Yep, it's been a long time since I updated this story. But Apophenia isn't dead (yet).

Apophenia

D-rank hell

A slow hike through the peaceful village seemed like a good idea to calm his mind. He already had a lot on his mind, and his father had just added another mess to the pile. Did they seriously expect a kid to shoulder all these responsibilities?

'I didn't expect them to be this serious when they said I'd be an adult the moment I became a genin,' he frowned, idly kicking away a pebble on the road. With flawless aim, the tiny stone hit the lantern post, resulting in the satisfying clang of stone hitting metal. 'Damn, I almost wished we didn't pass that annoying test. Life was simpler when I was just a student.'

Initially he had been somewhat content with the team he ended up in. It could have been better, considering how his friends had not been in his team, though it certainly could have been a lot worse as well. But now… now he was second-guessing that opinion.

The clanless orphan Jun was not his problem. While he, true to his name, was quite obedient during the test, once they had figured out its meaning, he was nothing special. He had long been the dead last of class, and not without reason. The boy had just barely passed all the tests which the academy gave, so it wasn't like he was as helpless as a random civilian, but the difference between Jun and the children raised within clans was rather big. Still, Sasuke had to acknowledge the drive which the boy had. The way Jun was sulking confused him, though.

'It seems he really wanted to be on Naruto's team. Why?' Sasuke pondered. 'Is it possible he has a crush on Tenten? He didn't really seem to act that way. Then again, I never really paid him much attention…'

Sasuke dropped the train of thought. It was irrelevant at the moment. No, his real issues lay with the third member of his team. Not his sensei, a highly peculiar kunoichi named Mitarashi Anko, even if she had once been the student of the traitor Orochimaru- and according to his father still had strange theories about Orochimaru's death. No, the shy and painfully unnoticeable Hyūga Hinata, she had suddenly become the core of his problems.

Well, not her, by definition. Hinata herself wasn't the problem. It was the position she held within that clan of hers, which made her a problem to Sasuke. Or better said: a problem to Uchiha Fugaku. Who, in turn, made it Sasuke's problem.

'Nice going, Tou-san,' Sasuke scowled at a passing civilian- one who saw his clan symbol and reacted with a scoff. The man, at Sasuke's scowl, quickly moved out of Sasuke's way. Once the man was gone, Sasuke sighed. 'I guess that's an explanation in and of itself.'

Sasuke was proud of his heritage, took pride in his Uchiha blood, and longed for the day when he would awake his clan's dōjutsu. The fact that he still not had his sharingan was already a point which gave him quite some pressure, especially because Itachi had his sharingan years earlier. But Sasuke had made it: he had become a genin without his clan's greatest asset. Not that his father complimented him for this. No… Fugaku only mention Itachi being promoted to chūnin at age ten, before he had continued about Sasuke's duty to the clan. And this was exactly where Hinata became a problem.

'Hn, at least it's not an arranged marriage or anything,' Sasuke shuddered. He did not want to think about such things just yet. Not to mention that an Uchiha/Hyūga affair would likely be cause a civil war…

No, the reason why Hinata being in team seven was problematic for Sasuke was complicated enough without any romantic issues dragging things down even further.

"You look quite happy," Itachi's voice startled Sasuke to the point where he tripped and nearly fell face-first to the ground. Itachi had quick reflexes, thankfully.

"Nii-san," Sasuke sighed. "Please don't do that."

"What?"

"That."

"So, what's got you on edge like this?"

"You spoke with Kaa-san, didn't you?"

"I might have," Itachi admitted offhandedly. While he and Fugaku weren't exactly seeing eye-to-eye, Mikoto kept a more neutral role. Even if Itachi moved out, she still spoke with him on a daily basis- provided that Itachi wasn't on a mission.

"Then you already know."

"True, but talking about it can be relieving, Sasuke."

"Whatever," Sasuke sighed tiredly. "Tou-san explained the deal he made with Hokage-sama, what put me in a team with the heiress of the Hyūga clan. Tou-san aims to improve the ties between our two clans."

"Oh, I didn't know you liked that girl that way, Sasuke."

"I don't," Sasuke scowled, not very amused by Itachi's joke. "As the heiress Hinata will take an important position in her clan and if she has a positive image of the Uchiha clan, Tou-san hopes that the silent animosity between our clan can be put to a stop. Or at the very least lessen. Basically, Tou-san shoved the fate of our clan on me, as he believes that we will face more and more discrimination."

"The Hyuga clan is, aside from its wealth, obviously one of the most important players in the political game field," Itachi agreed. "If such an influential clan would look favorable at the Uchiha…"

"I know, I know," Sasuke sighed. "But the problem is that the Hyūga are probably not happy with the team their heiress was assigned to. Hinata is probably instructed to report my every mistake, probably even try to pry for information through me."

"Yes, you are caught in the crossfire now, little brother," Itachi ruffled through Sasuke's black hair. "And here I thought you really wanted to become a genin."

"I didn't expect something like this."

"Hm, I know what you mean," the elder brother nodded calmly. "I bet you'd rather have had that pink haired one in your team. You know, the one you called an annoying fangirl, yet secretly found rather-"

"Nii-san!"

"What?" Itachi said with fake-innocence.

"Shut up," Sasuke grumbled, though he wasn't able to hide a faint blush from his elder brother. "And why are you so happy?"

"Oh, I got a mission," Itachi smirked. "A great but unexpected honor- one that puts me in a team with a Hyūga as well, now that I think about it."

"What kind of mission?"

"Promise to keep it a secret?"

"I promise."

"Sarutobi Asuma was recalled from his duty as a member of the Shugonin Jūnishi (Twelve Guardian Ninja), the ones who guard the Daimyo," Itachi's smirk grew wider. "He is going to train one of the new genin teams, and I… Hokage-sama asked me to replace Sarutobi-san. So I'm going to be in a team with Hyūga Hizashi, and several other important people."

"…wow," Sasuke said, blinking in surprise. "I bet Tou-san is pleased."

"Perhaps, but I doubt it would solve our problems- as you probably hoped it would. My promotion might be a good development for the Uchiha clan, as it opens up many possible ways our clan can create formal and informal ties with the royal court. But at the same time, it would do little to solve the difference in opinion Tou-san and I have," Itachi shrugged.

"Why?" Sasuke asked dejectedly. "You're the heir to our clan, soon our strongest member; why can't you and Tou-san stop arguing? Why does he think that you and Shisui-san aren't loyal to our clan?"

"Why? Because I embraced a power he rejected…"

While Sasuke was processing his changing situation, another trio of genin was slowly limping back from the training grounds. Theirs was the last team to finish the test the sensei had given. And luckily, they had not failed.

"Why couldn't I get in a team with Sasuke-kun," Sakura grumbled.

"Kurenai-sensei took an interest in your potential for genjutsu. Why? Because your chakra control is among the best of our year," Shino explained in his typically stoic Aburame way. "I would presume that your smaller-than-average chakra reserves only add to your chakra control, since the smaller a person's reserves, the better their control usually is."

"Thank you for the lecture," Inuzuka Kiba replied irritably. "Just what we needed after hours of playing hide-and-seek with a freaking jōnin."

"I had assumed that someone with your intellectual abilities would have appreciated the information," Shino replied pointedly, pushing up his dark sunglasses.

"Why you…"

"Behave yourself," Sakura glared at the Inuzuka. "Stupid genjutsu talent taking away my big chance to be in a team with Sasuke-kun," she mumbled darkly to herself. "If only Sasuke-kun's sensei had appreciated the same thing."

The two bewildered males decided to keep some distance from the irate pinkette. Shino even decided to keep the conclusion he had reached from Sakura. He was convinced that it was no coincidence that neither Naruto nor Sasuke had been teamed up with any of their fangirls. Why? Because such things would only pose a distraction, and the girls in question would probably pay more attention to looking good in front of their respective crushes than properly perform their tasks as kunoichi.

But that was something Haruno Sakura would probably not appreciate to hear, so Shino kept him mouth shut. Why? Because he did not fancy having a large lump on the back of his head, like the act-first-think-later Inuzuka already had.

A talent for genjutsu was highly likely, but Shino was more intrigued by Sakura's fluctuating talent for taijutsu. The lithe girl surely packed a punch. Why? Because…

"Okay, introductions!"

"…why?" Fū stared blankly at the cheerful Uchiha.

"It's tradition."

"Konoha tradition."

"Yes," Shisui nodded. "And you're part of a Konoha team now."

"But I am Takigakure property," the green-haired girl said with badly hidden bitterness.

"She's our team's little ray of sunshine, sensei," Naruto rolled his eyes. "Though, I'm inclined to agree. Why introductions when we already know each other?"

"It's tradition."

"I think you've broken him," Naruto glanced at Fū. "He's already repeating himself."

"In my time, students still respected their teachers."

"Hm, as much as I hate to say it, I must agree with you," Fū sighed. "He's definitely broken."

"Hey!"

"Ignore them, Shisui-sensei," Tenten slapped her adoptive brother on the side of his head. Not on top of his head, because the tiny clone of Kurama was sitting there. Said clone was keeping a close eye on the Uchiha.

"I'll try," Shisui sighed. He was glad he had these kids assigned to him. He saw it as a positive change from working with seasoned jōnin or chūnin, which he was doing these past few years. These little innocent kids… 'Scratch that. They're not exactly innocent little babies. Fū has seen too much. Tenten is too mature for her age. And Naruto hides it well, but he's not as stupid as he acts. They've still got a lot to learn, though.' He shook his head, as if he wanted to clear out the thoughts buzzing through his head. He needed to play his part, and couldn't let himself be distracted. "Let's start with names, likes, dislikes, goals, dreams of the future, and such."

"My name is Tenten," Tenten started, after Shisui pointed at her. "I like my family. I dislike people judging me because I'm a girl, an orphan, or because I don't have any fancy bloodlines. My goals… I guess my goal simply is to prove myself as a kunoichi, to show the village that I'm worth my spot in the Namikaze family."

"Nee-chan…"

"I know you, Kaa-san, and Tou-san don't care about such things, but I know I have to prove myself to everyone else," Tenten shrugged. "I guess what I really dislike is just the stupid shallow prejudice of people. And I want to prove them all wrong."

"My name is Namikaze Naruto," Naruto continued after Shisui pointed at him. "I guess I dislike prejudice just as much as Nee-chan does. As for my likes… my family, which includes Tenten-neechan," he gave her a look as if he dared her to tell him otherwise, "Yūgao-neechan, Baa-chan, Gama-jisan, Sarutobi-jiisan, ramen, the color orange, and even Kurama- when he's not being grumpy-"

"Sycophant."

"-and resorting to impossibly difficult words. As for my goals," Naruto frowned. "I want to find a way to make Kaa-chan better again, and I want to become an even more awesome Hokage than Tou-san is. Oh, and I want to eat ramen."

"Ramen?" Shisui raised one eyebrow. "Eating ramen is not much of a goal, compared to something as big as 'becoming Hokage'."

"Don't diss the ramen," Naruto glared at his sensei. "It's the food of the gods."

"Ignore him when he's raving about ramen, Shisui-sensei," Tenten slapped her adoptive brother on the side of his head. Again.

"Right," Shisui smiled faintly. "And you, Kurama-san?"

"My name is none of your business. My likes are few. My dislikes are many," Kurama said darkly. "As for my goal, I could say that it would be the prevention of ever allowing a person such as Uchiha Madara rise again."

"That's… specific," Shisui chose this word to describe the not-so-veiled threat against his entire clan. 'But considering its history, it is not so odd that the Kyūbi thinks this way. The Nanabi might not hold a similar distaste against my clan, but I'm sure it won't be that much more positive about me. Oh well, it is irrelevant at this point.'

"I'm Fū," the green-haired girl scowled when her sensei pointed at her lastly. Though Shisui merely worked clockwise, Fū saw it as 'being picked last', what she interpreted as another act of discrimination. And considering she saw her being put in this team, with the use of a technicality that labeled her as the 'dead last', as discrimination as well- completely unaware that Minato arranged it with her wellbeing in mind. Sadly, Fū was not even remotely as cheerful as Chōmei wished her to be. The carefree creature hated how leery his jinchūriki was of the world around her.

"…and?" Shisui gave her a verbal nudge.

"I like Chōmei, beetles, and sweet stuff like candy. I dislike humans. My goals are none of your business," Fū huffed. Shisui could see that she wasn't completely telling the truth, and ironically it was Kurama who thought her aversion of humankind was unhealthy.

Because, what she wanted, really wanted, was a friend. And not just any friend; she wanted someone who'd be able to understand her, who would understand the position she was put in, who would understand the way she was treated. She didn't care for empty words or hollow gestures; she had been betrayed too many times in her life to appreciate those. No, normal people wouldn't know what it was to be like her, to be a jinchūriki; to be less than a human and more than a demon. Regular people wouldn't even begin to understand such a life. And this is why she felt she was alone in the world, causing her to have a strong desire for kinship. To not be so horribly lonely.

This was exactly why she felt such animosity against Naruto; for he, who was so similar to her, was acting like a human- was treated like a human being. One could call this jealousy, bitterness, or whatever, but the point remained that she felt alone. And to her it seemed that even Chōmei did not really understand that. Because he, even if she pitied him for how he was treated, still had eight others just like him.

So Fū's dream, the thing she wanted more than anything else, was to have a friend. Fū, however, would rather die than be honest about what she wanted from life. Especially in front of them. Tenten seemed, to her, tolerable, and the jōnin seemed a bit goofy but at least not an outright asshole, but her problem was with Naruto. She had expected him to be like her, to- perhaps- be the friend she wished to have, yet turned out to be a traitor to his kind, to be more human than she could tolerate him to be.

To her, he was a disappointment.

"I bet her dream is to be a star in the stand-up comedy scene," Naruto said dryly. Another thing Fū hated: he mocked her.

"Now, now, let's all stay friendly, shall we?" the Uchiha tried to pacify the situation. He could see Fū's smoldering anger, though the reasons behind that rage eluded him. "I suppose I'm the last one to introduce myself. As you know, my name is Uchiha Shisui. My likes would be my clan and the village, though what I truly treasure is peace itself. My dislikes are needless conflict and hypocrisy. As such, my dream is an impossible one: a world of peace."

"An Uchiha dreaming of peace," Kurama scoffed. "How ironic."

"Not all of us can be defined by the actions of our ancestors," Shisui immediately gained Naruto's approval, and considering how the boy already had a positive opinion on the Uchiha due to Sasuke, Kurama decided not to press the issue any further. Shisui ignored the fox, after a few seconds of silence had passed, and continued. "Now, let's go to the office and get our first official mission!"

"YAY!"

Naïve as usual, Naruto cheered at the idea of going on a mission. Tenten seemed to be eager as well. Even Fū seemed slightly less annoyed. Kurama, on the other hand, knew what was coming. If they would react similar to how Kushina had reacted… he just prepared for the show.

'I wonder how long they'll think of the whole D-rank thing as entertaining,' Shisui shared the bijū's sentiments.

Opinions could change quickly. After three weeks, neither Kurama nor Shisui still found the D-ranks entertaining, and were both just as bored as the three genin. The genin- Naruto and Tenten- begged and whined, but still Minato only assigned them to D-ranks. Fū, meanwhile, took the whole thing in stride. If nothing else, she was happy that they spent the mornings on training, and that she did not get mistreated like in Takigakure. Better, even, was that these missions earned her a little bit of income. All of a sudden she owned money, money she earned, rather than some allowance given to her, and it allowed her to buy things that truly belonged to her- a novelty to the girl.

Not that she liked the missions, mind you. Walking a dog, babysitting (did babies just have to puke whenever she held them?), or assisting with a wide variety of other menial chores; it wasn't befitting a shinobi, never mind a jinchūriki, to do these kinds of things.

"What?!"

"Not again…"

She kept her mouth shut, but Fū agreed. After three times, she did not look forward at doing this again.

"Tora escaped this morning," Minato smiled contently, clearly amused by his protesting children. "So I wish you luck. And don't be late; your Kaa-san is making stew today!"

"I'm warning you now," Kurama hopped on Minato's plate, ignoring the cries of protest coming from Kushina. "Next time we're ordered to chase down that wretched cat it'll die."

"The wife of the Daimyo would be very displeased if you did such a thing," Minato poked the little fox with a finger, which got slapped away immediately.

"That would be your problem, not mine or the brat's."

The peace returned and eventually Kushina started clearing the table. Tenten and Naruto helped with the dishes, while Yūgao excused herself- trying to make it sound like she wasn't meeting with Hayate, but doing it in such an obvious way that everyone knew where she was going.

It left a tired but content Minato alone with the little fox. A fox that wasn't intent on letting the weary man rest.

"What?" Minato grunted, not bothering to hide his exhaustion anymore.

"Why?"

"Why what?" the kage frowned.

"The Uchiha."

"You mean Shisui? He's a skilled jonin, whose loyalty I do not question, so he was the perfect candidate to be the sensei for Naruto and Tenten. I probably don't need to explain that I appointed an Uchiha for reasons."

"The clan's precarious position," Kurama couldn't help but smirk. Inadvertently it had been his actions that further demolished the clan's reputation, and Kurama rather enjoyed that irony. Sure, it was a rogue Uchiha that had used him, the night Naruto was born. And Uchiha Madara had, technically, also betrayed his clan. None of it prevented Kurama from having any sort of restraint in his grudge against the clan.

"Not to mention that, to all the people who doubt your intentions, it is a good thing to have a loyal Uchiha near you- one who could potentially prevent you from turning against Konoha."

"That kid might have the mangekyō, but he's a far cry from Madara. Unless he is hiding some special talent at genjutsu he won't be able to control me if I chose to break free from this seal. And as long as I'm in the brat's seal, I'm practically invulnerable."

"Mmhmm," Minato nodded. "But not many people know that you're helping Naruto. Even fewer know why."

"There are some who are aware that a strange person is occasionally visiting Konoha. Talented sensors might be able to discern his true identity."

"Perhaps, perhaps not," the blond shrugged. "He is quite different from my son."

"…is that guilt you are hiding?" Kurama could sense negative emotions, a fact he had kept hidden- everyone had the right to keep one or two aces up their sleeves. He could sense, however, the spike in Minato's emotions.

"I could barely say it was my fault, yet at the same time… I nearly did it. Again, from his point of view. I thought I had it all figured out, that Naruto would be the best chance Konoha would have on the long run, but I never thought of what could go wrong before he'd have the chance to grow strong."

"Do you know why I do not regret thrashing this village, twelve years ago?"

"Well?"

"Konohagakure no Sato is just like any other hidden village."

A beacon of dark emotions, filled with people who had murdered, pillaged, or even raped. Filled with people who suffered the consequences of such actions. Or… those who wished to still commit such heinous acts. While Kurama could see the reasons behind it, it had still been a sickening experience to sit through all the lectures where Konoha was glorified, while other villages were vilified. Propaganda was a useful weapon, instrumental at keeping an armed force unified and loyal, aimed at a common enemy the shinobi were programmed to despise and hate. The oversimplification of good versus evil, light versus dark, it was crammed into the minds of these innocent and ignorant children from the moment they first walked into the academy- not in an obvious way, but subtly.

Nothing, however, could hide from Kurama's senses. Whether they thought they were doing well or not, when their actions were objectively evil Kurama could sense the intent behind those actions as negative emotions. And considering the nature of the mangekyō sharingan, this was also why he strongly distrusted Uchiha Shisui. While the man could play the part of a supportive and amiable sensei, Kurama could sense the darkness the man hid.

The important question was: how much darkness was hidden?

"-and then I caught the damn thing in a cage of bone. Shisui-sensei didn't let me kill it before we reached Dad's office, though."

"Not that you stopped Tora when it tried to claw out Fū's eyes, during its attempt to flee from Shijimi-sama," Tenten added to her brother's story. The two of them were aiding Kushina with the dirty dishes, while sharing the story of the fourth successful chase and capture of Tora the demonic cat.

"Poor Fū," Kushina frowned. "Did she get medical attention?"

"The cat his nasty claws, but it can't get through Fū's skin," Naruto shrugged.

"Don't shrug like you don't care," Kushina swatted him with the frying pan she had been holding. "Fū's a good girl."

"Deep down," Naruto rolled his eyes. "Very, verrry deep down."

"What did you do to anger her so much?" Tenten looked at Naruto.

"I wish I knew. Kurama's rather vague about it. Something about jealousy or whatever. Not really a reason to attempt to turn a simple spar into a death match," he sighed. "I even kinda liked her… I mean, I've never been able to engage anyone in taijutsu aside from Tou-san, Jii-san, Kakashi, or Gai-san. And then she just dropped by, not only being a fellow jinchūriki but also having a similar skill at defense."

"And you liked her eyes," Tenten giggled.

"They're orange!" Naruto defended himself. "What's not to like about orange?"

"I think red's better," Kushina smirked.

"Yeah, you're red, Tou-san is yellow, and that makes me orange," Naruto flashed his goofiest grin.

"You seem rather yellow to me, though," Tenten joked.

"Oi! I'm no coward!" Naruto bellowed, splashing his hands in the dishwater so that Tenten got soaked- something which Kushina 'rewarded' with another hit with another pan.

If there was one thing more annoying than an obnoxious brat, it was two brats- that was the sole thought that currently filled her head. Alone, Namikaze Naruto was already insufferable enough, but with his little minion, the kid literally called the blond 'boss', things spiraled completely out of control. Individually they could drive people mad, but together… Let's just said that there was a good reason why Konohamaru had a tokubetsu jōnin assigned to him, even if it was under the guise of being a tutor.

Vandalizing the Hokage monument was one of their better stunts, she had to admit, but it had made it clear that the village needed protection from these boys.

'Better a little vandalism than the times when I became their target. Their attempts to 'cheer me up' have been rather horrible,' Fū looked down at the training ground with a scowl. 'Why on earth did they make babysitting the Sandaime's grandson a D-rank mission?'

"They could've been brothers," a voice ripped her away from her thoughts.

"Perhaps," she partly agreed. When it came to their behavior they were much alike, but in terms of appearance they were quite different.

"Naruto has always had a soft spot for that poor boy," Tenten sighed, sitting down next to her.

"Poor boy?" Fū repeated, not even bothering to keep the sarcasm from her voice.

"People can suffer a wide variety of burdens, Fū," the brunette seemed tired. More so than Fū would have expected from this, thus far, relatively easy day. Sure, Shisui had put them through their usual rigorous morning exercises, and Tenten was the one who didn't have a nigh-endless supply of energy, but she did not usually get this tired.

Unless Tenten was troubled by something different.

"Konohamaru-kun lost his parents before he even really got to know them," Tenten took Fū's silence as a positive thing and had decided to continue the conversation. "As a result, he was raised by his grandfather. His uncle, Asuma-sensei, was away for a long-term mission, so old man Hiruzen had taken charge of Konohamaru."

"So? The brat's not the first to lose his parents. At least he had someone to look after him," Fū couldn't help but remark snidely. She knew that part of her annoyance stemmed from petty jealousy, but refused to admit that even to herself. She refused to accept the fact that she missed her parents, but no matter how hard she wanted to only feel hatred for how they had betrayed her she still felt hurt.

"Sarutobi Hiruzen is also the Sandaime Hokage, Fū," Tenten shook her head. "While Tou-san took over for him, the old man still has his fair share of duties. But what is worse for Konohamaru is that he had to carry the pressure which the expectations that were placed on him, all due to his lineage. That is why Naruto can get along with him so well. And I guess Sasuke is a similar case as well. You know, unlike the two of us, who came from nowhere, they were raised with a constant pressure, they live under the looming shadows of their brothers, fathers, or grandfathers… a shadow that threatens to consume them, as no one really wants to see them for who they are."

"If they can't cope with expectations, they shouldn't become shinobi," Fū huffed.

"What if I told you they do not have a choice in that matter?"

"Huh?"

"Why do you think Konohamaru's parents died?" Tenten asked. "Sarutobi Hiruzen is famous, and as such he is also someone who attracts a lot of enemies. These enemies go after targets near the old man as well, the moment they realize they can't touch him directly. That is why Konohamaru has no choice but to grow strong, or one day he will inevitably meet an assassin sent by someone who sees his bloodline as a potential threat."

"…oh," Fū frowned. She hadn't looked at it that way. Blood, in such a contrast, was quite the burden.

"I dare say that Tou-san made even more enemies than the Sandaime," Tenten added sadly. "People will be coming after Naruto too. And me, I suppose, even if I'm not related to them by blood I'd still make a good hostage."

"That is… annoying."

"Konohamaru and Naruto were raised, from the very start, with such a danger hanging over their heads. Goofing off like this is their way of coping with the stress that it puts on them," Tenten explained. "Naruto once told me that Konohamaru would rather fake a laugh than show a real frown. Personally, I think he wasn't talking about Konohamaru at that moment, but rather about himself."

"…"

"Look, what I'm trying to say is… Naruto's isn't some kind of great scholar or anything, but he's not the idiot he seems to be either. I won't pretend to know why you dislike him, that's your business, but I am inclined to believe that you don't really know him, that's all," Tenten finished, after which she left Fū alone, giving her some space to think about what had been said.

With a concentrated scowl marring his face, Uchiha Shisui looked at his female students, displeased by what he saw. Whether this was due to the lack of unity in his team, and the seeming lack of solution to mend that problem, or due to other reasons… none knew.

Well, someone knew.

"C-can you repeat that?" he fell back in his chair. "This can't… Shizune-san, she is sober right now, right?"

"Tsk, you're acting like a brat," the older Senju huffed indignantly. "I thought that you, of all people, should have appreciated my knowledge and ability."

"While you are sober, yes, but when there's sake involved- which is most of the times when you're out of the village- I'm inclined to consider such outrageous claims to be the ravings of a drunk," Namikaze Minato said with a perfect deadpan. Shizune's muffled giggles didn't make Tsunade's temper any better.

"I am sober. And I am sure about the possibility I just told you about. It's by far the best lead I had in all the years I've spent researching Kushina's condition. From the fact that she's still alive to the aspect of trying to cure her inability to gather chakra, I've gone through every possible library. Hell, I've even gone through the demented theories crafted by my late teammate," she scowled.

The buxom woman still felt disgusted that Orochimaru had fallen so deeply, without anyone really realizing. Much like Jiraiya, she too blamed herself for not being there for him. Sure, she knew he had always been a creepy person, but since she basically grew up with him, from the moment she became genin, Tsunade (just like Jiraiya) never had much issues with Orochimaru's attitude. He was a genius, and his eccentric behavior just seemed to be part of the deal. Human experimentation, on the other hand…

"Whatever Orochimaru became, he was a genius. And physical modification had been one of his prime research areas," Tsunade sighed. "Yet even in his notes I could barely find anything that would enable me to help Kushina."

"Until now?"

"…it is more due to a random stroke of luck that I found this lead," Tsunade admitted hesitantly.

"We were in a gambling joint where someone talked about a creepy clan," Shizune clarified. "One of the merchants who had dealt with them tried to seduce Tsunade-sama. She was rather drunk, so-"

"Shizune, shut up."

"What?" Shizune asked in faux-innocence. "It's not like you slept with the man."

"Shut. Up."

"Though I was surprised when I found you in bed with the man's wife," Shizune smirked mischievously.

"That's not how I remember it," Tsunade growled. "And let's change subjects now and back to the possibility of a cure."

'She got drunk to the point where she slept with another woman? How strong must that beverage have been? I should probably not tell this to Jiraiya-sensei, or he'd get a heart attack,' Minato felt a drop of sweat running down the back of his head. "Yes, how would it be possible to heal Kushina-chan? You said that it would be impossible to undo the damage done to her chakra pathways without killing her."

"Correct," Tsunade nodded, visibly relieved that Minato had decided to change back to the main subject again. "A jinchūriki, to some extent, fuses with the bijū that is sealed within him or her. In Kushina's case, the sole reason why she even survived the extraction process to begin with was due to her Uzumaki heritage. If not for that, she would have died the moment the Kyūbi broke free. Of course, surviving the extraction doesn't imply that she could have lived- or should have been able to survive- for long. I know that you and Kushina have been very shady about what exactly did happen that night, but I feel compelled to once again ask."

"As I explained years ago, the decay was stopped."

"It isn't just that simple, Minato," Tsunade shook her head. "Someone literally froze her chakra pathway system. It keeps her weak and vulnerable, unable to recover from the damage done, even if it also prevents the decay from continuing."

"Her body was ruined by the extraction, yes, but re-sealing the Kyūbi into her was no option either."

"Of course it wasn't. She was- and still is- so fragile that she would never have survived that process. Still, she essentially cheated death," the Senju urged. "Before I even start thinking about how to change her condition, to improve it without allowing the decay from the extraction to be started again, I need to know how her death was prevented."

"I… I cannot really explain."

"If I change the current equilibrium in her body, the destruction caused by having the Kyūbi ripped out of her would simply continue again, and she'd die. This is why I couldn't do anything about her situation. If I knew what it was that happened to her after the extraction, it might-"

"All I know is how it was explained to us- that the 'warmth' was leaking out of Kushina and that this process was stopped. If it could be reversed it would have been done already, so I think we can assume that he doesn't know either."

"'He'?"

"…" Minato stared at the overly curious Senju, and then to her student. "Shizune, could you please leave my office for a moment?"

"Eh? Oh, as you wish, Hokage-sama," the raven-haired girl bowed respectfully.

"Anbu, leave, and make sure none can get near my office," Minato commanded. Apart from four puffs of smoke, nothing changed. He went through a series of hand seals in a speed that astounded Tsunade, before he looked up at her again. "The office is secure now."

"Is it really this much of a secret?"

"I labeled it as an S-rank secret for several good reasons. In fact, there isn't even a single instance in which the true events of that night have been documented."

"Why?"

"Because someone interfered. Two people, actually. Firstly there was an Uchiha who attacked us, tore the Kyūbi out of Kushina, and then commanded the fox to attack-"

"What?!" Tsunade slammed a fist down into Minato's office. "Only Madara had the power to subjugate the Kyūbi!"

"…he did claim to be Uchiha Madara," Minato shrugged. "Don't panic, he's dead anyway."

"H-how?"

"Because a second person intervened. This person killed Madara- whether it was truly the legendary Madara or not- and then somehow halted the Kyūbi. He was the one to stop me from sacrificing my own life, and the one who prevented Kushina's death."

"Who… who is this person?"

"Names are not important," Minato said evenly. "What matters is that he, acting on pure instinct, managed to stop the decay. As he called it: he stopped the 'warmth' leak from Kushina. He isn't the type to bother with technicalities, so I'm not sure… well, it's safe to say that what he did would never be replicated by others anyway."

"So you do not know."

"No, we do not."

"Is he still around, though?"

"He occasionally visits Konoha, yes," Minato said sheepishly. "Remember the time that Naruto got kidnapped?"

"You're not saying that…"

"It was him," the Hokage nodded with a smile. "Though he did it so that he could form that little clone-like body Kurama now uses. And for this he needed Naruto to tap into the chakra coming from the seal."

"Hence the theatrics. Naruto needed to either be afraid or angry enough to tap into that chakra," Tsunade realized. "And can I assume that he was also the reason why the Kyūbi- Kurama- is cooperative?"

"Yes."

"What he did… the things I could learn from it," Tsunade sighed. "They go far beyond any simple realm of ninjutsu, Minato. I presume I do not have to explain to you how incredible Naruto's true power is, do I?"

"Technically it is Kurama's power," Minato corrected the Senju. "Although Naruto definitely has a role as a catalyst. After all, prior to his current predicament Kurama has never been able to freely create bones like this- he was bound to the design of his own body."

"Yes, but while he cooperates with Naruto… this is exactly the reason why I want to take his team with me."

Just a little past the walls, in the dark shadows of the nightly forest, a strange creature rose from the ground. Half white, half black, the being mostly resembled a Venus flytrap-like humanoid. The white half seemed rather giddy, while the blacker half remained stoic and patient. Not even a spec of chakra gave away their position, completely hiding themselves within the surrounding nature, and yet they waited for someone to approach them.

He, of course, knew when and where they were supposed to meet, hence not requiring to sense the dual-colored Zetsu.

"You're early."

"You too," The white half said jovially. "Why did you call for me?" the blacker half voiced its annoyance. "It better be worth the risk."

"Of course it is," the Uchiha, cloaked to the point where even Zetsu would've had trouble identifying the man had he not call him out earlier. "The Yondaime slipped up."

"Oh, interesting. Quite unusual for him. Yes, and all the more convenient."

"While it is too early for us to directly target the boy, you could try to target the ones closest to him. The sister, especially, would make a good hostage."

"Risky. Very risky. Entering the village and snatching her away, right under their noses. Even we might risk exposure. Which would be bad. Very bad."

"There are other ways," the Uchiha chuckled, tossing Zetsu a scroll. "I think that should work. Just delegate it to a couple of clones. I would've done it personally, if I could, but now that I have gotten the assignment I wanted…"

"You cannot risk blowing your cover either," Black Zetsu said pensively. "Very well, we'll take a look at it. You really sure that jinchūriki would listen to us if we have his sister?"

"Very sure. Soon, the exams will come. Make sure that the other members are properly prepared by that time," the Uchiha turned and started walking back to the walls. "After all, we don't want to disappoint our clients, do we?"

Author's notes:

Couldn't come up with a proper name for this chapter, so I just wrote the first thing that came to mind. Between Tora and Konohama, I thought it was fitting. Not the most original choices, I know. I was lazy, sue me. Then again, these D-ranks were not meant to have the focus of this chapter, so I didn't feel the need to waste too much energy on them anyway.

I rather wanted to shed some more light on Fū, and flesh out the other teams, providing some more perspectives on the current situation. Shino overthinking things. Sasuke worrying about things. Naruto screwing up things. Fū being pissed off about things. Zetsu scheming things. And an Uchiha betraying things… but who's the big baddy of this story?

Read and review please! I hope you've enjoyed the chapter.

-Z-