Ch 48 of Stubbornness

Note: Interesting reviews I've been receiving while I was away. I'm sorry as always, this Christmas and New Years, I wanted to relax and spend some time on a little vacation. I got a bit side tracked but hopefully I'll be on the computer more often...hopefully

It was the next day in the hospital room that a single voice continued to speak loud enough to merit warning. It was outside this room that the great Tsunade took pleasure in watching how one of the senior medical staff members seemed to be in an argument with the young Uchiha.

"Ah a feisty one, eh, Lady Tsunade?" The voice came from behind as Tsunade didn't bother turning to look but instead, she agreed with a slight nod.

"Eh, Chouseki, what has that brat done now?"

"Well, from what I've heard so far, it would seem that the young heir tried to test out his physical movements this morning but one of the staff caught him," Chouseki replied.

Chouseki used to be in charge of Sasuke's recovery every time the young boy entered the hospital. In truth, with the boy coming in all those times, the mature man had developed a personal care for the child, ever since the boy first recovered from his coma, and the incident with the Hyuuga kidnapping, he already knew how stubborn the boy could be at that young age. "It seems he's getting an earful from the advisor. He should be used to this by now."

"Mm, I see," Tsunade tapped her chin lightly in thought as she spotted the pink haired assistant of the advisor inside the room. Tsunade remembered her from the Chuunin incident, she was very helpful, but right now, it seemed that girl was feeling the pain of her teammate at the moment.

"Oh by the way Lady Tsunade, I finished the blood sample testing you requested."

"You've finished already?" She asked a little surprise as she turned to the head medical ninja. It was then that Tsunade noticed something about this ninja. She would always see him wearing that same medical outfit; white lab coat zipped up with that white hat covering that she couldn't seem to find the name for as a question suddenly came to mind, "do you ever wear regular clothes?"

"Umm, not that it's relevant but yes, I do when I go Karaoke at the bars some nights."

'Karaoke?'

"But beside the point, I sent the sample to your testing chambers; I think you might be surprised with the results."

"I'm sure I will, thank you," she nodded to him in gratitude which was returned before she sighed and headed towards the room, "I think I should save the brat, even though I agree with this advisor…what was her name again?" she asked only to see that Chouseki had already left. She shook her head before entering the room.

When she entered, the lectures stopped as the head nurse turned to speak with the slug princess.

"Lady Tsunade, please knock some sense into this boy. Early physical exertion will only endanger the boy's health, and not only that, I think he is trying to escape this facility."

"No, I wasn't," they turned to the boy Sasuke who sat there with a face that seemed to be irked by the early lectures, "I just felt cramped. Since my legs didn't seem too damaged, I just thought I would stretch them out, that's all."

"Then explain how you ended up walking all over your room and why you were caught standing near the open window?"

"Umm," Sasuke scratched the back of his head with his good hand as he smiled nervously, "it was stuffy?"

"I think I heard enough," Tsunade commented before turning to the advisor, "I'll handle it from here, thank you."

The advisor bowed briefly before leaving the room, along with Sakura who gave one last look of concern then left.

Tsunade, on the other hand, seemed to be calmer than what Sasuke expected as he started to become nervous. She stared at the boy for a full minute, and then to the large window at the side before she stared back at the boy through the corner of her eyes then spoke in a cool voice, "Looks like I might use Shizune's idea with the rope."

"I'd rather if you didn't," Sasuke started to sweat as he watched Tsunade sigh before moving to the side of his bed.

"Alright brat, let me see them."

"W-what?" his cheeks turned red as one of Tsunade's eyes twitched.

"Your legs, what are you thinking of?"

"Nothing, I knew that," he spoke before lifting off the blanket as Tsunade sighed again and started to examine the boy's legs.

"Your legs weren't as damaged as your upper body, but still," she made a motion with her hand directed towards the boy before instructing, "can you stand up? Let's see if you can really walk."

The Uchiha made his best efforts to stand, which wasn't much since he did test out his legs in the early morning. Tsunade must have sensed it as well when Sasuke experienced no problems getting out of the bed and standing up.

"Did you really get any sleep?" she had to question as the boy only glanced up at her sheepishly.

He only needed about two hours of sleep; it was part of this curse seal's ability to absorb aspects within demon containers. Sasuke wasn't sure how it worked but he could sense a power fueling the seal, changing it, and creating something different from the original heaven's curse seal that Orochimaru had given him.

"Yes, I did," he started moving around while trying not to let his bandaged right arm get in the way. It was strange walking within the room, having only one eye at the moment changed his perspective. Things seemed farther to reach, like when he had tried to grab a glass of water, he ended up falling short in his reach. He needed to correct this distortion of perception with more practice of interacting with his environment.

"Right," Tsunade didn't seem convince as she watched him walk around the room, but, then again, she didn't really seem to mind, "come here brat."

Sasuke nearly sighed at being ordered like a little child but he guessed it couldn't be helped since he had been acting like one in some cases. He stood in front of the large attractive blonde who proceeded to cast a green light hue on his top head with her right hand. It settled for a while as she placed her hand to his waste then to his sides before there was a grunt of approval.

"Alright then, walking doesn't seem to harm you, in fact, I think it is actually helping your new tissues get used to your body," she started moving towards the window that was closed as Sasuke seemed glad at the diagnosis, "I'll have it authorized that you can move around the hospital building, but, depending on how you do, getting permission to leave the hospital is out of the question," her eyes stared outside, as if she was measuring the distance to the ground floor. This was the second level of the building, so it seemed like jumping down would still require some exertion of the body before she turned back to the boy, "I thought you were going to take it easy?"

"I can't just sit around and wait," Sasuke started to complain. His demeanor did wonders in showing her discomfort as his eye was hardened and he stood there like a fallen leader, "I don't want to stay in here, laying down all day and wasting time. There are things I need to do outside, in my manor, and around the village."

"Oh and why are you so busy Sasuke, what are you doing exactly that requires most of your time?" Tsunade's expression seemed to be amused as she folded her arms, humoring the boy who was starting to become flustered.

"Just stuff," he turned away, "since I am a Chuunin now, I need to prepare myself."

Now it seemed Tsunade had had enough as she sighed out before exacting her pose and expressing her strict face while throwing a glare at the boy. Sasuke flinched as he sat back on the bed and watched as she slowly approached him, as if he was the prey and she was the huntress.

"Who do you think you are Uchiha. Don't let your status in the village get to your head. When I say you need to rest; then you will damn well rest, you got it?" she poked at his chest with enough strength that it had actually forced him to fall back into his pillow and to lay down like a patient, "or so help me I will confine you to this bed for another week."

Sasuke could have sworn he heard himself gulp as the powerful slug sannin sent a little burst of killing intent his way. He felt his head nodding slowly in agreement while she stood up and suddenly turned calm once more.

"Like I said, you are free to roam around the hospital, but, that's all I am limiting you to do, understand?"

The Uchiha finally calmed his heart beats before laying his head on the pillow and agreeing with a grunt. It seemed good enough for Tsunade who soon headed towards the door but she had to stop once it opened and someone else entered the room.

"Oh, what's up grandma?" It was that unforgettable voice that belonged to the purple haired ninja named Ami who had appeared all casual.

Tsunade slowly crouched down as one of her hands settled on the girl's head. The blonde's face seemed controlled, although there was a visual of a pulsing vein on her forehead.

"You little brat, who let you in?" her hand slowly tightened as Ami suddenly grabbed at it and tried to fight back, "last time we met, I had hoped you learned some manners."

"Ack, let go crazy old bag!"

"W-what did you just call me!"

The situation could only get worse as Sasuke knew how stubborn both of them could be. He had to shake his head at the noise coming from the argument while he felt a little headache heading his way, "da…ttebayo," he blinked up in surprise at the old phrase he had said. He thought he had gotten rid of that particular word habit of his. He sighed once more before staring at the two arguing females, 'to make me say that again, geeze this is troublesome,' his hand flicked once, before it flicked again as a spark of flame appeared in the air.

It seemed to have gained Tsunade's attention as she suddenly jolted up and pointed at the Uchiha, "no use of ninjutsu allowed inside the room."

"Then can you please stop arguing," he answered back, a bit discontent.

Tsunade briefly glanced at the girl once more, her hand slightly flicked at Ami's forehead, causing the girl to yelp out in pain as the legendary sannin moved out of the room but stopped before speaking, "you need to learn some respect little girl," she glanced back and spotted the purple haired child who seemed to be ignoring her as the girl walked up to one of the chairs and took a seat next to the Uchiha. Tsunade sighed before leaving the room and shutting the door.

It was then did Sasuke watch as Ami sat there awkwardly, it was a wave she had greeted him with while she spent her time fixing her chair by turning it around to the back part facing the front as she sat down and leaned on the spine of the chair. She stared at him for a moment, blinking her eyes as he wondered what she wanted.

"I heard you've been causing trouble."

Sasuke grunted in response as he lay back down and stared at the ceiling, "meh," he glanced at the girl, watching as she smirked while scratching the edge of her nose. He couldn't help but smirk back before speaking, "how have you been?"

"I've been fine," she answered nonchalantly with a wave of her hand, "thanks to you I guess, so, thanks," her gratitude was so casual that it would normally sound like sarcasm, but, Sasuke knew that was one way she thanked people.

Ami stretched her arms for a moment before speaking once more, "so, what can I do to convince you to stay here for the rest of the week?"

"They got you too?" The Uchiha was a bit discomforted that it seemed someone had told Ami about his condition and somehow convinced her to try and persuade him. He really needed to gather the items in his home at least to draw up a few schematics, and he needed to mail a few letters he had written the other day.

"I know how you feel," Sasuke watched as Ami gave him a look of understanding. Her eyes seemed pleasant as her lips quirked with mischief; "I'd rather you were out there as well, but, what can you do?" she turned around on her chair before leaning her back on the spine. Since the spine of the chair was facing Sasuke, Ami was facing towards the wall before she spoke again, "would it help if I visited you more often? Would it stop you from leaving until they tell you so?" She glanced back, only to find the surprise expression on his face.

After hearing that statement, the boy was shocked that even Ami was against the idea of him leaving early, that she was to even suggest she would visit him, taking away her training time…and he knew how important the hours of training were to her. It made him feel a bit pathetic and childish for his actions as he sighed then gave a small smile.

"Alright, you win, I'll stay in the hospital," he watched as Ami turned to face him with a grin on her face as Sasuke continued on, "but I want you to continue your training alright? Don't make me distract you."

"Yeah no problem," She nodded and faced towards him again, much more enthusiastic as the door opened once more and the duo soon smelled a delicious flavor in the air.

They turned to the doorway to be greeted by one Sakura Haruno who was pushing in a cart filled with three trays. She smiled in greeting before speaking.

"Sorry for the late lunch, I noticed Ami was here so I went back to get us some food from the cafeteria, I hope you don't mind?"

Ami's grin was wide as Sasuke seemed to have smiled calmly. He sighed once more before nodding his head, "we haven't eaten together in a while now, haven't we?" the whole team 7 could only agree as they went about to enjoy a meal together.

…Scene Change…

Outside the hallway, Tsunade watched through the door, staring into the room that soon turned lively with the sound of laughter and voices. A smile was apparent on her face before it turned into a frown. A noise filled the hallway as Tsunade turned around and spotted the famous copy cat ninja, Kakashi, walking with a distracted expression on his face.

Once the masked Jounin looked up, he spotted her and soon waved in greeting then closed the gap between them.

"Lady Tsunade," he bowed.

"Hatake," she greeted before folding her arms, "you here to see your student?"

"Of course," Kakashi agreed as he peeked through the window and then stopped once he spotted the scene. Tsunade couldn't tell what was running through his mind as he seemed frozen in place before he spoke again, "Lady Tsunade, tell me, what do you see in there?"

The tall blonde stared at the request with a hint of inquiry. It was a strange question as she peeked inside once more and saw the team that seemed to be getting along well, even enjoying their meals with much content. She had to fight back a laugh as she saw the child Ami seemed to be choking on her food after some expression while the girl Sakura went to help her.

"They seem like a happy team Kakashi, why?"

"I thought so too," he responded, not even acknowledging the question she asked, "for Ami and Sasuke, this could well be their new family…" it seemed like he wanted to say more, and it became more apparent that something was troubling him as Tsunade wanted to comment on that.

"Ah," then his personality shifted completely, into something more lighthearted as he faced Tsunade with a plain smile, "so how is his condition?"

The flat look she gave him afterwards was enough to make him sweat, "he won't heal if he keeps up these attempts of escaping," she sighed as she scratched at her forehead in irritation, "I don't know why that boy can't keep still. Maybe he needs a girl to keep him under a leash."

It was a joke but it sent a new expression to outline the masked ninja's face. He stared into the room once more, distracted as he spoke, "You know how hard that will be now, ever since that incident with the ex-sound ninja."

"Hatake, I know, it was just a joke," Tsunade responded as Kakashi briefly nodded at her, which meant he understood. She knew he wanted to continue speaking though.

"I can understand Sasuke at this point, this façade he puts up for everyone, making everything seem ok. For now, he will be married to his work. As long as there are threats to him and his teammates, he will always be alone with himself, away from distractions. That's why, at this moment, he can't be with anyone."

"Aren't you over analyzing? I believe he can still be normal."

"Normal," he repeated before he scratched at his head and nodded, "right, I'm just talking again, don't mind me," he waved at her before opening the door, "I just have some information for the boy's training, that's all…"

Tsunade watched him enter as the feeling of doubt continued to rise. She couldn't help but feel guilty about recent events, even concerning Sasuke, she knew she was the reason the village hadn't fully recovered, but, what could she do, being the Hokage was something she knew came with a life of sorrow and hardships, something she did not want….

…Time Skip…

Two days later, Sasuke found himself outside, taking a leisurely walk in a forest that seemed to be restricted to the public. He breathed in the fresh air as he started to get use to the rays of sunlight. He stretched parts of his body, enjoying the strength he had. It seemed that after unlocking the mangekyou, his body had become stronger. There was energy within his body, after his acceptance of his faith, things have been easier. He didn't have to try harder to push his chakra, or move his body; it's as if he was finally coming in harmony with himself.

There was also another substance pumping chakra into his veins, dark chakra that gave him strength, but it would come with a price, eventually unless he gets it fixed somehow, or altered in a way to help him.

He continued his way through the forest, guided naturally by his sense of direction. The residue of Naruto that came from his previous life lingered on as well, giving him some of his old strength. All of these factors could help explain how he had healed quickly enough to walk out into the environment yesterday. He was thankful too, because he had several things to do that he couldn't complete in the hospital room, which involved visiting his home, taking note of his supplies, and, fulfilling a task that needed to be done.

Ahead of the forest, there was a hill overlooking a cabin. This place appeared hidden from the village, like some sort of private confinement, or prison for one person. It was there he saw a girl wearing a white dress. She was sitting on a stool while painting on a canvas, something not out of the ordinary, even the stoic eyes of hers that didn't appear to notice him.

Another thing yesterday, it was just a simple meeting, she had perked his interest from his memories, so, he sought her out. To say the first encounter was something, was a different story. It was a repeat for him, especially her threatening genjutsu that had him interested, especially now since he had the sharingan to analyze the technique.

He knew she soon noticed him once she twitched on her painting. Her hand stopped in a brush before it continued in which he took his position and set up next to the girl.

"Mind if I join you?" he asked.

There was no response as the girl continued to paint. Sasuke wasn't deterred as he calmly took position on the grass and pulled out a thick scroll wrapped around an object. He had one hand to use, so, it took a bit, but he did it calmly as he sat there on his knees. He was following Kakashi's advice on becoming ambidextrous, and to start, he would practice with calligraphy. He rolled the sheet open while he placed the small box on the top of the paper, pinning it down. He opened the container and took out the brush with a bamboo made handle before he took out a jar from a pouch he carried with him. Inside the pouch, he had also taken a bottle of water in which he proceeded to fill the jar with. It didn't take long until he had dipped the tip of his brush into the jar of water and started to draw the first kanji letter.

Out of all the newly graduated genins of Leaf, he could call himself slightly stronger, due to the fact that the combat experience from his last life was glued into his memory. Reflexes and trained eyes to watch movements, it provided him an edge that would continue to become stronger but, the only problem he had was the body he was currently in. It was at this point his body was starting to sync with him, he lacked the power from his old body, but, he would gain a new one with this one, and what Kakashi had explained to him a few days ago, he started to get an idea of a training method.

The secret to his Karyuu Spread had finally been revealed. It seems he had unconsciously been using the wind technique all along by letting it release throughout parts of his body. It became burnable with the lightning elemental activating and igniting the substance.

He noticed he had finished with the first letter. The letter was rugged, a bit sloppy as Sasuke decided to start a new one. He concentrated on his chakra, if what Kakashi said was true then; all he needed to do was ignite the wind substance with just his will. He could feel the wind move in front of him, slightly on top of the brown thick paper, the only problem was; he needed to somehow ignite it with the lightning technique. His index finger pointed out as a little spark of lightning appeared and he aimed towards the little area. With a little force of will, the spark of lightning shot forward, a tiny spark that caught the wind and enflamed it. For a few seconds, it continued to flame as he played around with the technique and moved it around for a bit while wondering when did he develop the high wind ability to change the air into a gas substance.

The paper dried from the heat of the flames before he started on the next letter. The quiet area relaxed Sasuke, even if this place was restricted, he could find solace knowing he wouldn't be bothered.

"Have you ever felt the way the mist cools your skin?" Sasuke asked while gently starting his stroke, "It looks like a cloud but it feels almost like rain, as if the droplets of water fell onto the floor and splashes onto your skin, brings a cool tingle that almost feels as if the air around you is frozen, well, the only exception is that the rain gets you wet and the mist not so much."

He turned back to stare at her while catching the glimpse of an inquiring stare which was quickly quelled as she went upon her work. Sasuke smiled before returning to his work as well.

"You don't get out much do you?" he watched as her fingers stopped and he knew he had her attention before he asked, "What's your name?"

For a full minute, it became quiet, and possibly clear that she wasn't going to answer. Instead, she had poked on the painting harshly, surprising Sasuke before droplets of rain started to splatter down on his paper. The rumble of thunder and the flash of lightning appeared, blinding Sasuke as the vision of the girl disappeared. The droplets of water continued to pour down, everything felt real, as if his clothes were soaked and his hair wet while he sighed out and closed his eye.

"Just like we first met," he mumbled to himself as he numbed the sound and feelings of the weather. It worked for a moment as he counted down from ten seconds then opened his eye to see the clear field once again, but, the girl had already packed up and in the clearing, he could see her back heading towards the small compound he knew she lived in.

"Her illusion skills are still top notch I see," he spoke to himself as he stared at his hand. It almost looked soaked before he went back to his work.

'I need to strengthen my Naruto illusion, it still might come in handy, although I feel as if I am just using her…' he spoke with himself, debating if coming here was a mistake when all he wanted was to know how he can create an even stronger illusion.

'Ah, but master is a noble master, It believes that master's choices will protect the girl.'

The curse had started whispering to him lately, its not that he didn't mind, he used to have these types of conversations with Kyuubi…it's just that, it had been a while since he was in a situation like this.

'Hmm, how so?'

'Master came to her because master remembered, because master is concerned. If master manages to strengthen himself because of it, how will this be selfish?'

"I wonder about that," he whispered out to himself as he stared at the new letter he finished drawing. He stared up at the sky for a minute, wondering how deep in the afternoon it was.

"I guess it can't be helped then," he blinked his one eye before suddenly packing up, "crap, I forgot, I need to meet Ami." The girl kept her promise, she had been visiting him after her trainings were done, and even today, he had promised to see her training, it seemed like she wanted his opinion on some matter.

Quickly as he could, he packed his things and set forth to find his purple haired teammate…

…Scene Change…

Inside the white room filled with many medical types of equipment; one Tsunade continued to stare down the microscope, watching through the lenses that have been magnified to an unnatural degree as strides of red stretched matter continued to extend, adapt, and regenerate in an alarming rate. The busty blonde took the slide and placed it on the counter as she reached for another vile and proceeded to draw up a small liquid substance using a pipette before dropping only a little of it into the slide before placing it back underneath the microscope.

It seemed like it had the effect she wanted as a grin soon appeared and she jotted her findings on the clipboard in front of her before staring at through the scope once more.

The door opened as the medical ninja Chouseki walked inside while offering a small greeting towards Tsunade before speaking.

"I hope the blood samples I've done a few days ago have been fruitful?"

Tsunade stood up from her position and directed the medic to come towards her.

"It has actually, come here and see this."

As directed, Chouseki sat on her seat and peered through the microscope. It took only a second before he asked, "Lady Tsunade, this appears to be normal muscle cells, I can detect no anomaly."

"Of course, because it is a normal muscle cell, now try this one," she proceeded to switch the slides as he took a look once more and adjusted the settings.

"Ah, now this one is damaged, I am sure there is more to this?"

"Yes there is now just shut up and watch," she took the slide before taking a different vile from the counter; this one was next to the earlier one she used from before. She then drew a small dose before placing it onto the slide. Chouseki watched again.

It took only a moment before the cell started regenerating, becoming livelier and healthier. The medical ninja continued to observe until the slide was taken out once more and he observed as Tsunade placed another substance into it before placing the slide back in. Now, he watched as it stopped, but, the restoration had already been completed, and he knew now what they had found.

"Instant muscle regeneration," he whispered as Tsunade agreed before folding her arms and grinning widely.

"I can create a time limit for these regenerators to work their magic. If we can compress this into a pill, then not only will we have a blood and chakra pill, but we can also count in a muscle pill," she walked to the vials and placed them to the top shelf of the white cabinets, "this will greatly help the survival rates of teams without a medic ninja, think of all the wounds that could miraculously close up during a battle, it can save lives."

Chouseki nodded in agreement, "I knew there was some use to this, but I could never figure out what I needed to do, but like the dangerous effects of the chakra pill and blood pill, what will be the effects of over using these muscle supplements?"

"As we know, over use of the blood pill can cause leaks to occur internally, sort of like internal bleeding in which the victim will either vomit the plasma or release it in any way necessary. The chakra pills have the tendency of stretching the chakra coils of any ninjas in use, it will replenish them but it will cause the coils to wear and tear the body if too much is taken and on extreme cases, it is known to have caused a complete chakra shut down," She placed her hand on the notes she had on the table before sliding them over to Chouseki, "now the idea of these muscle regenerating pills is as the name is, regenerates damaged muscle tissues, at least I am hoping it does, but, over use, and I mean, really over using these pills, it can cause an extremely dangerous side effect…rapid cell aging."

Chouseki widened his eyes as he read through the notes as Tsunade continued.

"The body can reproduce its cells only a certain amount of times before it stops, as we speed up this process, we are actually taking away the life of the user, but only by a small margin, unless the user keeps on taking these pills. They will be fine now in their youth, but the older they become, the possibility of living a long life will be out of the question."

"That is understandable, but tell me, what about Sasuke Uchiha? I am sure you had gotten mostly all of this data from him, will he be okay?"

Tsunade scratched at her hair, her expression turned to concern as well before she spoke, "not only Sasuke, but, I have found a similar regenerative ability in Ami as well. I used the blood samples to track down those that have similar levels to Sasuke's own, and so far, Ami closely matches his own," she let out a heavy sigh as she folded her arms and leaned on the counter once more, "all I have to say is that, they will be fine for now but as they grow older, and if they continue to heal critical wounds with this chakra, I don't know, that's something beyond my knowledge to figure out." One info she left out was that this was similar to one of her hidden techniques, so she knew just how much damage it could cause to a person's body.

Chouseki sighed along with the medical genius. Something strange was going on with the boy's body, it should be alarming but how did this happened in the first place, it was confusing.

"I'm going to go back to the records of Sasuke before the Uchiha massacre," Tsunade supplied as the medical ninja continued to watch her, "something happened at that massacre, maybe he unlocked some hidden talent, I am not sure, but I want to know where this source of power is coming from. For all we know, this could be a new disease."

Chouseki nodded before standing up with her, "of course, I'll help as well. We still have some data from the other Uchihas living at the time; maybe someone else had the same ability."

"Alright," Tsunade nodded in agreement, "Ami has Kyuubi that heals her most critical wounds, but Sasuke, his healing is unnatural, even if he is an Uchiha. His body is healing too quickly for a normal ninja; we just need to figure out if he is the same as Ami, that if he somehow pushes enough chakra, will he activate a regenerative mode?"

"Of course Lady Tsunade," He answered her as they stared at each other for a moment. They both agreed on what they needed to do; now all they had to do was to search for the answers…

…Sasuke Uchiha…

Sasuke had already left the comforts of that private part of the forest and had proceeded to enter the meeting spot for Ami. The leisurely walk had calmed the dark haired boy who enjoyed how things weren't so hectic, taking a breather as he knew he wouldn't be resting this well for a while. His past life as a Hokage had given him a relaxing attitude, relaxing as, nothing seemed to surprise him anymore, or more so, he would be surprised but after the initial shock, he would calm down and enter what he called Hokage mode, ever searching for a solution and never panicking…it was one of the qualities he cherished having, and to say it prevented a lot of his "freak outs" from occurring is an understatement.

It was soon that the training fields had welcomed him, the invigorating smell of the fields where traces of chakra can be felt brought a tingle to his body, urging him to train as he touched at his bandaged left eye.

"Not yet," he whispered while his body relaxed as if disappointed before he spotted his teammate in the fields.

Amusement soon filled his face as he sneaked in closer before taking a seat on one of the split logs and continued watching as she went through several strikes using her fists. It seemed the Hokage was able to meet her as she was going through several forms he had never seen her do before, or rather, the moves Ami had done before were mostly the basic Academy taijutsu or other moves she had seen other ninjas perform.

After a few more performances, Sasuke cleared his throat, catching Ami's attention as she stopped and turned to face him. Her smile seemed cheeky as she scratched the back of her head, as if she was embarrassed at getting caught.

"Hey Sasuke, I didn't see you there," she folded her arms before staring in humor, "you're late."

"Yeah, sorry about that Ami, but I can see you learned something new." Sasuke stood up and headed towards her while speaking as Ami had nodded to his words and filled in the gap between them.

"Yesterday, the old man started teaching me a 'proper style'," her hands imitated quotation marks for emphasis, "or so he says," she hopped on her feet before walking back towards the fields, "anyways, Konohamaru is training with me as well, but he seems to be a bit slower. I'll just have to tutor him myself later on I guess."

Ami now stood in the field as a grin marred her face and she bit her thumb until blood seeped out, "I have to introduce you to several of my friends," the chakra concentrated around her bleeding hand as she slammed it onto the floor as symbols appeared underneath, "Summoning technique!" she yelled out as a puff of smoke appeared and in came a creature that had Sasuke smiling with warmth.

The creature was short, not even reaching Ami's knees as the bumpy skin was orange with blue markings on the creature's lips and eyes. There was also a marking on his chest that was slightly covered by the favorable blue colored vest.

'Gamakichi,' Sasuke thought as he watched the toad wave a Toady salute.

"Yo"

"Hey Sasuke, let me introduce you to Gamakichi, a friend of mine."

It had been a while since he had seen the little toad friend of his, he missed the old summon, but he knew this one wasn't his old friend, this was Ami's summon now.

"Hey there Gamakichi, you know, you look a lot like Gamabunta," Sasuke walked over while rubbing at his chin as if observing the toad before reaching into his pouch.

"Gamabunta is my father, you have very perceptive eyes, but then again, don't all Uchihas have perceptive eyes."

"I guess you're right," Sasuke took out a small twisted wrapper with something round inside it before handing it over, "want a snack?"

"Oh," the little beady eyes lit up at the offer; a bit excited "sure," the little toad took the candy and quickly un-wrapped it before eating. Gamakichi soon hopped onto Sasuke'e head, much to Ami's surprise who watched as her teammate just smiled.

"Doesn't that hurt? I thought you were injured?" Ami questioned.

Instead, Sasuke reached into his pouch again and gave another piece of candy to the toad before waving it off, "its fine, now then," Sasuke went back to the log with the toad that sat on top of his head, "wasn't there something you wanted to show me?"

"Oh right," She seemed a bit surprised how the two got along before she repeated her actions once more, biting her thumb once again and yelling out the summoning technique. It was another cloud of smoke as now Sasuke saw a summon that surprised him. The creature climbed all around Ami until finally settling on her shoulder as the Uchiha wondered what this meant.

"Yeah I just signed the contract today, although the Hokage thought Konohamaru was too young to sign the contract" Ami started speaking as she rubbed at the creatures head. The brown coat and the tail that curled around and wrapped around Ami's arms while the little hands and feet helped balance itself on her arm revealed the small monkey creature who apparently wore a brown scarf around its neck "this is Enki, she's part of the monkey summoning contract."

"Hi!" she chirped out before dropping down and hanging from Ami's arm with her tail, throwing a curious stare towards the Uchiha boy.

"Hey," Sasuke and Gamakichi both responded with a wave, their expression was that of friendly greeting.

"Alright then, Sasuke watch and tell me what you think," Ami spoke as she turned to the monkey summon and nodded her head. The creature responded by jumping into the air and bursting into a puff of smoke. Suddenly, Ami reached inside as the smoke cleared and the creature now turned into a pole. The wooden pole was regular, it seemed to have been made from a tree, even though it clearly wasn't, but Sasuke seemingly remembered that Enma, the monkey king, was able to turn into a pole as well, so, it probably meant that the young monkey still had a way to go until she became as strong as adamantine or diamonds.

Then Ami breathed in as her body started slowly swaying with her arms, the staff slowly started to twirl and spin while switching to each hand. Sasuke observed a slow beginning, which was expected as her speed grew faster until it reached a point in which it seemed she was comfortable enough to start thrusting, sharp, and quickly before pulling back, twirling with her body as if the staff was part of her arm. A sleight of hand trick, whether it was the tight speed or the shift with her hands that made it appear that her hands were empty that Sasuke almost missed the swing from the air and the strike that landed firmly on the ground.

"That's impressive," the toad, Gamakichi, commented and hopped down to the log seat next to Sasuke as they continued to watch as Ami repeated but continued to switch from side to side and in different positions.

"Knowing her, she's been practicing it all night to get it right after she learned it."

"A bit true bro, she learnt it this morning and has been practicing it ever since," the toad grinned, "or at least she still was when she practiced summoning that new ally of hers, along with me this morning."

"Oh really," Sasuke started to get the feeling that maybe Ami was a better learner than he was, or maybe that Hiruzen Sarutobi was a lot better instructor than that perverted hermit of his, "that is impressive, but I wonder."

Sasuke stuck two fingers into his mouth with his good hand and whistled out to Ami who stopped in her position, not even winded, as she held on to the center of the pole and planted it to the ground.

"It's really impressive that you're able to do all this after learning it this morning," he complimented as Ami grinned and rubbed the edge of her nose as a sign of her embarrassment, "but try it out on one of your clones, let's see if you can really use it in combat."

"Alright, let's do this," she flipped her pole behind her with her one had as she used her other to form a single seal, "Shadow clone technique," Through smoke one clone popped into existence and had flipped the staff once before aiming it towards the original Ami.

"Ah I see," Gamakichi watched intently, understanding what Sasuke meant as Ami took her position once again.

"She has the style down but…"

She spun the staff all through the start, even with the clone following her steps. They both mimicked each other, gathering momentum as the staff became a blur from her touch. Her body had moved with her hands as the staff flipped high above her and she sent it crashing down towards her opponent. The attack was mimicked as two staves met, the slap of hard wood permeated the field as Ami yelped out in surprise once the clone disappeared but the girl had dropped her pole staff onto the floor while holding her hands out in pain.

"She's not used to it, I knew it was too soon," Sasuke stood up as Gamakichi made a clicking sound from his throat and hopped along towards the girl.

The staffed puffed into smoke as the little monkey, Enki, started wobbling around while holding the top of her head. Her eyes were shaky as if she was in a drunken daze before she wobbled about and then fell to the floor.

"Oi, you alright," Gamakichi hopped to the scene before watching curiously, "you can't take that much hits, can't yah?"

"…No…" her single response as she her head fell back down to the floor to rest while Gamakichi sighed out and took a comfortable position near her while watching with interest the interaction between Ami and the Uchiha.

If he remembered correctly, his father, the boss toad, had whispered the name Sasuke Uchiha to the elder toads. Just hearing the name of the Uchiha boy, it sparked interest within the toad, since he realized that since the elders and his father were curious, then it meant there was something up with the boy.

"The pain, it hurts!" the yelling grew from beside the toad who shook his head and glanced back at the monkey summon.

"Geeze, get over it, a warrior must endure pain."

"I'd like to see you say that after I use you as a whacking stick!" her fight fell as soon as she stood up too fast then fell back to her feet.

The toad sighed again before ignoring the summoned child monkey who sat up and decided to take a breather while they stared at the contractor rubbing her hands together.

"I believe you have the stance down, at least whatever the Hokage had taught you today, but, you aren't used to combating with this weapon," Sasuke placed his left hand on top of Ami's hands that were clenched together, "now calm down, the pain will go away in a minute, but it seems the pain was amplified by your shadow clone."

Ami found his hands over hers comforting and healing before she understood what he just said "What do you mean amplified!" Ami shrieked as her face twisted in pain while her hands were nearly pulsing red.

"Meaning, the memories of pain transferred from your clone and into your body," she sat down as Sasuke released her hands. The pain started to fade away while Sasuke continued speaking, "some feed back you receive from your clones will help you and some won't. Your clones can help you learn things faster but the damage you receive can also be doubled. Remember, it all comes back to you since you're actually splitting your chakra to make these clones, but in this case, it seems that monkey staff isn't just a typical staff," Sasuke glanced at the summon who had calmed down, "it does something, but I'm not sure what, it might explain why you received double the damage…"

"Old man Sarutobi says that each monkey born in the clan is unique. Enki has the ability to enhance the power of the earth element while also having the ability to change into a staff," Ami folded her arms as she sat down calmly on the grass, impressed that Sasuke was able to tell that something was different about Enki while she on the other hand couldn't tell at first glance.

"Yup, I'm one of the newer generations," Enki seemed to have been revitalized as she stood up and dashed towards Ami. Her movements moved quickly, showing her agility as she climbed Ami, encircled around her once and landed on her shoulder, "even though my father is against it, I will take over my clan once he steps down."

"Wait, your father is the Monkey leader." Sasuke asked in surprise.

"Its Monkey King," she corrected proudly.

Sasuke remembered the creature well, the large and powerful monkey man he had fought along side with recently, and here was the daughter, "Monkey king Enma, wow Ami, you have a powerful ally."

"I guess I do, but that stubborn ape won't come to my help until I'm stronger," she puffed up at the thought, "bah, not like I'll need his help, right Enki, we can beat anyone that comes our way."

"Yeah!" The monkey agreed whole heartedly while climbing on top of Ami's head and throwing a fist in the air, "I'll show my father I'm strong enough to take his position!"

Sasuke threw an awkward but surprised smile as he met Gamakichi's eyes briefly, and he knew they both were thinking the same thing…they were both the same.

"Man, Hiruzen sure knows how to pick them," Sasuke mumbled.

Ami spotted Gamakichi before speaking out as well, "and you too Gamakichi, I'll convince your dad to fight for me, hehe, I'm not worried at all!"

"Y-yeah," the toad stammered, not able to share the enthusiasm but, he still seemed a little impressed at the girl.

"Oh yeah," Enki hopped down, then hopped onto Sasuke's chest before running along his body then taking position on top of his head, "Father told me you handled him well in his staff form, although it was brief, he sensed you were a strong warrior for someone your age."

"He said that?" Sasuke chuckled as he had to slightly tilt his head up to see the monkey's face. He was then able to see the bright brown iris of the creature, "then tell him thanks next time you see him," she nodded while Sasuke turned to Ami then spoke, "you brought me here for my advice, so I'll give it. Train using your poles on your mud clones, get used to it then move on to your stone clones. I think that will help for now until you get used to it."

Ami nodded her head, "alright, sounds like a good plan."

The footsteps behind them signaled new arrivals as Sasuke helped Ami up by offering her a hand. She took it as they then glanced at who had arrived.

It was a weird sight when they spotted Sakura and Neji, seemingly having to have arrived together. Sakura was wearing the same outfit she wore, the red dress with dark shinobi pants and the red headband, usually what she wore when not working. Neji was the same as well, even his stoic eyes as Ami released Sasuke's helping hand and narrowed her eyes at the Hyuuga. Sasuke caught the look.

"Hey Sakura," Ami greeted normally before eyeing the Hyuuga once again, "why are you with Mr. Tight ass, here."

"A-Ami, apologize that's really rude," Sakura stammered out in surprise as she briefly bowed apologetically at Neji then proceeded to head over to her teammate Ami.

"I'm not apologizing," she folded her arms and huffed as Sakura gave Sasuke a 'help me' look.

Neji, on the other hand, he seemed to have twitched an eye but then ignored it as he spoke, "I never expected anything good from you anyways, Ami."

"Why you little…"

Sakura covered Ami's mouth before dragging the girl to follow her, "come on Ami, we have a mission today, we have to head to the tower." Sakura bowed briefly to the others before knocking Ami at her head once to follow.

"I guess we'll be heading off then," Gamakichi spoke to the others as Enki agreed. They both gave a salute before disappearing into a puff of smoke.

Sasuke soon waved at the both of them as they left with Ami cursing under her breath while rubbing her head.

"Such a hectic teammate, Uchiha, it's not hard to see how you could accumulate so much injuries just watching out for her."

"Yeah, well," Sasuke chuckled awkwardly while turning his attention to Neji, "no one said it would be easy anyways."

"True," that seemed to be the end of the normal conversation they were having before the Hyuuga got to the point, "I have a mission of my own today as well, but before I go, I have a message from Hiashi-sama. He invites you to his manor at anytime you are available."

Sasuke watched Neji in surprise as he wondered what the Hyuuga head wanted with him. Briefly moving his bandaged arm, he thought about it before deciding he might as well visit the man to see what this was about.

"Alright, thanks Neji, and good luck with your mission."

"Luck, I don't need luck," he turned around and started heading off as Sasuke sighed and shook his head. Neji paused briefly though and turned back to reply, "heal quickly Uchiha."

The Hyuuga then left as Sasuke let out a smirk. Neji had changed, although it was still small, the boy was changing for the better.

Sasuke soon stretched his hands before jumping with his legs. Briefly, he thought about accessing his chakra, maybe trying out several techniques, but the advice given by the medical professionals reminded him that his body was still healing, and if Tsunade found out about it, she would probably have him back in the hospital bed for several more days.

"Sasuke Uchiha," the greeting came from behind as Sasuke turned around to find a leaf Jounin standing behind him. The Jounin's voice was a bit flat, sickly actually as Sasuke spotted the sword strapped behind him and the dark blue head bandana covering his head.

"Oh, Hayate," The Uchiha greeted in surprise towards the ninja, "What brings you here?"

He coughed at his hands before pointing back behind him, "actually, my team just came back from a mission, it seems like there is a courier ninja waiting for you at the North gates."

"A Courier ninja?" at Hayate's cough, Sasuke had to look at the man strangely, "are you ok?"

Hayate, the sickly ninja, waved it off before explaining, "You know the rules, things need to be cleared with the Hokage and due to the courier's ninja status; the courier is declined access inside the village. The courier ninja also has rules; they will not release the package to anyone other than the target receiver."

"Ah, I see, but did you have to come fetch me? Couldn't the Hokage just have allowed the courier entrance into his office and I would meet him there?"

"It's a bit different when dealing with the courier types. There are reasons why Leaf Village does not employ the use of Courier ninjas, especially when one side does not trust another and the other side can steal the info just as easily," Hayate explained as he covered his mouth with his hand, "and I am sure it is the same with other ninja villages."

It would mean someone had gone through a lot of trouble just to send him a message then. At times like these, it would seem very fishy, but Sasuke guessed he had earned enough credit for the village to trust him.

"Sorry for the trouble then," Sasuke nodded to the man before remembering something, "oh, how is Yugao doing?"

Hayate seemed surprised at first before a smirk appeared on his face, "she is doing fine, although," the man seemed to be embarrassed as he scratched the back of his head, "she wants to get married."

"What's stopping you?" Sasuke asked.

"Now is not the time for it, or at least, our, um, time is incompatible at the moment" Hayate shook his head at his only explanation before he nodded towards the Uchiha, "anyways, handle the courier and whatever it may be, I'm sure the Hokage wouldn't mind if you got a hold of the message personally. You've done a lot Uchiha, keep making Konoha proud."

He soon left in a burst of wind and leaves as Sasuke started heading off towards the North Gate. Hayate wasn't that known to him, but before in his time, he could have sworn that Hayate's ghost haunted the leaf village, along with the Third Hokage, but now things are different. His grin soon faded to curiosity as he wondered who would be sending him a message.

…Scene Change…

"Since when were you so close with that idiot, Sakura?" Ami asked. They had already walked a few ways past Sasuke and Neji as Ami had calmed down but a not so pleased look had filled her face.

"We aren't Ami," Sakura slightly glanced at the girl with an upset face, "I bumped into him, he asked me where Sasuke was and I said he might be with you, so he followed me to the area you usually train at."

"Sasuke? What did he want with him?"

"Who knows Ami," Sakura shrugged as if it was no big deal, "Sasuke has become a busy person as of late, must be something relating to his clan," the pink haired ninja calmly glanced at the path ahead while a thought occurred to her, "he does live in a different world from us."

"Whatever."

Sakura glanced at her partner, a bit ticked off that the girl could just easily ignore something so quickly.

"So, you two enjoy yourself," Ami grinned as she glanced at Sakura who blushed at the accusation.

"W-what, no way," She waved her hand briefly in the air as if batting away the air, "it was actually awkward. Throughout the trip, he was really quiet."

"Ha, like a creep."

"No, Ami, not like a creep, but never mind that, it seems you and Sasuke have been close lately," Sakura watched as her teammate actually smiled at the accusation, something that brought an uncomfortable feeling inside her, "you've been taking my advice, haven't you?"

"We're friends, that's never going to change Sakura, but I guess it has been a while since me and Sasuke hung out," Ami folded her hands behind her head and stared up at the sky in memory, "back then, me, Hinata, and Sasuke used to hang out a lot, so I guess I'm pretty happy that we can still do some things we used to do, especially with training."

"Aw, I see," Sakura smiled now, "well, lately he has been behaving, so, thank you for that."

"Huh, why are you thanking me?" Ami gave her a questionable look while Sakura smiled in response and turned away.

"Nothing, come on, we're going to be late," Sakura started running off as Ami was left in surprise and tried to catch up.

Sakura, on the other hand, tried hard not to show her discomfort, especially this terrible feeling just welling up inside her as she smiled again as she heard the shouts of her teammate from behind her.

The travel was relatively pleasant for teammates as they headed to the Hokage towers. It wasn't long as they raced to the meeting point and passed through the guards before entering the mission room.

It was here that Ami's face seemed to have dropped slightly at the site of another team. Neji, more specifically, and his teammates were standing there, as if waiting for them while the Hokage raised a brow while watching as Ami had become visibly upset.

"What the hell, how did you get here so fast!" Ami shouted

Neji calmly turned away before answering, "I'm faster."

"Why you," the purple haired ninja cursed under her breathe when the Hokage cleared his throat before turning to their attention.

"Ami, one must be aware of her surroundings and be mindful of her fellow ninjas," The Third Hokage lectured the ninja who bit her lip then bowed briefly before standing next to Sakura. She seemed compliant to the others, a surprising act as she would often throw tantrums or speak her mind.

Ami was more obedient due to the fact that the old man was teaching her techniques and training her in battle because her perverted sensei was unavailable at the moment. So, she needed to follow his commands if she expected him to continue teaching him, it was one of the agreements they had.

They took their places next to team Gai with Ami standing next to the last member Tenten and Sakura standing next to the purple haired ninja.

"Team 7 will cooperate with Jounin Gai's team in a C ranked escort mission," The Third Hokage instructed as he nodded towards one of the ninja guards near the doors. A man soon came in, a mature man who was seemingly around his 40s or 50s. His hair was lightly dark with gray receding strands of hair here and there, and a short grey beard surrounded his chin while he wore a Chuunin flak jacket that was apparently different, as it had one metal shoulder pad while a strap that held his vest stretched to the left side of his shoulder. The recognizable hiate he wore was of a different symbol as the Third Hokage spoke, "as you know, we have peaceful allies with several villages, but due to the certain situation around your client, you will escort him to his home."

"I know I've seen him before," it was the girl with the two buns in her brown hair that whispered as Ami briefly glanced at her then back to the client.

"This is Kusaha Midori," the older man greeted the others with a brief bow while the Hokage explained, "he has been working in Konoha academy for years now, you are to escort him to Hidden Grass village."

"The Journey shouldn't take long, maybe several days," the client Kusaha scratched at his light gray beard as if thinking back of his past.

"Lord Hokage," Neji said, "how is his circumstance different?"

"If I may, Lord Hokage," Kusaha spoke as the Hokage nodded for him to proceed. The grass ninja turned to his escorts before speaking, "I fell in love with a grass ninja."

The group wasn't expecting that as it was met by several mixed emotions. Neji seemed to have raised one brow in curiosity while Tenten, Lee, and Sakura seemed to have perked up and seemed to be listening intently. Ami, though, one of her cheeks seemed to have puffed up, while her face seemed stoic.

At their expression, he had released a hearty laugh before speaking, "actually, my wife was originally from Hidden Grass village before she moved with me to Hidden Leaf. She was very stubborn about sending our son back to her home village to be with my wife's clan, actually," he scratched at his chin, "it's because he was the only boy born within the family line, my wife had an obligation to send the boy back to the village I suppose. Well anyways, I'm old now, and I've only seen my son only a few times each year, so I have been requesting that I might retire to where my son stays, Hidden Grass village."

"I see," Neji replied as he glanced at his companions before slightly backing away when he saw the tearful face of Lee. The Hyuuga turned to the Hokage before speaking, "we are ready for this mission, Lord Hokage."

"Good, Neji Hyuuga will be team leader…"

"WHAT!" Ami seemed to have disrupted as almost everyone one in the room had to stare at her, especially the Hokage who gave her a settle down look. She promptly quieted before the Hokage cleared his throat and spoke again.

"As I said, this group will be led by Neji Hyuuga. You have one hour to prepare for your task, dismissed."

"Yes Lord Hokage!" they spoke in unison and browed briefly before heading out the door.

"Ooh, a mission to Hidden Grass village, this is will be exciting!" Lee yelled out as they reached the hallway.

"Yeah, I guess so," Ami replied but seemed to be a bit annoyed, "if the great Hyuuga doesn't mess this up."

"Oh, it seems like someone has some beef with you, Hyuuga," Tenten chuckled as they turned to the said Hyuuga who stopped walking and faced the others.

"In one hour, meet at the North Gate. If you are late, you will be dropped from this mission and replaced," he said it coolly before leaving.

Ami stuck out her tongue as soon as he turned around, earning a stifled laugh from Tenten and Sakura as Lee soon patted her back.

"Haha, Ami is pumped for the mission, yosh, I will share this youthful experience," he pumped his fist in the air, "come everyone, let us prepare for our trip."

"You know Lee," Ami replied as Lee turned to see that Tenten and Sakura had already left.

"W-wha, Sakura," he slouched as Ami returned the favor and patted his back and scratched at her noise in humor.

"You could try talking normally, maybe then will people actually listen to what you have to say."

He seemed to have sunken deeper as Ami laughed before heading out, but, she did turn back to speak, "oh, and by the way, that training suit was very comfy, but I think I'll stick to my own clothes, thanks anyways fuzzy brows," she gave him a thumbs up before finally exiting the hallway.

Lee suddenly had to blush for some sort of embarrassment before straightening up, until he realized what she had calmed him, "stop calling me Fuzzy Brows!" he roared after her as a laugh could be heard near the exits.

…Sasuke Uchiha…

Sasuke had reached the gates of Konoha and soon spotted the two guards who were sitting inside the entrance box near the gate. He remembered the two of them; one of them had spiky dark blue hair and a bandage that stretched across his nose while the other wore his hiate like a bandana over his head.

His eyes were then directed to the open gates as he spotted a shadow that came from near the walls of the outside in which he determined was the messenger before he waved with his good hand towards the guys at the gate while heading towards their booth.

"Hey, how long has the messenger been there?" he asked as the two guards seemed a bit relaxed with the one with the bandaged cloth, leaning on his chair and staring at the roof while the other smiled politely and answered.

"Not long, although the Hokage has already been notified."

"I thought Hayate said that the Hokage does not know of this yet?"

"It's proper procedure to notify the Hokage," the man leaning on his chair said as he sat up from his seat, "You will get no special treatment from me."

"Relax, Kotetsu, I wasn't looking for any," he seemed surprised before Sasuke waved at them again, "thanks for the info Izumo, I'll go handle it then," he calmly walked away.

"I'm surprised he knew our names."

"I bet you're still bitter about the time he grabbed your neck, Kotetsu."

"Shut it"

Sasuke smirked when he head the conversation. It wasn't really a surprise, they often times were posted as guards for the Hokage so he did know their names. He then turned his attention to the courier ninja, as he wondered who could be sending him a message.

When he saw the ninja, he already knew that it was a genuine courier with the baggy green outfit and those dark boots. The hat had the title courier ninja labeled on it, and the hat also helped hide the courier's true appearance, even with the goggles, Sasuke didn't know if they all looked alike or not.

The Courier seemed to be very aware of his presence before approaching the young Uchiha.

"Are you Sasuke Uchiha?" the courier asked in a monotone voice that helped hide the identity of this ninja.

"Yes I am," Sasuke replied as the courier didn't seem to believe him. He then concentrated his chakra, mostly to his working right eye that soon came to life with the sharingan. He felt a slight sting when doing so as the pain mostly came from his left eye.

The courier seemed convinced before the ninja had reached into the sachet that couriers often held while Sasuke debated if he should shut off his sharingan. It seemed like a good training idea to leave it on as the pain had dulled and gone away. He decided to shut it off and would probably debate upon it later as he looked at the ninja.

"What is your number?" he asked.

The ninja stopped before turning to the Uchiha, maybe in slight surprise as the face seemed so stoic, "I am number 356-02," the ninja handed Sasuke the small letter before asking, "Have you used our services before?"

Sasuke shrugged, "No, but I heard they are reliable beyond a doubt, although I am surprise to see one actually coming to a ninja village."

The courier seemed to have perked up at his words, even his shoulder's seemed to have relaxed, before his caution expression was replaced by a polite smile, "yes, this is rare as well. There have been a lot of strife when dealing with ninja villages in the past, and we courier ninjas want to remain neutral, although I appreciate the praise."

The Uchiha nodded politely as he stared at the letter addressed to him. A thought crossed him as he glanced back at the ninja, "hey, do you ever get hot wearing that outfit?"

"Now that you mention it, I do," the ninja seemed to have lifted off his hat as Sasuke flipped the letter over and found a name he didn't know who the letter belonged to.

'Shimo?' he read the name but didn't know who it was as he turned back to the courier ninja before slightly widening his eyes as he spotted the long brown hair and the dark brown eyes of the courier ninja.

'He's a girl!' Sasuke mentally thought as the courier ninja took a drink of her canteen then pocketed it. She had looks of a normal villager, and her face seemed stoic before she placed on her goggles and hat once again, hiding her features.

"I always get that look when I take off my hat and goggles," she commented before pointing herself in a different direction, "anyways, maybe we'll bump into each other again, since I am stationed around this area," she gave a one hand salute before taking off towards another direction.

"Huh, so each on is different," Sasuke commented to himself before he spotted a tree stump near the main road. He we slowly walked to the stump and sat on it before opening the letter with his one hand and reading it out to himself.

Hey Stupid Uchiha,

The greeting had an effect of making Sasuke twitch in brief annoyance as he read on.

I hope this letter isn't arousing any suspicions; I had to get a courier ninja from one of the outer villages to send it to you, still it costs as much as a C ranked mission, did you know that? Anyways, I am betting you don't know who I am; just take a look behind the stamp on the envelop.

Sasuke took the envelop before spotting the stamp. He then proceeded to peel out, surprisingly with ease, the stamp before taking a look behind it. His eyes widened as he recognized the symbol before quickly turning back to the letter.

I am betting you know who I am now, unless you're still reading this, then whatever. You never did want to get my name, even after that night you committed a crime and helped release the Cloud captives. My name is Shimo, and I never did thank you for my safe return. Surprisingly, things are like you said it would be, Killer Bee's brother is the new Raikage. Things have gotten less hectic, although we seem to be lacking some troops now, but it could have been worse. As soon as we arrived, I was celebrated as a hero, that's just too much, and then I was quickly promoted to Jounin level, it was awful, but Yugito already said she would train me. And my sister, she was proud of me, but I am only glad that I made it back to see her, and I guess I have to thank you for that. Yugito was against this but, I had to tell you since you've really helped us, especially Yugito. For some reason, she seems calmer, and tolerates people a little bit better although her training is hellish. Still, you should have taken our offer and joined Cloud Village, but you said it yourself, you were even leaving Leaf village so, when you do leave, just know you have allies at Cloud.

P.S.

When you leave your village, try visiting us, I'll introduce you to my sister

From, Shimo

Sasuke read the letter once over again before realizing this was real. It was very risky what he did that night, and it was also risky for her giving him this info. Still, it made him smile knowing he had allies elsewhere as he pocketed the letter and calmly stood up, "that was unexpected, but interesting," he briefly spoke as he glanced at his working hand.

He wondered if he was in his old body, would he have been healed by now. Demon containers were strong, in a way that they can take so many hits and yet, they could heal within a matter of hours, it was a jealous ability most people would want to have and yet, he needed to be healed right away.

A sigh of gloom escaped him as his hand concentrated on his chakra. Kakashi had told him that he was a tri elemental user, very rare in the world; if that was so, then he needed to create techniques that involved combining these techniques, but with his injury, it was hard to do so.

The chakra that he channeled started to spark in his palms. It didn't hurt as he tried the weakest technique he knew that required the lightning element, a technique he had picked up from that Cloud ninja.

'Very simple, but why dream and covet it, power is what you have, patience is what you need…"

Sasuke hummed to himself as he stared at his left hand and felt the chakra that travelled within the palm. The static palm technique, supposedly a technique for therapeutic purposes or at least it was when it was used on him.

He quickly stood up as his legs shifted from position. His foot slid across the dirt floor, kicking up dust as his body encircled around a figure who tried to sneak up on him. Soon his palm landed on the assailants back head before a moan of surprise was let out.

"Oh…ooh," Sasuke heard her speak as he saw the hair buns that were located on each side of his hand before she spoke again, "I should attack you more often," she sat down soon after as Sasuke let out a laugh before quitting his technique.

"I sensed you right away Tenten…you need to work on your stealth."

"Or, you're just too good," she scratched at her head before placing her hands to the side and staring at the Uchiha boy, "you know, every time I see you, you're either bored or brooding, you should lighten up more."

The boy flinched at the accusation before replying, "That's not true, I'm a very cheerful person," he thought for a second, "Scratch that, I'm happy enough," he sat down next to her on the log, "you have a mission?"

"Yeah, surprisingly we're teamed up with your team, so, we're sent to get ready but," she pointed at herself, "I planned ahead, so, more free time for me."

"Uh huh, and I suppose you want a praise or something, well," he patted her hair earning a blush and a glare sent his way, "good for you."

"Knock it off," she brushed his hand away as Sasuke laughed at the scene before she couldn't help but smile at his laughter.

"Thanks for the suit, I can't wait to try it on, although it will take a few more days until I recover.

"Don't mention it, the designs are pretty top notched, especially the seal designs you placed on them," she stared at him inquiringly, "my father has been asking me to ask you but, would you mind if we sold one of your suits to other ninjas who wanted to buy? I mean, it could increase our sales and it might even give my father's shop some fame."

"That sounds like a good idea actually," Sasuke rubbed at his chin, "I guess I'll stop by there later this week, not like I have anything else to do, actually, I might even give him more invention ideas of mine, and maybe start producing some Uchiha weapons to be sold to the public."

Tenten smiled as she heard if before she nodded enthusiastically, "alright, well, you know where he is so, just stop by anytime then," soon, her eyes seemed to snap up curiously as if she had remembered something, "hey, do you know a man by the name Iou?"

"Iou" Sasuke asked, as he tried to remember why that name sounded familiar, "can't remember."

"Well, Iou is a famous ninja tool inventor that is in friendly terms with Leaf Village, my father showed him your suit designs and it seems he was really impressed. You could be a weapon's inventor you know, Sasuke, I believe that you have the talent for it."

"A politician, an inventor, a weapon, a leader, a lover…a fool…will they decide Master's path, or will you?"

Sasuke paused when he heard the whisper. A picture played in his mind, showing him that maybe he wasn't the one controlling his life, that even if he said he would leave, maybe the attachments wouldn't allow him to. Tenten saw his look before she looked away apologetically, "I'm sorry, just got a bit excited there."

"No, it's alright," Sasuke said quietly as he turned to the gates and saw as the other genins had arrived before they started heading towards him, "I think I have to return to the hospital," he smiled shortly as Tenten watched him in concern.

"Are you alright?" She said as she helped him up. Although nothing really showed that he needed help to walk up in the first place, something he seemed to find himself getting annoyed at before he politely declined her help.

"Yes, it's fine," Sasuke spoke before lightly tapping her shoulder. She seemed to accept that as she smiled back before they turned to the others.

"Oh Amazing Sasuke, you seem to be walking already!" It was Lees cries as Sasuke nearly cringed at his voice before he spotted Sakura who had calmly stood by his side, next to Tenten.

"Lee, I was never crippled…"

"Ha ha, yes," Lee patted his back, "Soon, you will be training fiercely, and at that time, seek me out for a sparring match."

They had chatted for several seconds before heading back to the main gate were Neji stood next to the client. Sasuke only politely introduced himself as he had received their client's name was Kusaha Midori, someone he didn't know who it was.

"I hope Ami isn't late," Sakura spoke out with a sigh.

"Well, since I'm here, I might as well see you off, right?"

The others seemed to have given him a strange look as Sasuke blinked at them in response.

"What?"

"You sound like an old man, Sasuke," Sakura replied as the others had to laugh or watch in amusement while Sasuke just shrugged in response.

"Sound," the new voice came from the top of one of the buildings before the figure jumped down and landed at the center of the group, "Sasuke has been like an old man for the longest time," the figure then laughed before the others seemed to stare with some mixed expression.

"Ami," Sakura was the first to speak as the said girl seemed perked up at being called, "why are you wearing that?"

She was wearing her regular ninja clothes, the dark red jumpsuit pants and the jacket zipped up, but she also wore a dark blue bandana that covered up her hair. It would be natural except for the part that she looked more like a boy than a girl.

"What?" she touched at her bandana, "this? I just wanted too, why?"

"No reason," the others replied although they didn't know if Ami knew that she looked like a boy at that moment.

"You're late Ami," Neji's stoic voice was unmistakable as Ami challenged the Hyuuga by standing in front of him with her chest puffed out.

"And?" She questioned as they stared at each other for a few minutes.

Sasuke sighed as he watched the scene before he remembered Ami's training. He tapped Tenten on the shoulder, gaining her attention before he signaled her to the side.

As soon as he was sure they wouldn't be heard, he spoke, "hey Ten, can you do me a favor?"

She peered at him curiously, "sure, what is it?"

"Ami has recently taken some staff training, when you find the time, can you spar her and help her get used to it?"

One of her brow was raised as she rubbed at her cheek with her lips puffed out, "I don't know," her eyes were playful, "and what does this favor entail?"

"Well, I'll owe you one," Sasuke smirked.

A grin soon appeared on Tenten's face before she poked his chest, "alright fine, but I will collect the debt you owe me."

He nodded his head before waving, "alright, alright," they returned to the group as it seemed they had finished settling down.

"What were you guys talking about?" Ami asked while Sasuke just shrugged it off, earning a twitch of annoyance from the girl.

"Anyways, have a safe trip, I'm off to the hospital myself," he waved as some of the other sreplied back with a word of goodbye or a wave as well before the Uchiha continued to ponder what it was that felt uneasy about his body.

He set out to the hospital, all the while, deciding how he would spend the days of recovering, probably, a lot of it will involve planning, and meetings…

On the next chapter, Ami's group meet several unexpected people on their trip to Hidden Grass Village while Sasuke remains in the village and recovers his injuries. What the Uchiha figures soon though, that he still has power within the village, even if his injuries prevent him so, he still has a way with words. Next Chapter: Healing

Oh a heads up, after next chapter, I will start Sasuke's Chuunin missions.