A/N - Okay, since I recently updated one of my oldest fics, I decided I'd work on this one next. I'm sorry for taking so long to update this fic and all my others. There's a reason for that though.

I've been dealing with a LOT of stuff in my personal life that's had me VERY stressed out. It hasn't been fun and I've been very frustrated just trying to deal with it all.

Anyways, a lot happens in this chapter. You also get to see more of that wonderful Naruki insanity! Yay! lol. I hope you enjoy the chapter!

Chapter 7 - Kankuro's Misery

Hinata's mind was reeling as she stood across from her cousin. She had so many thoughts running through her head right now that she barely registered her surroundings. Why do I have to fight Neji-niisan? He's going to kill me! And then...then… Looking up at Naruki who was staring at her intently, Hinata soon averted her gaze and thought, Naruto-kun...is actually a girl?! I still can't believe it! I don't know how to feel anymore! He...SHE would probably never accept someone like me. Kami, I wish I knew what to do!

Neji smirked cruelly at his cousin and decided to mock her a bit, just to be an asshole. "You should just forfeit, Hinata-sama. You know that you don't stand a chance against me with your meager skills. Hell, you look terrified just being in the same room as me." Taking notice of where she was looking, Neji glanced that way with his arms folded across his chest. "Ah, I forgot. You have a crush on that filthy commoner, don't you? It must come as quite a shock to you that 'Naruto' turned out to be nothing more than another common whore, didn't it?"

Upon hearing this, Zabuza and the others that cared for Naruki practically snarled at the Branch House Hyuga down in the ring. Naruki, refusing to allow that kind of talk, said, "At least I'm not a pathetic wannabe like you, Neji Hyuga. Someone who thinks he's soooo special, and yet he believes himself to be trapped by fate. You could fight against your fate, but you're such a devout believer in the ideal that 'fate rules all'. How pathetic you are, Loser."

Neji's eyes widened momentarily before he glared fiercely at the blonde Uzumaki. "What do you know?! You're just lowborn TRASH!"

Naruki shook her head and offered him a sinister smirk. "Hmm, y'know, I think you've got that backwards. After all, your only worth a few specks of dirt. Just another slave of the Hyuga Main family. Too afraid to stand up for yourself, and you blame Hinata-chan for your father's death too, I believe? Tell me, why could you possibly hate your cousin so much? What has she ever done to you?"

Neji was snarling now and looked as if he was about ready to say fuck the match, all so he could go and strike down that bitch that dared to mock him! Instead, he pointed at Hinata and shouted, "It's because of that worthless BITCH that my father is dead! She should have been…!"

"What? Were you going to say she should have been stronger? Wasn't she just, what, 3 years old at the time? Tell me Neji, could you have put up a fight against a foe like that when you were that young? No? I didn't think so. Kami, you're pathetic! Go on Hinata-chan, kick this asshole's, well, ass! Don't let him intimidate you!"

The Hyuga prodigy snarled and turned to face his cousin with a deep glare on his face. "Mark my words Hinata-sama. You will die here and that bastard father of yours can't do anything about it! And then, when I get the opportunity, I'll kill that Naruki bitch too, just to make sure you suffer more!"

Hearing this, Hinata's eyes narrowed into a glare as well and she said, "I don't care if you hurt me, but threatening someone dear to my heart? I've decided, Neji...no matter what, I'm going to strike you down here today. Nobody, and I do mean nobody, will hurt Naruki-chan as long as I breathe! So if it means I have to kill you to protect her, I'll do it!"

Neji's eyes widened fractionally before he steeled himself for the fight ahead. Not if I kill you first, Hinata-sama.

When the proctor announced the match and told them to begin, Naruki frowned deeply and watched carefully as Hinata and Neji did battle. Quietly, he said to the others, "If she tries to fight him on his terms like this, she'll lose. She needs to try something new if she wants to win."

Kakashi and the others nodded with that sentiment. "Good eye, Naruki-chan." Kakashi said. "Yes, Neji is the superior fighter in the ways of the traditional Gentle Fist taijutsu. Hinata is more flexible and I'm sure that the traditional style isn't well-suited to her. She needs a style that's unique to her and her abilities. However, if I know anything about the Hyugas, they won't let her even attempt to create a new style of the Gentle Fist technique because it goes against 'tradition'."

Naruki scoffed at this and said, "Tradition schmission. If they don't let Hinata-chan create a style suited for her, she'll just get killed on a mission outside of the village. Unless of course, that's what they're hoping for?"

Yugao frowned in thought for a moment before saying, "Just in case, we should invite Hinata to come live with us. She'd be much safer with us than she would be with them. Aside from that, she'll be able to develop a style that's unique to her away from her clan."

The young blonde nodded and watched as Neji struck a blow hard to his cousin's chest, causing her to stagger backwards, clutching at her chest in pain as she began to cough up blood. She was tempted to jump in and stop this fight, but then Neji said something that infuriated Hinata.

"I suppose it's only fitting for you to bow to me before I kill you. And I'll gladly do it right in front of that whore you're so fond of. In fact, I might just let you live to watch me end the life of that bitch before I inevitably take yours as well. At least you'd both get to spend your time in Hell together."

Having enough of this, Hinata closed her eyes and mouthed, "Sorry." before forming a seal and activating the seal on her cousin's forehead, causing him to collapse to the ground screaming in agony. In order to get her message across to her cousin, she held the seal until he passed out from the pain. Afterwards, she released the hand seal and her hold over Neji before she collapsed to her knees and began coughing up more blood.

Hayate frowned at seeing this, not quite expecting such an outcome from their fight, if you could even call it that. He wasn't quite sure how to decide the match. On the one hand, Neji was unconscious. On the other, Hinata clearly wasn't in any shape to continue the battle, so it's only natural he was confused.

Looking at the Hokage pleadingly, everyone watched as Hiruzen rose and said, "Seeing as neither combatant is able to continue the battle, I declare this match to be a draw. Neither of them will advance to the finals."

Nobody dared to protest this decision. Instead, the room was quiet, nobody saying a word. When the medics came in and carried the two Hyuga's off, Naruki released a sigh and shook her head. "That guy's an asshole."

Haku nodded his head in agreement. "Definitely. Hopefully this will teach him a lesson, because if it doesn't, I'm going to beat him senseless until he gets the damn message. Daring to threaten you and call you a whore? Yeah, I'll kick his ass into next week every damn day if need be."

Naruki smiled at her boyfriend and placed her hands gently upon his chest before leaning in and kissing him sweetly on the lips. "You're such a sweetheart, Haku-kun." she said before snuggling against him.

The ice user blushed a bit and simply hugged her close. "Anything for you, Naruki-chan."

The various women in the room were smiling and aww'ing at the scene, unable to restrain themselves. Some of the guys were actually looking a bit envious of Haku, though they were in the minority. Ignoring that for now though, the proctor looked towards the only Genin that had yet to fight and offered him a small smile. "Seeing as there's no one remaining for Genin Choji Akimichi to fight, he gets an automatic pass into the finals. Congrats on being the lucky winner this time around."

Choji breathed a sigh of relief and nodded in thanks before he, along with the others, walked down to the arena floor to draw numbers to determine who they'd be fighting in the finals.

"6. Yippee!" Naruki exclaimed with a giggle following shortly afterwards.

"3." Ino said with a small smile on her face.

"7." said Choji, breathing a small sigh of relief as he realized he wouldn't have to fight someone right off the bat.

"5." Tenten said before eying Naruki. She's going to be a tough opponent.

"4." Gaara said, his voice devoid of any emotion. Chancing a glance at the one who would be his opponent in the finals, he frowned in thought before turning away. Naruki would not like it if I killed her friend. I guess I'll have to spare her.

"2." Kankuro said before rubbing his butt again. It still hurts.

Naruki sighed and shook her head. "Figures Sasuke would get number 1. That'll just boost his ego even further. Wonderful."

Anko smirked before patting Naruki on the head. "Don't let it get to you Naruki-chan. When he faces you in combat, if he does, you'll crush the little prick like he deserves. Might actually bring him down a few pegs."

Nodding in acceptance of that, Naruki looked up when the Hokage began to speak. She drifted in and out as he explained how they'd have one month to prepare themselves for the finals. He also said some other stuff, but she didn't really care. Instead, she quietly hummed a song to herself as she closed her eyes to tune everything out. When Hiruzen noticed she wasn't listening to him, he nodded to Hayate who took out a harisen and whacked the young female in the back of the head.

Wincing, Naruki rubbed the back of her head before looking at Hayate with a pout. "That wasn't very nice!"

The Hokage's voice caught her attention then. "Perhaps you should listen to what I'm saying instead of tuning me out."

Frowning, Naruki looked back into his eyes and said, "I already know all this stuff though. I'm wondering what kind of training I should do to get ready for my big debut in the finals. I gotta make it big and fun-funny-fun-fun-fun!"

Everyone sweatdropped at this, but decided to ignore it and write it off as Naruki being weird. Again.

After the Hokage finished his little speech, everyone was dismissed, though Naruki was told to meet him in his office later. Nodding in understanding, she turned around and made her way out of the tower with the others. However, rather than stick to the path everyone else was taking, the young Uzumaki went off on her own to say goodbye to her animal friends. As she did this, she knew she had a few people watching her, but she didn't care. Instead, she focused on her friends and promised them that she'd visit them whenever she could. She even promised that she'd find some way to summon them in times of need.

Once she had finished paying her respects to her animal friends, Naruki turned around and smiled as she looked at Gaara, Temari, and Kankuro, who was still massaging his butt. "I assume there's a reason you three are watching me? Unless you're just interested in staring at my butt, in which case...ew? I'm still the same ol' Naruki!"

Gaara shook his head and decided to be the one to speak up. "No Naruki. I have decided that you can be...trusted. I do not wish to fight you, and I don't want to upset you either. I feel...strange when I see you. I wonder if this is what it means to have a friend? Regardless, in commemoration of our new friendship, I would like you to be there with us when we speak with your Hokage."

Naruki blinked a couple of times before she smiled brightly and glomped onto Gaara. "Awww, you called me your friend! Isn't that great Fanny-Fan-Fangirl and Mr. Clownie Pants?!" she exclaimed as she turned to look at both Temari and Kankuro.

Kankuro and Temari both felt tick marks forming on their foreheads, but they chose not to voice their complaints because Gaara would no doubt protect his newfound friend. Instead, Temari sighed and decided to explain their situation to the insane blonde. "Yes, that's...wonderful." she said somewhat hesitantly. "Anyways, our father has made plans with Orochimaru to invade Konoha. We've decided, or rather Gaara decided that we needed to tell you and your Hokage all that we know about the upcoming invasion."

The younger blonde blinked again before asking, "You mean that Mr. Snakey-wakey that I chased off before? Meanie ol' Snakey-bakey is dangerous after all, huh? Ah well, might as well talk to the old man about this and see what he has to say. If need be, I'll torture Snakey-pants again to make him stop." Naruki's eyes widened after a moment and she said, "That actually reminds me! I signed the Snake contract! If Meaniehead is planning to use the snakes in the invasion, then I'll just have to have a talk with the head honcho. And if he's mean, I'll discipline him just like you should with an unruly pet." Nodding her head as if it was the smartest thing she had ever said, Naruki soon grabbed Gaara's hand and began walking with him towards the exit of the Forest of Death.

As they walked, Naruki energetically waving their linked hands back and forth with Gaara actually chuckling a bit, Temari and Kankuro looked at each other before Kankuro said, "She called Orochimaru like four different names. And the snake contract? How the hell did she get her hands on something like that?!"

Temari shook her head before she began to follow after the jinchuriki duo with Kankuro right beside her. "Something I've figured out about Naruki-san is that it's best not to try and figure out how she does things. We should just accept that she's capable of doing the impossible and leave it at that."

Kankuro shrugged and nodded in agreement with that sentiment. "That's a good point. Ah well, at least she isn't some boring old fangirl. Did you know I actually heard some of that Uchiha brat's fangirls going all gaga over him? What the hell makes a brat like that so popular? Is it the brooding thing?"

Temari sighed and said, "I'm a girl and even I don't understand it. Fangirls are crazy and they are an embarrassment to proper kunoichi everywhere."

Before Kankuro could say anything in reply, he saw Naruki appear in front of his face, staring at him curiously. "You wanna be more like Sasuke, huh? Might wanna practice your brooding face and pretend to have a stick up your butt then. Be abrasive to everyone and say 'Hn.' almost every other sentence. Also, you might wanna lose the makeup. Makes you look like a funny clownie-clown."

Kankuro's initial reaction was to yell at her and claim that it wasn't makeup, but seeing his brother standing behind Naruki, glaring at him, the puppet user sighed and said, "I don't want to be like that punk. I'm just wondering what's so special about him, that's all."

Naruki shrugged and said, "Nothing. Sasuke's nothing special. He's just been spoiled a lot and people pretty much worship the ground he walks on like it's something special. They expect him to repay them somehow, someday, buuut...well, that's just not in his nature. Now, enough of the chitchat! Let's go see Mr. Oldie-pants!"

Kankuro quirked a brow at this and asked, "You don't like to use actual names for people, do you?"

The crazy blonde tilted her head cutely for a moment before saying, "I use people's names. Just...not as often as people would like? I just like to be weird. It's more fun that way!"

Temari giggled a bit and said, "I suppose it must be. You seem like a pretty happy and energetic person. It's actually kind of refreshing."

Naruki nodded and booped Temari on the nose in response. "Boopie boop!" Turning around, she skipped up to Gaara and took his hand again before she got him to start skipping with her, much to his confusion.

Seeing this, Temari and Kankuro had to repress the shiver that threatened to shoot down their spines. "We NEVER speak of this sight again. Deal?"

Kankuro nodded, but remained speechless at what he was bearing witness to.

Hokage's Office

Hiruzen couldn't help but raise a brow in response to what he was seeing. "You know that when I asked you to come see me that I didn't mean for you to bring your new friends, right?"

Naruki stuck her tongue out at the old man before saying, "It's not like I didn't have a reason for bringing them with me. They mentioned an invasion planned by Mr. Snakey-pants and their father, Mr. Kazekage Bunny Man!" Nodding her head as if all was right with the world, she didn't notice the looks the others gave her.

"You're a little hyper right now, aren't you Naruki-chan?" Hiruzen asked with a bemused look on his face.

Naruki tapped her chin in thought before nodding. "Yep yep! I'm feeling full of energy after the fun back in the Forest of Death and then in the preliminaries. I got to nail someone with my Crotch-Seeker too, so that was fun!"

Kankuro cried crocodile tears and said, "You also annoyed the author so much he made a tentacle monster to violate me! I'll never forget that humiliation! My butt still hurts!"

Temari sighed and shook her head. "I'm a little upset too. I was beaten by those Pokemon things and not by Tenten herself. The author was feeling a little...sadistic at the time, wasn't he?"

"Remind me again why we're breaking the fourth wall here?" Hiruzen questioned with a chuckle afterwards.

"Because I'm just awesome like that!" Naruki exclaimed as she pumped her fist into the air. "Now, enough about that. You wanted to see me for some reason, and these three need to talk to you about the invasion planned by Snakey-butt!"

Hiruzen sighed and nodded his head before saying, "True. Now, the reason I asked you here was because, now that your secret is out, we need to figure out what to do about the villagers. Your fellow Genin are going to talk about you being a young woman, there's no avoiding that. Soon enough, the news will spread throughout the village and there's no telling what people will try now that your true gender has been revealed. I think it would be best if you moved into your parents' home and trained there, away from those who would wish you harm. Where you're living now is a great place, but it's just not safe enough anymore. So I wanted to give you your inheritance and show you to your new home. Zabuza, Haku, and Yugao can move in with you there if you want them to. In fact, you're welcome to invite anyone you want to come live with you, so long as you trust them."

Naruki tilted her head cutely to the side and asked, "You mean I can finally move into my parents' home? I thought you wanted to wait until I made Chunin to let me have all that they left me. Something about safety precautions or whatever. I'm curious though, what do you plan to do when they demand to know why I'm living in the Uzumaki estate? They know my father lived there with my mother, and seeing me living in the Fourth's old home might make them feel like it's a huge crime for just being there."

Hiruzen frowned at this before saying, "Simple. I'm going to announce your heritage to the village and inform them of just who they've been mistreating all this time. It'll be up to them on whether or not they accept it as the truth or not. If anyone dares to harass you or try to hurt you, just let me know and I'll deal with it in my own way. I won't let anyone hurt you."

The young blonde blushed a bit, but nodded her head in thanks. Hiruzen smiled at this before turning to the other three in the room. "So, you wanted to give me information about the invasion my old student is planning. I assume, based on your presence here and your knowledge about this invasion that my old friend, your father, is planning to betray us. If I had to fathom a guess, I'd say he's desperate to remedy a certain situation. Am I correct in thinking so?"

Gaara nodded and said, "Yes, Hokage-sama. The Wind Daimyo has been hiring Konoha shinobi solely and has stopped all funding to our village in favor of giving it all to you and your people. Things are bad in our village right now and we truly need that funding. Before I tell you anything, I want to know something. Whose idea was it to convince the daimyo of our lands to give all his business to the shinobi of this village?"

The Third shook his head and said, "Knowing my luck, it's Danzo Shimura that's behind this. He's VERY good at making enemies for our village. He thinks of himself as a true patriot of this village and thinks that his way is the right way to do things. In my personal opinion, I think he's pure evil and deserves to be wiped from existence entirely. No Heaven, no Hell, just cold death. If I could just get proof of his wrongdoings, I could have him executed. Sadly…"

Blinking a couple of times, Hiruzen looked at Naruki like a lightbulb just went off in his head. "Naruki-chan, you have a habit of doing the impossible. If I asked you to deal with Danzo somehow, do you think you could do it?"

Naruki looked at her new friends for a moment before turning to the Hokage and nodding determinedly. "Of course I can! But...could I take my new bestest buddy with me? He could be really helpful!"

Looking from Naruki to Gaara, Hiruzen smirked and asked, "Well? What do you say Gaara-kun? Interested in taking down the biggest threat to the peace we want to create? Danzo's responsible for a lot of crimes, even going behind my back to have the Uchiha clan annihilated by one of its own. And yes, I do mean Itachi Uchiha. Tch. Itachi and Mikoto were some of the only Uchiha that were actually pure of heart. Fugaku and the others were a bunch of corrupt bastards. I wanted to try and end things peacefully with them, but Danzo…" Clenching his fists tight, Hiruzen shook his head and said, "If the two of you can get the evidence I need for everything I need to do to set things right, I would greatly appreciate it. I also want you to end Danzo no matter what it takes. Will you agree to this mission?"

Gaara looked seriously at the Hokage with his arms folded across his chest. "I have conditions before I accept such a mission with Naruki. If you are willing to adhere to my requests, I will undertake this mission with my siblings and Naruki."

The Hokage offered him an assuring smile and said, "Very well. Name your conditions, Gaara-kun."

Gaara nodded before saying, "First, I would like for my siblings and I to be accepted as shinobi of Konohagakure. If we're to help you, it means betraying our village. Therefore, I want to live here in Konoha with Naruki."

Hiruzen nodded in acceptance of that. "That's easy enough to do. What are your other requests?"

"If we're to live in this village, we'll need a home. I was hoping we could move in with Naruki, seeing as she's the only friend I've ever had and I want to strengthen that bond."

Raising an eyebrow at this, Hiruzen looked to Naruki and asked, "What do you say, Naruki-chan? It's up to you, after all."

Naruki looked at Gaara with a small smile on her face and said, "You're welcome to stay in my new home with me and my family. No peeking on me in the shower or something though! I still enjoy my privacy, despite everything I do and how I act."

Gaara blinked and asked, "Why would I peek on you? Is there some purpose in the act of peeping on someone?"

Temari sweatdropped while Kankuro facepalmed, not sure whether to believe his brother was truly that dense, or if he was just uneducated in the birds and the bees. Then, it was as if a revelation had hit him. Looking at Temari, they both appeared to be thinking the same thing. Gaara truly didn't know about the birds and the bees! It would seem they'd have to give him a little 'talk'.

Naruki blinked at his innocent question before asking, "Um, Gaara-kun? Were you ever given the 'birds and the bees' talk?"

Gaara tilted his head in a cute manner and asked, "Birds and the bees? What do an animal and an insect have to do with peeping on you?"

"Guess that answers my question. Old man, think you could give him that talk later? 'Cause it just wouldn't feel right to leave things be like this." Naruki suggested, giggling a little nervously afterwards. "I'd do it, but...I'd be really embarrassed to."

Hiruzen chuckled a bit and nodded his head. "Of course. For now though, I need your answer in regards to the mission I would like to give you."

Naruki grinned and said, "I'll take it! That old guy won't stand a chance! The power of insanity shall prevail! Mwahahahahahahaaaa!"

Temari and Kankuro found themselves sweatdropping at her behavior, but what really got to them was when Gaara smirked and said, "The power of insanity is quite strong indeed. I'm going to enjoy this."

"That's the spirit! We shall be insane together and dance on their graves! Woot woot!"

Gaara chuckled and said, "Mother will love his blood." Then, what Naruki said caught his attention. "'Their' graves? Does this Danzo have allies?"

Hiruzen sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose. "Most likely. I ordered him to disband Root, but knowing him, he's kept it running right under my nose. So I want you to go in expecting heavy resistance. This is a mission for just the two of you, so I have high expectations for you."

Temari frowned at this and asked, "Pardon me, Hokage-sama, but what about us? Shouldn't we help them on this mission?"

The elderly Hokage shook his head. "No. I've got a different sort of mission for the two of you. I need you to make it look as if you're staying in your hotel. Orochimaru likely has eyes throughout the village and will notice any change in your behavior. I think it's safe to assume Gaara-kun here is the trump card that he's counting on? After all, he houses the Ichibi, correct?"

The Suna siblings' eyes widened before Gaara nodded his head in confirmation. "You are correct. Orochimaru is counting on me to unleash the Ichibi on the village. At the very least, I'd make a good distraction while he tries to achieve his true goal."

Hiruzen sighed and nodded his head in understanding. "Yes. I think it's safe to assume that he's planning my demise. I don't plan to make it easy for him, and I'm prepared to spring a trap of my own on him when the time comes. One way or another, I'll correct my mistake of letting him escape years ago."

Temari nodded in response to this and said, "Just...be careful, Hokage-sama. And if you're willing to accept us as new shinobi in your village, we'd be very grateful."

Hiruzen smiled and looked at Naruki. "All I ask in return is that you three be there for Naruki-chan. She could use friends like you three."

Kankuro eyed Naruki for a moment before sighing softly. "I suppose we can make that work. I just wish she'd stop making fun of me."

Naruki blinked and looked at him with an innocent gaze. "When did I make fun of you? I think you're fun! Plus, I got to summon the Excalibur because of you!"

Kankuro scowled at this and began to cry crocodile tears. "Don't remind me of that! Makes me feel like you hate me when you bring up that damn...that...that...oh Kami! My butt still hurts!"

The perky blonde frowned for a moment before she smiled brightly at him. "You know what you need? A whoopie cushion! Sit on that and make people laugh! That should make you smile, right?"

The black-clad shinobi slinked off to a corner where he curled up into the fetal position and began muttering to himself. "She hates me. I know it."

As Temari went to pat her brother on the back to try and console him, Naruki turned to Hiruzen and asked, "What'd I do? I thought he'd like my suggestion."

Rubbing his temples this time, Hiruzen said, "Naruki-chan, you need to learn how other people think and feel about certain things. I know you mean well, but you're torturing that poor boy."

Pouting, Naruki walked over to Kankuro and, after getting his attention, hugged him and patted his back. "There there Mr. Funnypants. If it'll make you feel any better, I could show you one of my boobs."

Kankuro perked up at this and turned to look at her with wide eyes. "Seriously?!"

Snickering, Naruki said, "Of course not! I do have some modesty after all. No, I'll try to introduce you to a nice girl that might like you. I'd have to search really hard though…"

Deflating, Kankuro curled up in the corner again and said, "So mean to me…"

Naruki frowned at this strange reaction before she eventually chose to just shrug it off. "I'll try to learn what's the right thing to say to the clown man. For now though, you wanted Sandy Man and me to deal with that Danzo guy, right? Just point us in a direction and we'll go have some fun!"

Hiruzen looked at Kankuro with a look of pity for a moment before returning his gaze to Naruki. "I'm 100% certain that Danzo and his Root forces reside underground somewhere. Knowing you though, you'll find it easily. Bust in, take down everyone in your way with lethal force, and kill Danzo Shimura. Finally, I want you to collect every piece of evidence you can of his many crimes. Do you understand your mission?"

Naruki saluted the Hokage while Gaara nodded with a smirk on his face. "Roger Hokage-sama Dude! We've totally got this! C'mon Gaara-kun, let's go play hide and seek with that rotten old bastard."

Gaara chuckled a bit before he and Naruki left the room to go on the hunt for a decrepit, evil old man. As soon as they were gone, Temari looked at the Hokage with a look of concern. "I know Gaara's never been wounded before, but this...this is dangerous, even for him. Are you really sure they can do this?"

The Third Hokage smiled reassuringly at Temari and nodded his head. "Yes. The two of them will pull off this mission without a problem. Naruki's insanity is her greatest weapon. She can do the impossible whenever she needs to. Pairing her up with Gaara, who has never been hurt before, will only aid her in this mission. The two of them will undoubtedly work exceptionally well together, and I'm honestly eager to hear the good news when they're done. There is literally nobody else I would or could assign this mission to, no matter how skilled they may be. Just try to have faith in them, and believe in the fact that this will only bring them closer. As jinchuriki, it's important that they bond with one another. They'll be the support for each other that they really need in their lives."

Kankuro looked at the Hokage for a moment before chuckling to himself. "Naruki's Crotch-Seeker is deadly enough. If she uses that against this Danzo guy, he won't stand a chance." he joked.

Hiruzen winced at the memory of being nailed by it way back when. "I know personally just how effective that technique is. If Danzo's not careful, he's going to lose his nuts before she takes his life. Have to say, I'm not sure which is worse: the pain of losing his balls or how she'll end up killing him."

"Something tells me it's best not to think about it." Temari said with another sweatdrop.

"Indeed." the Hokage said. "Now, tell me all the details you know about this invasion plan. I want to be fully prepared for everything he has planned."

Temari nodded and began to go into a detailed explanation about everything that she and her siblings knew.

Root Headquarters

"What the hell do you mean they've found us?!" Danzo exclaimed angrily. "Who the hell has invaded my private domain?"

"I'm sorry, Danzo-sama. It's just two people. One of them is the demon vessel, and the other is Gaara of the Sand. Their purpose here is currently unknown."

Danzo scowled at this and said, "One can never tell when it comes to the demon vessel. He's completely unpredictable. It's impossible to tell how he even found his way into our headquarters."

"Um, that's the thing, Danzo-sama. The demon vessel is a she, apparently. And she and her 'friend' are slaughtering our men."

Danzo stared blankly at his subordinate for a moment as he tried to register what was just said. After a moment, however, he smirked as a plan came to mind. "Capture her. We can use her to breed future demon vessels, ones that won't be so unruly. Go!"

"Awww, none of that now Mr. Grumpypants!" Naruki's voice could be heard saying. "Would you like it if I talked about your wrinkly old penis and how it's nothing special? After all, we 'demon vessels' are super special and you're just a grumpy old man."

Narrowing his eye, Danzo asked, "What the hell does that have to do with what I just said?"

Naruki appeared out of the shadows and tilted her head cutely as she tapped a finger against her chin. "Nothing? I guess? You're kinda strange though, old timer. Hiding out underground like a mole. Don't you ever get lonely down here?"

"Never. Now what are you doing here?"

The young blonde shrugged and offered him a sadistic smile. "I'm here because gramps gave me the order to deal with you how I saw fit. I think I'll turn you into a pretzel first, then a basketball, and finally a football! Knock you around a lot and rip out your hair, maybe even feed you to a kitty! Oooh, I've got the perfect animal friend for you to play with in the Forest of Death! She'll be soooo happy with her new chew toy!"

Danzo scowled and removed his bandages, revealing his arm and Sharingan eyes. "I see. So Hiruzen's finally given the order. I'm not surprised that he'd send you after me. After all, you're the most unpredictable person in the village, if not the world. I won't make it easy for you though."

"Just as we won't make it easy for you." a voice could be heard saying from behind Danzo. "Now die!"

Before Danzo could turn around to see who had snuck up on him, he screamed out in pain as each of the Sharingan on his arm were stuck by what felt like a million tiny pinpricks. Looking down at his arm, he saw that a bunch of senbon made of sand were protruding from his arm. What made things worse was that just a second later, his arm was crushed, blood spraying from the sand as a result. "You son-of-a-bitch!"

"Do not talk about my mother in such a way." Gaara said before watching as Naruki moved in for the kill, decapitating Danzo with a wind-enhanced kunai. "Very well done, Naruki."

Naruki blushed a bit and squirmed a little. "Awww, you're just so darn sweet, Gaara-kun! You always know what to say to me." she teased.

Gaara simply smiled and nodded his head before he prepared to use his sand to crush Danzo's body into paste. However, he decided not to, as he wanted Naruki to have her fun with it first. Instead, he went and began digging through Danzo's office for anything they could use to prove Danzo's wrongdoings as well as hold some leverage over Danzo's allies on the councils.

While he went about doing that, Naruki giggled to herself as she began 'playing' with Danzo's body. "And a twisty here and a noogie there, and now look! You're a pretzel!" she exclaimed joyfully as she finished bending Danzo's body in what would be quite painful ways were he still alive. "Now, let's make you into a fishie!"

Her companion turned back to look at her and chuckled softly. "When are you going to tear his body apart?"

Naruki stuck her tongue out at Gaara and said, "In due time, my friendly friend of sandiness! I'm playing with my new puppy-puppet! I might even make him dance in front of everybody in the village! Then again, people probably wouldn't like that. Hmm…" Looking curiously at Gaara, she asked, "Do you think your puppet brother would be willing to play with his decrepit body for me?"

Gaara looked at her before thinking on it for a while. After a few more moments, he said, "Yes, I believe he will. If I ask him to, he should do it."

"Yaaay! I wanna make him dance through the streets with a big ol' smile on his face! I know just how to make him smile too." she declared as she pulled out a kunai and began carving into Danzo's face, making it look like he was smiling happily. "Yay! Now he can pretend to be the Joker! Wait...he's dead...oh well." she said with a shrug.

The redheaded male looked at her curiously before asking, "Who's the Joker?"

"Nobody important." Naruki replied. "Just somebody that wishes he was a bunny rabbit. Bunnies rule!" she cheered as she began poking her kunai into Danzo's nose. "Boopie boop boop boop."

Gaara, deciding to ignore his friend for the time being, finally found something worthy of his attention. "Here we go. It looks like he had some kind of business deal with Hanzo in Ame. And one of the most recent crimes he's committed is against Konoha itself. Working with Orochimaru to try and oust Hokage-sama so he could take his 'rightful' place as Hokage. Let's see what else we can find."

Naruki finished mutilating Danzo's body and skipped over to help her friend look for more evidence against Danzo and his 'friends'. "Sooo, Gaara-kun, are you really sure you want to leave Suna for Konoha?"

Gaara nodded once and said, "Of course. There's nothing for me back in Suna. I've a feeling that I'll be much happier here than I ever could be back home."

Naruki grinned and threw an arm around Gaara's shoulders. "Of course you will be! You've got me with you here, after all. Don't worry, I'll make sure to make things extra 'sexy' for ya!"

The redhead blinked as he looked at her in wonder. "What...does that mean, exactly?"

The blonde poked his nose and giggled before skipping around, collecting everything she figured might be useful. "Whoooo knowseth? I know this though!" she said before glomping Gaara and kissing his cheek, causing the young man to blush something fierce. Giggling a bit, she released him before picking up Danzo's dead body and saying, "Let's go go go! We need to make him dance through the streets for everyone."

Gaara chuckled softly and, after sealing everything up in a storage scroll, followed his friend through the base and back into the light of day.

The Next Day

Kankuro looked somewhat defeated as he made the mutilated corpse of Danzo dance along with his other puppets. He was currently in the center of the village with a very large crowd, watching in horror and intrigue as Kankuro put on a masterful puppet show for everyone. I'm almost to the point where I'd wish for someone to put me out of my misery. He thought to himself as he made Danzo do the splits before hopping back up onto his feet and spinning around like a ballerina. Nevermind, I'm to that point now.

"Yes, dance my little ballerina! Dance!" Naruki exclaimed before cackling gleefully. "All we need now is some music. Maestro, please!"

"I'm a maestro now? Meh, nevermind. Music coming right up."

Everyone blinked as they had all heard the voice of the author. What made things even more bizarre is when the song, "I'm Alive" by Shinedown began to play, though they had no idea who they were or what the hell the author was thinking by playing such a song.

Naruki, on the other hand, found great humor in the author's choice and clapped happily before turning to Kankuro. "Mr. Puppet Dude, make them dance!"

"Somebody kill me. Please?" Kankuro begged as he began making his puppets, both human and wooden, dance to the beat of the song.

Hiruzen couldn't help but chuckle to himself before looking at his surrogate granddaughter. "Was this really necessary, Naruki-chan?"

Naruki nodded energetically and declared, "Yup! He was a meanie and had way too much support. This is like a slap in the face to the baddies of the village and by doing this, they'll have to be more careful in the future when dealing with stuff. In other words, think of this as sending a message."

The Hokage nodded in understanding. "I see. That makes sense. Very well, parade his corpse through the streets for all to see! Just try not to scar little children, okay?"

The young woman blinked a couple of times before looking at Hiruzen like he was stupid. "It's going to be a little hard not to, Gramps. Might have to leave the whole emotional scarring thing to the parents in this case and hope they don't just make things worse."

Hiruzen sighed and nodded his head once again. "Good point. Ah well, just make sure the message is read loud and clear. I've got to return to my office. I want you to come see me once you're done with this little show. It's time to give you your inheritance and get you moved into your new home."

"Can do Hokage-sama!" she exclaimed joyfully before she danced along to the rhythm in her head.

Hiruzen could only chuckle as he made his way back to his office. Life will never be boring with you around, Naruki-chan.

Later that day

Naruki was practically bouncing in place as she looked around at her new home. It was rather large, definitely big enough to house everyone in her family and then some. They had already moved all of their stuff in and she honestly couldn't contain all the energy inside of her that wanted to burst out. So, leaving her friends and family to do what they wanted, she began running throughout the large home, laughing gleefully the entire time.

Once his adopted daughter had run off, Zabuza sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose for a moment before he took a seat on one of the couches and relaxed backwards into the comfiness of the couch. "She has waaay too much energy. But at least she doesn't have to pretend to be a boy anymore. Gotta look on the bright side!"

Haku chuckled as he took a seat on the loveseat, planning to just wait for his girlfriend to calm down and return. "Just admit it, Dad, you're happy about the fact that you won't have to see us being affectionate with one another as two guys."

Zabuza chuckled a bit as he looked at Haku. "You're right. Seeing you two kissing and whatever else you were getting up to when you were both boys? It didn't feel right to me. And before you snap at me, I don't mean it in that way. I'm fine with everyone's sexuality, nothing about that bugs me. It was just weird to see after figuring out he was actually a she. It was awkward and I was eagerly awaiting the day when she wouldn't have to hide her gender anymore."

Yugao smirked at him and said, "Aww, was someone feewing a wittle upset because his 'sons' were getting along? Poor Zabu-chan."

"Yeah, yeah, laugh it up. Didn't you feel a little awkward when you knew her true gender, but had to see her in disguise having those moments of public displays of affection. I'll admit, it took me a while to get used to it, but I feel so much better now, knowing they can be open about their relationship rather than having to hide certain things from people."

The violet-haired woman nodded in understanding before sitting beside Haku. "That's understandable. Oh! Before I forget, I wanted to give you fair warning. You might want to have Naruki apply silencing seals to all the rooms. Hayate-kun and I are going to break in my new bed. I figured you suffered enough at the last house. Unless, of course, you like hearing me scream out his name? In which case, we'll gladly enjoy ourselves."

Zabuza's eyes widened in horror at this before he quickly shot up off the couch and hurried to find Naruki. As soon as he was gone, Yugao began laughing hysterically at this before looking at Haku. "And what about you? Planning to sneak into Naruki-chan's room and cuddle?"

Haku sighed and shook his head. "You know full well that Naruki's the one that sneaks into my room to do that. It's torture, because she loves to wear that see-through nightie of hers." he said with a deep blush on his face.

Seeing Haku couldn't look her in the eyes, Yugao giggled and patted him gently on the back. "You'll be alright. Just don't take things too far with her, because I don't think you two are ready for such a thing yet. Then again, Naruki might try to push for that sooner than I would like…"

The young man sighed, but nodded his head in agreement. "Naruki has already done something…'intimate' with me before. She used it as a form of torture to extract information from me. She's already quite the seductress, especially when she wants to be. If she pushes for something like that...what do you expect me to do?"

Yugao looked at him calmly and said, "Just make sure she uses that contraceptive technique so she doesn't get pregnant. Knowing her, she's likely to forget if she isn't reminded to do it."

Haku sighed and nodded his head in agreement. "That's true. Sadly. I fully expect her to try something soon. She's rather...bold, after all."

Yugao giggled a bit and said, "She's always been that way. Naruki knows what she wants and she does whatever it takes to get it. Trust me, if you want to remain sane, you should just go along with it. And if she wants in your pants, don't try to fight it, or who knows what she'll do?"

Haku sweatdropped and said, "I'm...not sure I'm ready to take that step though."

All Yugao did was giggle before she got up and walked off to go to her room and relax for a while. Once she was gone, Haku closed his eyes and shook his head. "I'm doomed."

"Aww, no you're not! You're gonna be juuuust fine!" Naruki exclaimed as she popped up behind him and kissed his cheek.

Haku screamed and fell off the couch in shock at Naruki's sudden appearance. Taking a moment to catch his breath, Haku turned to look at Naruki and said, "Don't do that!"

"D'awww, but I wanted to surprise you." she said with a pout. "You know I wuv you! You're da bestest Haku-chan in the whole wide world!"

Haku sweatdropped again and simply offered her an awkward smile. "I...don't know what to say to that."

Naruki giggled before glomping her boyfriend. Nuzzling her cheek against his, she said, "Admit it. You looooove me. Now let's go have some fun!"

The ice-user blushed a bit as certain raunchy images flashed through his mind. "W-What kind of f-fun?"

"I dunno! Maybe pull a prank or something? Or we could train together. Or even just go out on the town for a while! Anything's great." Naruki said, smiling brightly at him.

"O-Oh, that kind of fun. Good." Haku said, sweat trickling down the back of his head.

Naruki blinked as she leaned back and looked into her boyfriend's eyes. "You had your mind in the gutter, didn't you? Silly Haku." she said, flicking him on the nose as punishment for having a dirty mind. "Now come on! Let's see if we can find Anko-chan!"

"Anko? Are you going to invite her to live here with us?" Haku questioned curiously.

"Yep yep! Sakura-chan too! Then again, she probably doesn't want to leave her parents just yet. Oh well, we won't know until we try!" Naruki said before grabbing her boyfriend's hand and rushing out the door with him.

Kinky times ahead. I can see it now. Haku thought to himself with a wry grin on his face. My life is never going to be dull with Naruki in my life.

A/N - And that's the chapter. I was trying to find a good place to end it, and that seemed like as good a spot as any. As I said before, a lot happened in this chapter. Hinata got so fed up with Neji that she used the seal for the first time ever. Danzo is dead. Kankuro was miserable. Naruki and Gaara make quite the pair, don't they?

Again, I wanted to apologize for how long it took to update this fic. I've been dealing with a LOT and I don't know when it'll get better. I've been dealing with family issues, health issues, etc. It's sucked and I hate it, but I'm trying to start writing chapters for everyone again, so hopefully this is to your liking.

In order to try and cope with my stress, I've engrossed myself in a number of different video games, because I've got a backlog of games that need to be played and beaten. lol. I played Persona 5 for a good while and only have one trophy left to get, buuut I haven't felt like going for it. I also got into Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot for a while, but I haven't progressed very far in the game. I recently got my hands on Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Rescue Team DX and I've quickly become addicted to it. I also got Tokyo Mirage Sessions #FE Encore earlier this month and have been enjoying that. In other words, I've been playing a lot of games, but haven't quite finished them. XD

Anyways, I do hope you understand why I'm taking my time with writing things like this. I hope you enjoyed the chapter and are looking forward to whatever comes next.