Once they got there, they went to the Kazekage to inform them that Nue was there for training. "He's over here. Follow me." The Kazekage said, leading them to the One-Tails Jinchuriki. As they were walking to the Jinchuriki, Nue looked over, spotting a boy about her age; Gaara of the Desert.

Gaara held his teddy bear in his arms as he caught her staring at him. She gave a small wave to him as she walked by. "He looks like a nice kid. Maybe you can be friends with him." Tatsuo said, in which Nue shrugged her shoulders.

After walking down the hallway, they met Jinchuriki of the One-Tail. The Jinchuriki's name was Bunpuku. "Is this the child?" Bunpuku asked. Tatsuo nodded as Nue took a step forward and removed her hood.

"You're a pretty young fellow, aren't you?" Bunpuku asked. Nue gave him a blunt look as Tatsuo chuckled. "Very well. Let's get started." Bunpuku said. While Bunpuku trained Nue, Tatsuo watched them from rooftops.

"You lack patience." Bunpuku said. "I know that!" Nue snapped as she went to kick him in the head. Bunpuku merely blocked off the attack as he grabbed her ankle and tossed her to the ground.

"You seem to get angry rather quickly when someone tells you your flaws." Bunpuku mentioned as his clasped his hands behind his back. Nue frowned and got herself off the ground. "Let us continue." Bunpuku said. "Right." Nue agreed, getting into a fighting stance.

She went to strike him again, but Bunpuku merely brushed off her attack like it was nothing. "Be patient with your strikes, Nue. If you go straight for the kill, your opponent will know." He advised. "Go suck a-"

"Nue," Tatsuo interrupted her before she could finish her sentence. "Watch your mouth towards your sensei." He said. Nue sighed and apologized to Bunpuku. The two of them got back to work and the whole time, Bunpuku reminded Nue of her patience.

"You can tell her how much patience she lacks all the time. I tell her that every day. But... I have to wonder where she gets those bad words from." Tatsuo said, sighing. He decided to play from his flute while Nue continued to her training.

The next day, Nue was doing an unlimited amount of push-ups because Bunpuku instructed her to. "How many push-ups do you want me to do again?" Nue asked, grunting slightly while beads of sweat rolled down her forehead.

"Hmm... How many have you done already?" Bunpuku asked as he had his foot pressed on her back. "About 60." She answered. "Do 30 more, then we'll move onto something else." He said. "Right." Nue replied, and continued her push-ups.

"Explain to me again... why the hell am I doing this?" Nue asked as she balanced small bowls of water on her body. "I told you, it helps build discipline and it strengthens the mind." Bunpuku reminded her as he drank his tea.

Nue frowned in annoyance as she continued to balance the bowls. "And how long am I supposed to do this for?" Nue asked, frowning slightly. "Well... You started 15 minutes ago, so I think you should go for at least one more hour." He said.

"Another hour?!" Nue repeated as she looked at him. "Careful. If you let one drop of water leave either bowl, I'll have to start the time over again." Bunpuku said. "Say what?!" She shouted. "You're a Nue, so I think you can handle it. After all, your kind is supposed to be stronger than any shinobi on this earth." He said.

Bunpuku closed his eyes and drank from his tea cup again while Nue growled in irritation. She closed her eyes again and continued her training. Bunpuku opened his right eye and glanced at Nue as he noticed how annoyed she was at the moment.

"Why don't we work on your temper today, Nue?" Bunpuku suggested. "My temper?" Nue repeated, her eyes still closed. "And why would I need to work on my temper?"

"Because I've noticed every time you fight, you look a bit angry." He mentioned. "So?" Nue asked.

"Are you angry?"

"No."

"Tell me the truth, Nue."

"I am telling the truth!"

"Are you angry?"

"I am now!"

"Why?"

Nue paused before looking at the ground, frowning. "Nue, do you hate me?" Bunpuku asked her. "...I don't know." She answered, quietly. "Why don't you know?" He asked. "Because every time I look at you... I keep seeing their faces." Nue said.

"Whose?"

Nue didn't answer as she refused to make eye contact with Bunpuku. "Have a seat, Nue. Why don't we talk about for a bit?" He suggested as he patted the spot next to him. "There's nothing for us to talk about." Nue said as she continued to stare at the ground.

"What makes you say that?" Bunpuku asked. "Because my business doesn't mean it's your business." She said. "Oh, come on. As teacher and student, I think we should know at least one thing about each other." He mentioned.

Nue sighed and looked at him. "Okay. What would you like to know?" She asked, setting the small bowls of water on the ground before facing him. "I like to know why you despise humans." Bunpuku said.

"Huh? How did you know that? Did Dad tell you?" She asked. "Nope. You did. Just now." Bunpuku smiled. Nue frowned slightly before smirking a bit. "Well played, old man,"

She walked over to him and sat down beside him. "Very well. I'll tell you. Where would you like me to start?" Nue asked. "Well, why don't you start with me?" He suggested. "With you?" Nue looked at him with a confused expression on her face. "What do you mean?"

"Well... I'll ask you the question I asked before; Do you hate me?"

"Of course not! Or... I don't know."

"Why don't you know?"

"Because every time I look at a human's face, all I see is my mother with all those healers surrounding her, healing her wounds. Humans are to blame for our lack of freedom, why we're restricted. They're the reason why my mother is..." Nue trailed off as she didn't want to say anymore.

Bunpuku noticed and gently petted her head, causing her to look at him. "Nue... I assure you that you're safe here. I promise." He said with a warm smile. Nue blushed slightly and smiled back at him. "Here, have some tea with me." Bunpuku said.

He got another cup and poured her some tea. "Here," He handed her the cup while steam rose out from it. "Careful, it's hot." Bunpuku warned her. Nue accepted it and took a small sip. "Thank you... Bunpuku-sensei."

Two months later, Nue had mastered all the techniques Bunpuku had taught her. It was a rough session, but Nue was able to manage. "Thank you for everything, Bunpuku-sensei." Nue thanked while bowing her head to him in a polite manner.

"Anytime, Nue," He smiled at her, then looked at Tatsuo. "Your daughter's going to grow up to be a strong ninja one day, Tatsuo." He commented with a warm smile. "Thank you, sir. I can't thank you enough for doing this for my daughter." Tatsuo thanked.

"Well, you could work on her language." He chuckled. "Hehe... Yeah, I don't see her changing her mouth any time soon." Tatsuo said. "Guys. I'm right here." Nue said, bluntly.

The two older men chuckled and they said their goodbyes one last time before heading off to the Cloud Village where Nue's trainer would be none other than Yugito Nii.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

"Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!" Nue breathed out a ball of fire towards Yugito while she leaped over the attack and made her nails grow into long claws. Nue quickly did a backflip out of the way as Yugito drove her claw-like nails into the dirt.

Yugito quickly kicked dirt in Nue's face to impair her vision. Nue skidded to a stop and rubbed her eyes in attempt to get the dirt off her face. "Don't let that distract you!" Yugito said as she was quickly behind the girl.

She kicked her back and Nue fell into a lake. "You shouldn't let small obstacles stand in your way." Yugito said as she rested a hand on her hip. Nue gasped as she burst her head out from under the water and coughed up water.

"Well, excuse me for having dirt in my eyes." Nue said, sarcastically. "Hurry up and get out of the water. We have a lot of work to do." Yugito said. "Hai..." Nue replied, and got out of the lake. She shook the water off her body and they resumed their lesson.

Tatsuo, on the other hand, sat on a rooftop, watching the two of them. "I wonder where she gets her anger from?" Tatsuo wondered. 'On second thought, I think I can guess' He thought to himself while thinking of his niece, Kameyo. "She's so dramatic sometimes." He mumbled.

Nue and Yugito's next part of training was climbing mountains. "Let's see how good your speed is." Yugito said, smirking at Nue. "My speed?" Nue repeated. "Do you always reply with a question? Come on, let's see what you got." Yugito said. "Hai." Nue replied with a nod.

"On your mark... get set... GO!"

Nue and Yugito quickly began to rapidly climb the mountain. During the race, Yuito purposely made boulders get in Nue's way. To no surprise, Nue lost the race. "Hey, you cheated, Yugito-sensei!" Nue objected. "It's your own fault." Yugito stated.

"How is my fault?! You were the one throwing stuff in front of my way!"

"Remember what I told you earlier? I said, you shouldn't let small obstacles stand in your way."

"You call throwing boulders at me small obstacles?! You nearly killed me!"

"Well, you know what they say: Whatever doesn't kill you only makes you stronger."

"You're crazy!"

Yugito shrugged and cracked her neck. "Let's go again." Yugito said. "Won't you just be throwing more rocks at me?" Nue asked, bluntly. "You wanna become stronger, don't you?" She asked. "Of course I do!" Nue replied. "Then, do it again." Yugito instructed.

Nue sighed and answered, "Yes, sensei."

Nue looked at her with a frown and Yugito smirked. 'Ah, so this is her game. She wants to see if I'll crack to her games' Nue thought. "Yugito-sensei..." Nue started, in which Yugito hummed in response. "Give your worse." She challenged with a smirk.

Yugito blinked at Nue's sudden change of attitude, then smirked. "All right. Let's get started."

Nue's training became more intense and she and Yugito challenged each other. Nue was giving it her all as Yugito refused to let her rest. By the time it turned into evening, Nue could barely stand as she was exhausted and out of breath.

Just as Nue collapsed, Yugito caught her. "Well, you didn't disappoint me. But I did expect this. Other than that, good job. You gave it your all and that's what I was looking for." She said to the unconscious girl.

Yugito carried her to the room she and Tatsuo were staying in, and laid her in the bed. "Granny Cat was right about you. You really a persistent one for a girl your age." Yugito said as she watched Nue sleep.

By the time the sun went down, Nue woke up. She attempted to sit up, but that resulted to her falling face down onto the blanket. "Ow... My body is so sore..." She mumbled into the blanket. "What did you expect? Yugito worked you to the bone." Tatsuo said as he sat against the wall.

"I didn't need you to state the obvious, Dad." Nue said. Her father chuckled as Nue slowly and painfully got out of bed. "Where are you going?" Tatsuo asked her. "To find Yugito-sensei." She answered. "She's on the roof." He informed as he drank from a bottle of sake he had with him.

"Eh?" Nue looked at him with a raised brow. "She was waiting for you to wake up, so she sat on the roof." Tatsuo explained. "Oh. Thanks for telling me." Nue said, and headed to the roof.

"Did you sleep okay?" Yugito asked her. "I guess." Nue answered as the wind gently blew. "Why aren't you sleeping? Aren't you tired?" Nue asked. "I am, but I just can't seem to fall asleep. Pretty weird, huh?" Yugito said.

"It either means you're stressed or you have something on your mind." Nue stated as she took a seat next to her sensei. "Well, there has been one thing on my mind lately." Yugito mentioned.

"Really, and what's that?"

"About what Granny Cat told me about you."

"Granny Cat? She talks about me?"

"Mm-hm. All the time."

"I didn't know she talked about me to other people."

Nue sighed as she laid on her back with her hands behind her head. "What are you thinking about, Nue?" Yugito asked. "My mother, my cousin, and my... sister." Nue mumbled the last part. "Your sister? I thought your father said you were an only child?" She asked.

"I was an only child... until I found her." Nue said. "Care to give me a name?" Yugito questioned. "Her name's Karin. I took her in after finding her being bullied by some arrogant humans." She explained. "Ah, so you do have a soft spot for humans." Yugito smirked.

"Shut up! I do not!" Nue denied.

"Oh, come on. No point in lying about it."

"I'm not lying!"

"Yeah, right! If you hate humans, then why did you take in Karin?"

"Because she's just a kid! She didn't have anyone left!"

"You're a kid, too. Come on, tell me a story. How did you and this Karin girl meet?"

"You want me to tell you a story at this time of night? Don't you wanna sleep?"

"I'll sleep after I hear this story."

Nue sighed, knowing she wasn't going to win this argument. "All right, fine. I was talking a stroll outside the Houjuu Clan until I came across Karin. She was being picked on by some humans, so I saved her and took her in. Ever since that day, my family's been taking care of her." Nue explained.

"That's it? I was expecting a bit more detail." Yugito said. "I wanted to make the story short." Nue admitted. Yugito smiled at her before looking at the sky. "Let me tell you something about humans, Nue. We're not as bad as you think." She mentioned.

"Yeah, right." Nue rolled her eyes. "I'm serious. We're really not that bad." Yugito insisted. "For sure. Tell me, do the villagers here look at you weird just because you have a beast inside you?" Nue asked with a frown. "Well... yes, but-"

"I rest my case." Nue mumbled as she crossed her arms over her chest. "Oh, come on. There has to be one human you don't hate." Yugito said. "Karin is someone I don't hate." She stated. "Other than her. Come on, name one person, other than Karin, that you don't hate." Yugito said.

Nue sighed and thought for a second. "Bunpuku-sensei." She answered.

"Who?"

"He was my previous sensei before I came here to train with you."

"Is he the only human you don't dislike?"

"Well... there's you." 

Nue looked at her with a smile before looking at the sky. "Just for my own benefit, how hard are you gonna train my ass off?" She asked. "Harder than your last sensei trained you." Yugito answered. "Yeah... I figured." Nue replied in a mumble.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The next few weeks of Nue's training were pretty brutal. But she refused to give up. Yugito watched Nue as her knees shook, her hair covering her eyes. "Ready to give up, Nue?" Yugito asked. "Not a chance." Nue replied as she lifted her head so her hair was no longer covering her eyes.

"That's the spirit! Now, let's do it again!" Yugito said. "Hai!" Nue replied. The two of them sprinted up the mountain. Like the last numerous times, Yugito did everything she could to stop Nue by throwing boulders her way, including attacks of her own.

Nue successfully dodged all of them as she climbed the mountain faster. Yugito smirked at her intelligence and speed, then put more obstacles in her path. Nue used her wings and tails to block off the attacks, then used the last bit of her strength to leap to the top of the mountain.

"I made it! And I'm not dead!" Nue cheered, exhaustedly. She panted as she placed her hands on her knees before passing out on the ground. Yugito chuckled and walked over to the unconscious ninja. "You finally passed the test. Nice job." Yugito praised.

The whole point of the test was for Nue to use her strength and abilities in order to get to the top of the mountain. The reason why she couldn't do that the first few times was because her determination of getting to the top was hindering her from doing so; She was so focused on getting to the top, she didn't stop to think to use her skills.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Nearly two months has passed and Nue had surpass Yugito's skills. "Good luck to you, Nue. If you continue to work hard, I'm sure you'll succeed." Yugito said. "Hai, Yugito-sensei." Nue replied with a bow.

Tatsuo thanked Yugito for training Nue, and they left. "Where are we off to next, Dad?" Nue asked. "To the Hidden Stone Village. A man named Roshi will train you." He answered.

"Roshi?"

"He's the Jinchuriki host of the Four-Tails."

"Eh? Aren't we supposed to be going to the Three-Tails?"

"Yagura, the host of Three-Tails, is missing."

"Missing?"

"Uh-huh. Nobody knows where he is. So, we're going to the Four-Tails."

Nue frowned slightly at the fact the host of the Three-Tails was missing. 'Strange' She thought.

A few days later, Nue and Tatsuo arrived in the Hidden Stone Village. They met the Tsuchikage and informed them that they were here to see the Four-Tails. After the Tsuchikage led them to the Four-Tails, Roshi smiled at Nue.

"Think you can handle the training we're about to do, Nue?" Roshi asked. "Hai." Nue nodded, confidently. "Good. Then, let's get started." He said.

Nue and Roshi got to work immediately as they worked on ninjutsu. "Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!" Nue breathed out a fireball towards Roshi. "Lava Style: Scorching Rocks Jutsu!" Huge balls of lava darted towards Nue as she didn't see them coming.

Nue quickly manipulated the sand around her to shield herself from the attack. But the lava rocks broke through her defense and got Nue. She cried out as she got hit and slid on her back. "Come on! Is that all you got?" Roshi called to her.

"Damn you." Nue muttered as she got back on her feet. "I'm impressed that you can manipulate the sand like that. You must be a sand ninja, am I right?" Roshi guessed. "No, I'm not," Nue shook her head.

"I learned how to manipulate the sand from a friend of mine." She explained, referring to Bunpuku. "Ah, I see. You wanna learn Lava Style?" Roshi asked. "Yes!" Nue said, immediately. "Sure, I'll teach you. But first, you have to pass a little test of mine." He said, grinning.

'Great. Another test' Nue thought with a frown. "What kind of test?" She asked, in which Roshi grinned. "You'll see." He said.

A few days later, Roshi taught Nue all of his techniques except for the Scorching Rocks Jutsu. "Begin!" Roshi shouted. "Corrosion Style: Glowing Armor Palm!" Nue coated her body with lava and charged at Roshi, aiming to punch him. 

He quickly leaped back, trying to get away from Nue's punches and kicks as she was faster than he thought. "Hey, not bad, Nue! Keep it up!" Roshi encouraged. "Hai!" Nue responded. They leaped from tree to tree as Nue tried to land at least one attack on him.

"Come on, Nue! It's like you're not even trying!" Roshi teased. Nue stuck her tongue out at him, in which he laughed. "Here, let's spice things up a bit!" Roshi covered is body in lava and clashed with Nue.

"After I win this battle, you wanna go drink some sake with me?" Nue asked, cockily. "Sure, but you're buying." Roshi smirked. "Deal." Nue smirked back as she used her wings to attack. "Whoa!" Roshi ducked his head and the two of them leaped away from each other.

"Oi! Be careful! That was my head you were aiming for!" Roshi called, making Nue laugh. "You never said there were any rules to this battle, Roshi-sensei!" She called back. "Ah, I see. So, we're gonna play dirty now, are we? All right, then let's play." Roshi said.

He quickly performed some hand signs. "Corrosion Style: Glowing Amor Palm!"

Roshi dashed forward and aimed to punch Nue, but she used her wings and tails to shield herself from the attack.

They went at it for about two hours straight until they finally gave up. Both of them collapsed to the ground, laying side by side. "Not bad, kid." Roshi commented as he panted. "Thanks." Nue replied, panting as well.

"I was hoping you'd guys would stop around noon." Tatsuo said as he stood over the exhausted ninjas. "What time is it now?" Nue asked as she glanced at her father. "About a quarter to nine." He answered.

"Hehe... You daughter sure has a lot of spirit, Tatsuo. Something tells me she's gonna be able to beat anyone she fights." Roshi said. Nue chuckled and stood to her feet while helping her sensei up as well.

"Let's call it a night, Nue. You've exhausted this old man." Roshi chuckled as she held him so he stood up straight. Nue gasped when he suddenly passed out. "Roshi-sensei! Roshi-sensei!" Nue said, trying to get him to wake him up. Tatsuo chuckled.

"Looks like he wasn't kidding. You really did exhausted him to the bone." He said. "I didn't think I went that hard on him." Nue said.

"Did you give it your all?"

"Of course."

"Then, that means you didn't hold back."

"Way to rub it in my face, Dad."

Tatsuo and Nue helped Roshi to his bedroom and lied him down. "You should get some rest, too, Nue." Tatsuo advice. "In a minute." Nue replied. Tatsuo shrugged and left the room, leaving Nue alone with Roshi. She stared at him as Roshi slept, blinking her red eyes.

"This guy's old enough to be my uncle." Nue mumbled, randomly. She looked around to make sure no one was looking and gently kissed the top of Roshi's head. She ran over to the door to leave, then glanced back at Roshi.

"Sleep well... Roshi-sensei." She whispered with a small smile. She left the room, heading to her own room to rest.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

"Ready for today's lesson, Nue?" Roshi asked her. "Hai." Nue nodded. "You should be excited, Nue." He said, smiling. "And why should I be excited?" She asked with a yawn. "Because today, I'll be teaching you the Scorching Rocks Jutsu." Roshi answered. 

"Really?!" Nue asked, excitedly, in which Roshi nodded. "Yes! Awesome! Finally!" Nue cheered as she flew around, happily. "Slow your roll there, Nue. Save that energy for the technique." Roshi said as he chuckled at Nue's happiness.

She stopped flying and stood in front of Roshi. "Let's get started, shall we?" He said. "Hai." Nue responded with a nod. They got to work as Roshi started to teach Nue the Scorching Rocks Jutsu. Nue failed the first few times and was ready to throw a fit.

"Just relax, Nue." Roshi advised. "Right." Nue replied. She took a deep breath and did the jutsu again. On her 40th try, Nue was finally able to do the jutsu correctly. "Lava Style: Scorching Rocks Jutsu!"

Nue spit multiple balls of lava out of her mouth as they dashed towards a tree. "Yes! Right on target!" Nue said as she pumped her fist with triumph. "Way to go, Nue. Good job." Roshi praised. Nue grinned at him and he petted her head.

"Huh?" Nue looked up at Roshi as he smiled at her. "Well done, my little pupil. This is the end of our training." He said. "It is?" Nue asked as Roshi took his hand off her head. Two months of training and Nue mastered all of her sensei's techniques.

"But what about the test? Did I pass?" She asked. "Your test was about strength and agility, and you passed them both. Well, done." Roshi said, in which Nue smiled at him. "Thank you for training me, Roshi-sensei." Nue thanked him while bowing her head to him.

"On the bright side, you won't have to travel very far." Roshi mentioned. Nue raised a brow. "What do you mean?" She asked. "You're going to train with the Five-Tails, aren't you?" Roshi asked, in which Nue nodded her head.

"He's actually here in this village." 

"Really?!"

"Yep." Roshi nodded. "Oi, Han! She's ready for you!" Roshi called. Nue gasped when Han appeared out of nowhere, landing in a kneeling positon. She took a step back as Han rose to his feet. "Han..." Nue said in disbelief.

"Are you sure you're ready?" Han asked. Nue blinked and nodded with a serious look on her face. "She's just a kid, Han. So, go easy on her." Roshi said. "Fuck that! Give me your all!" Nue challenged. Han smirked at her determination. "Very well. Your training begins now."