"I'm definitely getting higher up the tree than you, ttebayo."

"You wish. I still have a solid meter on you." The smug bastard responded, trying to hide the fact that he was short of breath.

"Are not. I got to the fourth branch up. You were only on the third." Naruto argued back.

"On a different tree. Not all trees grow branches in the same way. That's not how trees work dumbass."

That was probably true, but there's no way Naruto would admit to that. Sasuke had a big enough head that he didn't need Naruto giving him any ideas.

"Yeah, well, I spent most of my time using up my chakra beforehand. You were practicing longer." Naruto said with a sniff.

"What ever you need to say to make yourself feel better." Sasuke said as he tried to pull a little ahead.

"So, ya think we'll see Orochi Lady for dinner tonight too?" Naruto asked as he stepped forward to be just slightly ahead of Sasuke.

Instead of trying to run ahead, Sasuke stopped in his tracks.

"Why would you think she's coming back?" Saskue asked in disbeleif.

"Oh. Well she seemed like she was having a lot of fun this morning, so she'd probably come back, right?"

Sasuke scoffed, and Naruto was proud of himself that he didn't just slug him right then.

"Naruto. You know that lady's dangerous, right?" Sasuke asked in disbelief.

"Eh? How's she dangerous?" After all, the woman brought them food and helped teach them. Plus she was pretty and wore a frilly dress. How could she be dangerous?

"Kakashi is afraid of her." Sasuke said. "If he's afraid, we should be too."

"What? No way Kakashi-sensei is afraid of that lady." Naruto said dismissively.

"Just because she doesn't seem dangerous doesn't mean she isn't. It's the people that can make you trust them that are the most dangerous. Don't let your guard down around her."

Naruto came up short. His teammate sounded super serious. Which made him rethink things. Naruto could admit to maybe possibly not being the most observant person around and there was possibly maybe some merit to listening to Sasuke's advice a little bit. A ninja should always be prepared anyways.

"Fine." Naruto concluded, "But if we make it through this whole mission and she doesn't try to do something you'll treat me at Ichiraku after the mission!"

"Seriously? If she tries something we'll die."

"Psh. Right. Sure. Maybe she'll kill us with her hairbrush or her hair ribbon." Naruto scoffed. The lady didn't even carry any weapons on her.

"Then if I win you clean up after team practice every day for a week when we get back." Sasuke scoffed. "Maybe that will at least make you take this seriously."

Ha. Bastard probably thought he was getting the better end of that deal, but he'd never seen how much Ichiraku Naruto could put away!

"Deal! Also, last one back to the house is a loser." Naruto yelled over his shoulder as he ran. Sasuke only a moment behind.

Sasuke was gaining on him. Shockingly fast. Naruto let out a squawk of surprise. A manly manly squawk. Sasuke hadn't ever been that fast before.

Then Naruto noticed the hole in the ground the bastard had left behind. It was just like the trees!

Naruto pumped chakra into his feet, pushing his energy out of his foot when he went to take a step, rocketing him forward, and just barely letting him keep his lead.

As they approached the house, Sasuke began to slow. Naruto grinned at his victory as the house rapidly grew closer. "Ha! Victory is- wait. How do I stop?"

-----

I was putting the last touches on Kakashi's soup when I felt Naruto and Sasuke drawing close. Then there was a loud bang on the side of the house followed shortly after by a splash of water. A second later the door opened to reveal a very calm looking Sasuke.

Or at least he was calm until he saw me.

"Hey Sasuke-kun. Dinner is almost ready." I greeted. "Tazuna-san should be here soon too."

The soaked and grumpy kitten that was Naruto clambered up onto the bridge leading to the house. "I totally meant to do that."

"Ara ara, Naruto. You're soaked." I said with a shake of my head. "Go get washed off, and dried, the both of you. You smell like sweaty boy."

"Oh hey! Orochi Lady! See Sasuke. I told ya she'd be here." Naruto said while elbowing his teammate.

Meanwhile his sullen teammate glared at me. Sasuke, of all the genin, seemed to take my presence as a much more imminent threat. Though he lacked Kakashi's experience to be able to tell just how much of a threat I was other than just "very dangerous".

"Hey! Hey! Did you bring food again? Is it ramen? It's been forever since I've had ramen."

Naruto clearly did not take me as a serious threat. Despite his teacher and teammate both telling him that he should probably be threatened by me. It left me wondering how exactly he managed to survive as a ninja.

Super human regenerative ability probably had a lot to do with it.

"No ramen. Just ludicrously expensive beef and rice." I replied as I began spooning soup into a bowl. "Here Kakashi-kun. Your soup."

"Why are you here again?" Sasuke asked.

"Well I had so much fun this morning, I couldn't turn down showing up again for dinner." I said, which for some reason made Naruto give a cry of triumph.

"Kakashi-kun. Kindly send your minions to take a bath. That isn't a smell I think any of us want at the dinner table."

The two genin looked over to Kakashi who heaved a sigh before nodding. "Go on. Make it fast. And keep an eye out."

I took a moment to marvel at the fact that Kakashi was still slipping in warnings to pay attention. It's cute that he feels it necessary.

The two reluctantly leave the room. Naruto heads straight to the bath, though I notice Sasuke taking a quick patrol around the property, apparently looking for any other backup I might have brought with me.

"Which one were you saying is alive?" Kakashi asked.

It wasn't hard for me to guess at what the man was referring too. The man probably hadn't stopped thinking about it since I'd told him one of his teammates is alive. He was probably trying to catch me off guard with the sudden question too. A frequent tactic in interrogation.

"Obito." I answered truthfully.

I couldn't tell if I had done anything to help him with the statement. Kakashi himself probably didn't know either. The man was probably shoving the information into a little box in the corner of his mind to actually feel emotional about later.

He was a consummate professional.

"Do you have him? Were you the one who saved him." Kakashi asked.

I took out some butter and threw it into a hot pan on-top of the stove. I spoke over it's sizzle. "No. I only found out in the last three months."

This novel's true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there.

It was sort of true. I had only been in this world for three months and this body I'm inhabiting didn't know until then.

"Who has him?" Kakashi asked. Voice filled with steel.

"No one." I replied, throwing a steak into the pan. "He's free. Well...he's free to come and go where he wishes. I don't imagine he feels very free."

Kakashi was silent. I let the silence go on. I knew he'd need a while to mull over that response. The only sounds in the kitchen was the sizzle of the hot pan and crackle and popping of meat.

"How would I find him?"

I smiled, my back to the Konoha nin. It was the question I had been waiting for.

"Akatsuki." I replied. "A group of S-rank missing nin from various hidden villages. Probably the most powerful collection of ninja on the continent. Powerful enough that half their numbers could single-handedly take on an entire hidden village."

I could practically feel the ninja behind me tense. After all, I doubt the man had expected the day to include secrets that could shake the foundation of the entire Elemental Nations.

"How do you know this? If this is some great conspiracy, how do you know it?"

"Ara ara, that's simple." I replied as I flipped the meat, steam rose in the air with a renewed sizzling. "I was a member up until three months ago."

I had once again made the man silent. Clearly thinking on the implications. Three months had also been when I'd said I found out about Obito. That by itself hinted at many possibilities. I'm sure the jounin wanted nothing more than to throw me into an interrogation cell and have me give answers far more specific and comprehensive than the cryptic half answers I was currently giving. Instead I was merely giving him small pieces of a large puzzle and letting him figure out what the puzzle said.

"That's why you're here. That's why you're reaching out. You ticked off these people and you need help beating them now."

Cheeky little brat.

"Well done." I replied then after a beat continued, "Medium, Medium Rare, or Rare?"

I turned around, one prepared steak laid to the side as I turned to look at Kakashi. The man's face was alternating between anger, fear, and accusation. I gave my best charming smile.

"I'll just make you a medium. You strike me as the kind that doesn't like things bloody."

Kakashi flinched and I went back to the stove, throwing on another steak. The kitchen again filling only with the sounds of fire and burning flesh.

It took longer than previously for Kakashi to speak up.

"What do they want? What's Akatsuki's goal?"

"Dangerous information, that." I responded. "I'll answer...when the question comes from Naruto's godfather."

Kakashi's chair clattered to the floor as the man stood up from his seat.

"Is that a threat?"

I rolled my eyes. "Sit down, ya cripple. It's not a threat. Maybe I just miss my dear former teammate?"

"You-" He started to say before I cut him off.

"It would appear we are out of time."

The front door opened and Tazuna and Sakura walked into the room.

"Ara ara, Tazuna-san! Working awfully late tonight." I commented. The bridge builder stepped into the room and took a deep breath. While Sakura looked uncertainly to her teacher's fallen chair and to me. The girl's hand straying towards her weapons pouch.

"Sakura. Go wash off your hands and help Orochitama with the food." Kakashi said with a serene smile. The girl looked on uncertainly before giving a nod.

"Yes, Kakashi-sensei."

"Tazuna, I also brought some Umeshu. Feel free to help yourself to some." I said as I gesture to the elaborate bottle on the counter. The man quickly pouring himself a glass.

"Thanks. Today was busy. We had ten more people join today. Well, rejoin. The food you gave me went a long way to getting people to want to work on the bridge again."

"Glad Tsunami-chan suggested it." I replied happily.

Tazuna glanced around with a frown. "Where is Tsunami?"

"She's spending some time with Inari in another room." I replied. "I'll call for her in a moment right when dinner is finished. Should only be a moment longer. How do you like your steak Tazuna-san? Rare?"

The man laughed, "I like it still mooing if I can get it!"

"Coming right up." I said happily as I grabbed another pan to fry some vegetables in. All the while Kakashi stared at me, a thousand questions burning in his gaze.

"Don't pout Kakashi. Can't give all the spoilers in the first act." I replied as I returned to cooking.

-----

Haruno Sakura wasn't sure on how to feel about this Orochitama. The Shinobi Rule #64 clearly stated that any traitors should be dealt with as swiftly as possible. But if this woman was as strong as Kakashi-sensei had said then trying to do anything would get them killed.

Plus, more than that, the woman seemed...nice. She knew it was probably an act, but if the woman was doing good things she didn't really think it was necessary to do anything right now. No reason to interrupt someone helping people after all. Plus the woman seemed so much like what Sakura wanted to be. She smiled kindly, looked pretty, and was so strong she could scare even Kakashi-sensei. She'd never met someone like that before.

"Oh! Sakura-chan! You're back!" Naruto's voice suddenly yelled, making Sakura's mood immediately plummet.

She was beginning to realize that she might have been a little too...critical of Naruto, but the boy wasn't making liking him easy. He was loud, he often smelled, and he just wouldn't take no for an answer. Plus he constantly ignored her own feelings about how she actually DID like Sasuke.

"So I got way up the tree! I go farther than Sasuke now!" Naruto bragged, which immediately brought a scoff from the dark eyed member of their team.

"Dream on dumbass. I'm still meters ahead." Sasuke said while looking away from her. The boy's pale profile dignified even in the house's poor light.

"Ara ara, some competition is good, but don't go too far." Orochitama said, carrying a plates of food over to the table. "Remember your teammates' strength is your strength. Nothing beats the power of friendship."

"The power of friendship?" Sakura asked. She hadn't ever heard a ninja seriously suggest something like that before.

"Yes. Taking one person by surprise with the help of three other people goes a long way." Orochitama replied.

Sakura blinked for a moment. The advice actually was basically the same as what Kakashi gave for teamwork. She just seemed to say it differently.

"Ha! You guys should be glad to have a super cool ninja like me." Naruto said while making sloppy punches in the air.

"W-well I am glad be on a team with Sasuke-kun in it."

"Alright. All three of you. You can cut that shit out right there." Orochitama said with a shake of her head.

"Huh?" Sakura asked in surprise.

"Naruto-kun. You are an asset to the team. But you can't do everything by yourself. It would have been better then to brag about how good your teammates are. Strong people don't need to tell others they're strong. Their reputation proceeds them. Strong people brag about their allies." Orochitama said before rounding on Sakura, "And Sakura-chan, your team is more than Sasuke-kun. Naruto-kun is also a major asset to your team. Putting everything on Sasuke's shoulders isn't fair."

Sakura found herself blushing. She knew what the older woman said was true. She depended too much on Sasuke. The last battle at the lake with Zabuza really showed that she didn't have much to contribute. She couldn't just assume she'd be fine just because Sasuke was on her team.

Kakashi had been asking after missions what it was she wanted to do in her ninja career. He'd asked her what sort of role she saw herself filling in the team.

She still had no idea how to answer that.

"Your team has great potential. You probably remind more than one person of my old team from when I was a genin. But you each need to grow into your own. Of the three of you only Sasuke seems to have a good picture of what sort of shinobi he wants to be." Orochitama said as she poured herself a cup of the sake she'd told Tazuna about earlier. "Ask for your sensei's help on things. That's what he's there for. To guide you. If you ask him what you should work on he'll tell you. If you don't know how to work on those things then ask him how to improve. You're ninja now. No one is going to hold your hand and walk you to ultimate power with step by step instructions."

Sakura all at once realized she'd never once asked Kakashi-sensei what he thought she should do. She never once asked for what she should improve on. Never before asked for a training exercise, and even after she completed the tree-walking exercise so easily she didn't ask for another one.

None of her teammates asked questions like that. Sasuke usually went off to do his own training. Naruto would ask for a cool ninjutsu but would stop whenever Kakashi suggested another exercise. Now that it was pointed out to her Sakura suddenly felt pity for their instructor.

"Yeah, but Kakashi-sensei never teaches me any cool ninjutsu. I ask all the time!" Naruto wined.

"Mhm. And Kakashi-kun, how do you respond?"

Sakura looked to their sensei and found the man slouched in a bizarre mix of exhaustion and vindication. "Generally I suggest the leaf sticking exercise or for him to practice his taijutsu forms."

Orochitama put one hand to her chin before giving a nod. "Yeah. Good advice. I'd suggest the same thing too."

"Huh? But I could just learn some cool ninjutsu and then I'd be way stronger!" Naruto said.

"What's a leaf exercise?" Tazuna asked a blush on his face and liquor on his breath.

"A chakra control exercise." Sakura responded, "You get the leaf to stick to your head with just your chakra."

"Sounds dumb." Tazuna slurred before taking another swig.

"Right!?" Naruto asked.

"Agreeing with the drunk civilian doesn't help you, moron." Sasuke spoke up.

"Leaving the fact that two people with much more experience and power than you are advising you to do this and you are still complaining about it," Orochitama said with a disapproving look, "You can at least understand that if you got even just a bit better at taijutsu it raises your threat exponentially when combined with Kage Bunshin. The most useful of clone ninjutsu."

"Oh. Well. Yeah. But I train my taijutsu. I beat up dummies all the time."

Sakura blinked. That was his definition of taijutsu training?

"Naruto. Is that what you've been doing when you said you were practicing your taijutsu forms?" Kakashi asked in disbelief.

"Well yeah."

Sakura herself could hardly believe it. While practicing on a dummy is an important part of taijutsu training, it's considered the last step after spending time running through form until you have perfected it.

"Well that explains a lot." Orochitama sighed, "Still. The very nature of you making so many clones allows for more benefit. Of all clones to be able to mass produce, shadow clones are the most useful."

"They are?" Sakura asked.

"Yes." Orochitama nodded. "Water clones are low cost but only have one tenth of the original's strength. Mud clones are sturdier than other clones but can't preform ninjutsu. Blood clones require you to have blood on hand. Pretty much all of the rest don't think for themselves and make you micromanage them."

Sakura mentally took note of that factoid.

"You should ask your sensei about what other things Kage Bunshin can do too." Orochitama said. "Remember, your sensei is around here to help you grow stronger. Listen to others' wisdom."

"Oh! Is dinner ready?" Tsunami's voice came from the doorway.

"I was just about to call you, Tsunami-chan." Orochitama's tone suddenly dripping with honey, "Please, do come and put some of my meat in your mouth."

Sakura suddenly started to rethink her respect of the mysterious ninja.