tucked it away for the moment to meet with Master Jiraiya here today. I have a feeling that, just like how my mother had encouraged me to accept, Master Jiraiya will do the same.

"... when Minako wanted me to return with her to the Hidden Snow, I was going to give her my refusal," I tell him. "I had until the end of the month to accept her offer. She said she'd train me, so I could learn to properly use the strength I inherited from my parents. And with a bit of... encouragement... I finally left."

The sudden emotions welling inside me has me digging my nails into my palms. I'm just so frustrated with everything.

"... you just knew, deep down, that you had no choice if you wanted to get stronger." I nod. "I understand how you feel. And as much as I don't want to say it, Minako's right. She knows more than anyone, now that Makara and Kuroko are both out of the picture, about your situation."

"... yeah. But why does being a Yamada make me the perfect person to help Naruto?" I ask, recalling his previous words.

"Because the Yamada have a secret set of techniques that you must have them teach you."

"... what technique...?

"Heikō Bosatsu."

I stop just at the tree line, and grimace. The sword that sent Naruto flying back toward the bridge hasn't cut him, no matter how hard Orochimaru tries. This is a great relief, but also...

"Naruto," I breathe, hidden behind the trees. He grips the sword pressed tip-deep against his chest and throws it aside. The force from it has Kabuto and Captain Yamato and Sakura leaping out of the way as it scores the air before them. A moment later, the sword retracts. Orochimaru must realize that there's no point in using such a technique against him.

The dust surrounding Naruto finally clears, revealing his Nine-Tails' four-tailed form once more.

I... I cannot begin to describe how heavy my heart is. I have no choice in this situation. Unlike the time where Naruto had only worn a Nine-Tails' cloak, and I'd been able to place the seal on him, now... he's too far gone for me to do anything. I... wasn't able to learn the technique that Master Jiraiya asked me to. Minako refused to help me. Chiharu refused to see me. And because of this, I-I can't do a thing to save my friend. My best friend...

He roars, sending a shockwave even all the way over to my side of the ravine. To further my horror and fears even more, Sakura suddenly breaks into a run—in Naruto's direction. My legs move before my mind tells me otherwise. She doesn't listen to Captain Yamato. She doesn't listen to me. She listens to her heart... which is what I should be doing, too.

I don't reach her in time. The negative chakra swirling around Naruto reacts to her appearance, one of his four tails lashing out at her, sending her flying several feet back.

"Sakura!!" I scream. With all the force I can muster in my body and with a running start, I catapult myself across the ravine, just barely making it to other side. I stumble on my way to her, furious, furious with absolutely everything. Furious with Sasuke, furious with Orochimaru, furious with the Nine-Tails, and more than anything, furious with myself.

I roll and dive at her. With not enough time to be careful and move her away from the situation, it's all I can do to protect her from Naruto's next attempt. But it's barely even that. Several wooden posts rise from the ground around him, curling themselves around his limbs and tails before winding around his whole body. I take a deep breath, before turning to Sakura.

"Oh, god," I exclaim, the same breath hitching in my chest. Her upper arm took the brunt of the attack; it's bleeding like crazy. In her shaken and semi-unconscious state, she shakes, her body unable to rebound from the hit. The only thing I can do right now is treat her wound, and even possibly... use Mystic Wick to ease her pain.

I hear footsteps coming toward me, but I can tell by the speed of them that they don't belong to Captain Yamato. And then, they stop, another set of wooden poles emerging from the ground.

"I won't let you step in," Captain Yamato says to Kabuto.

"You're rushing to conclusions," he responds. "I don't plan on fighting you guys anymore."

"That's about as believable as your charade back on the bridge there," I snipe at him, taking my small cleansing salve and pouring some of the solution along Sakura's wound. She winces, expectedly.

"Contrary to what you might think, Kari, it's actually the opposite," Kabuto adds. I glare up at him, having just plugged the bottle once more.

"What are you talking about?" I say. His hand still caught in Captain Yamato's Jutsu, it begins to glow green, and a stream of green chakra makes it way to Sakura's arm. My lips part. "Y-You're..."

"We both have the same goal," he says. I watch in awe as the wound begins to seal, some of the blood around it fading away, as well. "The Akatsuki are in the way. And if I let you live, I'm sure you'll end up taking care of one or two more Akatsuki for me."

Relief floods through me as Sakura's eyes crack open. "Sakura, hey!"

A sudden roar from behind me startles me, as well as a loud cracking noise that follows. He's breaking free, I realize, without even having to turn to look.

"In exchange for helping you... please get rid of as many of the Akatsuki as you can." My stare hardens on him once more. "And now that I'm done, you'd better take care of your teammate there."

And he disappears. One more loud snapping noise from behind me has me scooping Sakura up into my arms, and ready to bolt in Captain Yamato's direction; with the Nine-Tails' chakra lapping viciously at my heels here, it's too dangerous to be anywhere near Naruto in this state. Our Captain, however, runs towards Naruto, quickly weaving more hand signs. "C-Captain Yamato?!"

"Hokage Style: Elder Jutsu! Tenth Edict on Enlightenment!" I glance back, in time to watch him point his palm at Naruto and force it against his chest. A green light appears in the center of it, and Captain Yamato retreats once more, drawing a long line of chakra with him.

The ground begins to tremble and shake again; this time, from our Captain. All around Naruto, more wooden posts erupt from the broken ground, surrounding him. I watch in awe as, whatever our Captain is doing, seems to be... "... reversing his Nine-Tails' state," I breathe. Yes, the body of evil chakra that was surrounding him is beginning to regress, back into his seal.

Sakura, conscious once more, grips my hand tightly. I dare to look down at her from Naruto and see her lip trembling. Naruto gasps sharply. I'm grimacing, now. I don't know what to do. Hearing him screaming like this, it hurts so much! I can only imagine... the pain he's in...!

"Naruto!"

I stumble to my feet, leaving Captain Yamato to deactivate his Jutsu. Running through the posts, I slide to him on my knees, picking up all sorts of debris in my skin, and take him in my arms before he can fall. I wince; he's hot to the touch, and his skin is burnt all over.

"Oh, god... S-Sakura! Sakura, p-please, come here." To ask for her help after she'd been so badly injured, even despite being healed, is a terrible thing of me to do, but I can't help him on my own. I don't know enough healing Ninjutsu to even make a dent on these injuries.

"I'm here," she says, her breathing laboured. I bite my lip at the tired expression on her face. "Do you have your candle?"

"Y-Yeah, hold on..." I quickly sift through my bag, pulling out a blanket and other supplies to reach my candle at the bottom of it. Sitting it between me and Naruto, I make the single hand sign required to activate the Jutsu, and the purple flame immediately appears. The scent of jasmine slowly fills the air, and within moments of me smelling it, my legs give out beneath me. I fall awkwardly on my elbows, picking up more debris in my skin, but I place my hands against Naruto's temples.

Sakura immediately gets to work. Having removed his headband and backpack prior to me using my Jutsu, she now places her hands, glowing green with chakra, on the chest of his sweater. My body awkwardly position on the ground before them, I let out a wavering sigh of relief as the burns on his skin begin to fade, albeit very slowly.

"Please, Naruto," I beg. "Please heal. Please."

In the past, Naruto always healed quickly. Any injury he got in a fight would be healed much faster than a normal person's injuries would. We both broke our arms once. I healed within six weeks, whereas his bone reset itself within one week. It's no secret that it's because of the Nine-Tails within him. I can't help but fear that any further injuries from being in this Nine-Tails state, depending on their severity, and after seeing the results from these injuries... they may be irreversible.

Sakura suddenly shuffles her hands toward the left side of Naruto's chest, and incidentally, winces.

"W-What's wrong?" I'm immediately asking. She doesn't answer. Instead, she ups the ante on her healing chakra, and Naruto's normal skin begins to return much faster. "Sakura..."

"... Captain Yamato," she says after a moment. "That Jutsu you used to stop Naruto before... Would you teach it to me?"

"And... just what kind of Jutsu is that?"

"It's a collection of four techniques unique to the Yamada Clan," Master Jiraiya explains. "They became forbidden by the Five Great Nations because of how dangerous the effects of them are. Over a decade ago, the Yamada were ejected from the Hidden Leaf Village because they broke the law and used one of them."

And, to my surprise, he points at me.

"I'm the reason they're all in the Land of Snow?" I say.

"The fact that you're still alive is why they're there," he corrects me. "It's also the reason why your parents are where they are."

He means... why my father is dead, and my mother is stuck inside a seal, I think.

"Wait, Master Jiraiya, did you know my parents?" I ask.

"I knew your mother," he tells me. "She was also one of my students in my first Genin team with the Fourth Hokage."

"No way," I breathe. I then recall what Minako had said about her writing habits, and that she'd gotten them from her Sensei.

"One of the techniques, I have a good feeling they won't ever let you learn, and that's Fugen Bosatsu," he says. "Knowing how to fully remove the seal from you could turn you into one great big chakra bomb. But the other three... will be important for you to learn in the coming years."

Master Jiraiya glances outside the shop.

"A new war is coming, Kari. I can feel it. And we're going to need all the strength we can get."

I hadn't thought of that. Here I am, still fretting about not learning those Jutsu Master Jiraiya asked me to learn, when I forgot the main reason why I'd been speaking to him about them in the first place: To protect Naruto. This Jutsu of Captain Yamato's... might just be one of the answers to this.

"... that's not possible," he says. I grimace up at him. "The only person in the Leaf Village who can use that Jutsu is me, since I inherited the First Hokage's cells. That Jutsu forcibly suppresses the Nine-Tails' chakra... It's impossible for someone without that special power to use it. My power is just a copy of the real thing; definitely not on the same level as the First Hokage's.

"That necklace of Naruto's... it's something that belonged to the First Hokage. It's a chakra crystal that only resonates with the First Hokage's chakra. With it, one can control a Jinchūriki's chakra. It's said that this power is the reason the First Hokage became the Hokage."

"... is this also why Lady Tsunade chose you as Kakashi-sensei's replacement?" I ask him from the ground.

"That's right," he answers.

I look back at Naruto. His breathing is still erratic. At this point, the physical pain isn't the problem. Sakura might be healing his superficial wounds and burns, but his chakra is still raging inside of him and his seal. So, I release the Mystic Wick Jutsu upon removing my hands from his face, and while I wait for the feeling in my legs to return, I begin exchanging our chakra to relieve some of the pressure from his chakra.

"... all I'm ever able to do for Naruto is the smallest things," I hear Sakura whisper.

"It's not important whether the things you do are large or small," Captain Yamato tells her. "What's important is how strong your feelings of wanting to help Naruto are." He smiles. "Looking at the two of you now, it's easy to tell. You guys—"

"O-Ow..."

"Naruto!" I breathe in relief, incidentally cutting off our captain. He'd shot up from the ground, clutching the back of his head and neck in his hand, wincing. "T-Thank goodness..."

He frowns over at me. "Kari? ... what happened?" he asks. "Last thing I remember, I was chasing that jerk Orochimaru, and then... And then, what did I do after that...?" He looks up at Sakura. "Hey, Sakura—huh? Why are you crying?"

"O-Oh, I-I just got something in my eye," she easily fibs. I hold back a snort when he jumps up to his feet.

"Wait, that damned Sai said something to you, didn't he?!" he incorrectly guesses. "Like, "you're ugly"! Or, "you're buff"!"

"Calm down, there," I say, having felt the terrible vibe coming from Sakura, who'd just gotten up, herself.

"Sai didn't call me any of those things," she growls at him.

"O-Oh... really?"

"So, don't start making stuff up, you jerk!" And she whacks him. I burst out laughing, despite the previous air of anxiety between us all.

"Speaking of Sai," I say, looking over at Captain Yamato for the answer, "where did he go?" He doesn't immediately answer.

"Oi, Kari," Naruto says, rubbing his stomach where'd he'd been hit. I glance up at him. "Why are you still sitting down there?"

"Oh, um... just resting my legs," I say, rubbing my chin. Next thing I know, there's a hand in my face. I sigh, having no choice but to accept the consequences of my lie.

Carefully, and as stiffly as possible, I tighten my leg muscles and bend myself onto my feet. Of course, the lower half of my legs still being incredibly numb, I start tipping. With a shout of surprise, I'm caught by both Naruto and Sakura, having fallen in between them.

"Ah, sorry," I mumble.

Sakura sighs. "She used her Mystic Wick Jutsu again," she tells him.

"Oh, that weird candle thing?" "Mm."

"Jeez, you should've just said so, you know," he says. I'm surprised he doesn't question why. But at this point, my only concern is that I've become no better than a ragdoll; Naruto turns me around and pulls my arm over my shoulder, his one arm around my middle.

"H-Hey, you're still recovering, you know?" I tell him, flushing at the sudden close contact.

"Come on, it's the least I can do," he says. The sound of a microphone rings out, and we look to Captain Yamato.

"Just a minute," he says, raising his hand to it. Naruto suddenly decides to look around, bringing me along for the ride, and as I'd expected, his eyes get stuck on the bridge.

"Captain Yamato?"

"Oh, yeah. Right now, Sai is... travelling together with Orochimaru."

I whirl around to him. "What do mean together with?" I demand.

"All of you, let's get going."

-

We quickly – well, as quickly as possible with me being dead weight to both Naruto and Captain Yamato – travel back through the forest, to the site where Naruto had fought with Orochimaru in his Nine-Tails' form. Sliding down into the center of it, I remove myself from their side, finally able to feel my legs completely. On the ground sits an unraveled scroll, and a couple of Sai's art supplies. An impasse must've occurred. But something changed.

Naruto dips his shoe a few times into the earth.

"It's still soft," he announces. He turns on his heel and begins looking around. I frown at the expression on his face. "... the bridge was destroyed... and this place, too... What the heck happened?"

I sigh nervously. "You... really don't remember, do you," I say.

"... come to think of it... why was I unconscious in the first place?" he mumbles. I exchange a look with Sakura. She's always been the better person to make an excuse up on the spot. Me, if I-I tried lying to Naruto, I just know I'd be a mess.

"You were unconscious because you got creamed by Orochimaru," she tells him. Naruto's lips part.

"Are you serious?!" he cries. "Damn it!"

Sakura suddenly bends down, picking up one of Sai's fallen articles; a small book that'd been hidden under one of the scrolls. I recognize it as the one from back at the inn.

"Sai's things are scattered all over the place," she says. "But why is this here? This picture book was so important to him... but here it is... and here he, isn't."

"If he had to leave something precious behind, it would make sense for him to be in a tense state in front of Orochimaru," Captain Yamato points out.

"You make it sound like you watched it all happen, Captain," I say just as pointedly.

"Until recently, I placed my Wood Clone here, and was in communication with it, using this wireless radio." He gestures at his one ear.

"Then what happened to Sai?" I demand.

"After Sai's... conversation with Orochimaru, he left with him and Kabuto." We all gasp.

"What does that mean?!" Naruto exclaims.

"What were they talking about?" Sakura asks.

"They were talking a distance away... so I couldn't make out the conversation," he answers.

"I wonder what they were saying..."

"He might have been kidnapped and taken away," Sakura reasons.

I shake my head. "By the way you just worded things, I sincerely doubt that's the case here," I say to our Captain.

"You'd be right to. It seems that he approached Orochimaru of his own choice and handed him something. It was like he was trying to get on his good side or something."

"W-Wait a minute!" Naruto interrupts. "Sai's a creep, but he wouldn't betray us, would he?"

"No," Sakura says. "There's a possibility. Captain Yamato, do you know a person named Danzo?"

"Yes, I do."

"Who's that?" Naruto asks.

"A man from Root who once opposed the Third Hokage," Captain Yamato says.

"And an old gramps who doesn't agree with the Third Hokage's will," Sakura adds.

"Danzo may be using Sai to make some kind of move. It's possible that Sai may have been given a mission by Danzo that's separate from ours. There's a chance that he was charged with some kind of top-secret mission..."

"What?! So he's just using our mission to make contact with Orochimaru?!" Naruto exclaims.

"That's what I got from that," I mutter. "If it's in Danzo's interest to make some kind of deal with Orochimaru, and he didn't like Lord Third's idealisms... you gotta wonder if maybe he's plotting something against the Leaf Village, itself." I look to Captain Yamato, who suddenly wears a dark expression in response to my words. I bite my lip. "Oh man," I breathe. "I was totally just guessing, too.

"That's not good."

hi everyone! bit of an announcement... at this point in the story, as the chapters will progressively getting more detailed with the true plot, updates for bonds will be a lot slower! i know the last time i updated this story was back in july, i think, so i'll at least try to get one or two chapters on here in a span of two months. please, please, please stick with this story! i'd be able to update a lot faster, but i work full-time and am in college full-time as well!

ALSO! in back to back, there's a q + a chapter! go check it out, and ask me or kari and the gang anything you'd like!

happy new years!! stay humble!