"Can you please allow me to put this on you?" Hanako looked at Jiraiya with a death glare at the same time the makeup artist tried to put on the artificial lashes. He only smiled at her as he pointed at Naruto. The blond was also looking at her with a bright smile and starry eyes. He seemed to be excited, and she should be too, but she wasn't. She was going to be in the cover of a hentai book. Why should she be excited about that?

"Icha Icha Violence will be a success." Jiraiya's manager praised him about the sequel of his book. He approached him to mutter something lowly, but Hanako had sharp ears. "And with this model, I'm sure the reader's graph will spike up."

Hanako looked completely like another person. The artist had used a dye spray to taint her hair with red highlights, red shadows colored her eyes and an intense red lipstick defined her lips. The blush on her cheeks made her seem like a lovely young lady, but in her insides Hanako felt anything but lovely. She wore a yellow polka dot summer dress, which reached right above her knees. Her fair skin appeared tan thanks to more makeup. Hanako felt like a raccoon, but she looked pretty, feminine. "First and last time, Jiraiya." She glared harder at the man, making him chuckle nervously.

"Sure, sure..." The manager had also hired a stylist to fix her hair, combing it professionally into a French braid, lacing small sunflowers here and there. For a final touch, the stylist put a big flower over her ear. "You have to admit, though," Jiraiya continued as he smiled at her with his arms crossed over his chest, "that you look astoundingly beautiful."

"I'd have to agree on that." There was also a male model, who looked at Hanako with a sensual flirtatious smile. He had curled brown messy hair, and bright sky blue eyes. The Uchiha looked for a moment at him with a serious expression, then she turned back at Jiraiya. The model was only wearing a black coat with no shirt underneath, leaving on sight his muscled abs (he was a model after all), light jeans, elegant shoes and a loose tie around his neck. The way he was dressed had Hanako wondering what the book Jiraiya wrote was about and thus which poses would he ask for.

"Are both models ready?" asked the manager. The artist and the stylist both nodded. "Okay then, let's formally start the photographic session." He cleared his throat. Hanako looked once more at the model, he looked back at her and smiled softly.

"You don't have to do anything you don't want to," he muttered. "I have read the previous book, Icha Icha Paradise, so I know what this is about. If you find any pose uncomfortable, feel free to deny. I won't be offended."

Hanako gulped. She thanked the model for his consideration, but instead of feeling relieved, she felt even more worried. "I have a boyfriend," she said lowly and the male model looked at her, "and he doesn't know I'm here." It was a lie. She and Itachi were done, and Kakashi wasn't an official, but she couldn't think of anything else to engage in conversation.

"Are you worried he'll be mad if he finds out?" The guy looked at her with his curious bright irises.

"He won't," she said, "be mad, I mean, or find out anyway. He doesn't read these kind of books, he's more of the...academic type." She hadn't thought that Kakashi will find out. He'll probably be the first one to buy the book when it's out, and she couldn't imagine his face when he saw her in the cover. Hanako bit the inside of her cheek to keep herself from bursting into a fit of laughter.

"Are you sure about that?" The model smiled at that. "I have a girlfriend, too. She thinks I don't read these books, that I accepted this job just because it paid well. Truth is, I wanted this job because I loved the book. Not because it's too graphic, but because it teaches you about the value of love."

"Too graphic?" Hanako asked in surprise, looking at the model. "So, it is porn."

"Of the romantic category." He chuckled. "My point is, you never know what everyone likes. Even if your boyfriend is the academic type, he must read fiction once in a while. And Icha Icha is honestly one of the best series of books out there, regardless of its mature content." He winked. "You should try to read it." Hanako rolled her eyes, not able to keep a smile off her lips.

"I don't have time to spare on fiction books." Hanako's tone was blunt.

The male model raised an eyebrow, "Then, why are you here?"

"I made a deal," was all she said, looking at him.

The model leaned his back on the chair he was sitting in, his eyes met with hers and they stared intently at each other. "What is your profession? I can guess you're not a model."

Hanako was the first one to look away. "I'm a Shinobi. While you get paid for smiling at the lens of a camera, I get paid for risking my life to protect the village." She smiled and looked back at him. "While you specialize in being pretty and keeping a good physique, I excel in clean and silent murder." Hanako had expected him to look at her with different eyes, but he maintained his smirk on his face.

"You have no idea..." he muttered.

"Alright," after the studio had been set, the photographer called for the models. "Come over, you two. Time to take the photos."

* * *

"I never thought I had such a sexy left profile..." Hanako commented as she watched the pictures taken in the session earlier that morning. She had received a copy of each photo as a thank you gift from the manager for having helped them voluntarily. All poses regarded both models as a couple: some pictures were romantic, others were tragic. Hanako enjoyed the most those that had them both apart for at least a meter.

At the moment, Hanako was sitting under the shadow of a tree supervising Naruto's training with Jiraiya, and checking her photos. The old man had kept his part of the deal and right now he was teaching the boy how to walk on water. Naruto seemed to have trouble trying to maintain himself steady. It was almost his fiftieth try and he couldn't even take a step.

"There seems to be something wrong with his chakra..." Jiraiya commented while staring at a tired Naruto laying on the ground. Hanako looked up from the pictures at him.

"With his control, you mean?"

Jiraiya shook his head. "No, even with such a shitty control, he should've achieved something by now. Yet, he hasn't." Hanako's eyes moved towards the blond boy.

Naruto had taken his clothes off and let himself fall on the ground at the side of the river, panting heavily. A symbol appeared on his stomach, the Kyuubi's seal. Hanako frowned. She had heard that the Fourth Hokage had used an Eight Trigrams Seal to maintain the Kyuubi in place, but that seal had the Five Element seal around it. No wonder why Naruto had trouble controlling his chakra, it was blocked.

"Hey, boy," Jiraiya looked at Naruto with a smile. "What do you know about chakra control?" he asked.

Naruto tilted his head to the side and looked at Jiraiya with confusion. "Chakra control?" he repeated. "You control how much chakra flows through your chakra channels, maybe?"

"Sure, sure..." Jiraiya chuckled, his smile never faltering. "And how about chakra in general?"

Naruto sat up and shrugged, still looking at the Sannin. "There are two types of it. Which one?"

"Two types?" Jiraiya was intrigued by his answer, he moved in his place to look forward at the blond. "Tell me about both of them."

"Well, one is blue, which I know is mine. But there's another one, a red chakra, much deeper inside of me." Naruto subconsciously put a hand on his stomach, right over the symbol.

"Can you access that red chakra?" asked Jiraiya, looking at him with new found interest.

"No, I can't," Naruto frowned, looking down.

"You can't because it's too difficult for you, or because—"

"I can't," Naruto repeated frustrated. "It's unreachable." He proved his point by molding his chakra, but only the blue chakra responded to him, and with trouble.

"I knew it..." Jiraiya muttered, then he looked at the Uchiha. "Hanako, would you mind taking a hold of him?" Hanako nodded. "Boy," he looked back at the blond. Naruto stood up in a moment and Hanako was suddenly right behind him. He looked at her from over his shoulder and then back at Jiraiya. "Would you mind raising your hands high above your head?" Naruto obliged at the same Hanako grabbed him by the shoulders to keep him in place.

"What are you going to do?" he asked a little scared.

"Sacrifice you to the gods in exchange of eternal peace," said Hanako in a serious tone that made Naruto jump.

"WHAT?!" Hanako's hold on him became firmer, keeping him in place. Jiraiya stood in front of the boy and looked at him seriously. He then smiled. "What are you going to do?" Naruto asked again.

"Relax," Hanako soothed him, "I was being sarcastic, and he's going to help."

Jiraiya shrugged as he pulled both his hands behind his back, making a seal. "It's nothing important." In one of his hands, chakra surrounded the tips of his fingers as the kanji of the five elements used in Naruto's seals appeared on them. In a moment, Jiraiya slammed his open palm into the seal in Naruto's stomach, unbinding the Five Element seal. The sudden red chakra that rushed through Naruto's body, pushed Hanako and Jiraiya away from him. Hanako's Mangekyou reacted to it, pulling Hanako into Naruto's consciousness.

Hanako found herself inside a humid cellar, water covered the entire floor. There was a large cage where she was, and there was a seal in its doors.

"You are...Hanako Uchiha?" asked a dark voice from inside the cage. Hanako narrowed her eyes at it. A silhouette moved inside the cage, and red eyes looked at her with intense hatred. "I was waiting for you."

"You must be the Kyuubi," Hanako nodded. "Which means, I'm inside Naruto's mind right now, aren't I?"

"The depths of it, yes," the Kyuubi chuckled. "Not a very nice place, is it?"

"Well, I'm not the one trapped in here. I shouldn't really like this place," she replied. The Kyuubi growled.

"It's because of you that I've been trapped inside a Jinchuuriki for the last years. If you and Madara hadn't found me that day, none of these would have been the same. Maybe the Uchiha wouldn't have been blamed for the attack twelve years ago, and maybe they would still be here. Right, Samara?" Hanako frowned. "No, you go by Hanako now, don't you?"

"I spoke to Shukaku," said Hanako, starting to pace around in front of the Kyuubi's cage. "Both of you call me Samara, I would like to know why." The Kyuubi burst out laughing.

"That's because that's your name, your original name anyways."

Hanako clenched her fists. "Original name?"

"What happened to you? Still haven't remembered anything I see, I thought you did." The Kyuubi lay down and closed his eyes. "You'll remember soon enough, all the answers you want are inside of your head."

"My head?" Hanako was confused.

"Just remember something, Samara," the Kyuubi continued, "if you are here, it means that your purpose wasn't fulfilled. It means you failed in your earlier life. It means you will be born again until you complete what the old man asked you to." The Kyuubi opened his eyes to look at Hanako once again. "You have failed so many times; if you are as tired as I am, I think you should start taking this more seriously."

Hanako was about to ask what he meant, but she had been pushed out of Naruto's mind. She opened her eyes to find herself on the ground. "Are you okay?" Hanako looked up to find Jiraiya towering over her. He pulled away when she opened her eyes and sat beside her. "You gave me a scare, I thought his chakra had gotten to you." Jiraiya looked away to the river. Hanako followed his glance and her eyes widened. Naruto was walking happily on the river.

"He made it..." Hanako muttered, looking at the blond in surprise.

"I'm willing to bet the seal Naruto had was one of Orochimaru's doings. It seemed to be something only he could do." Jiraiya sighed. "He never stops with his experiments, does he?" Hanako looked back at the Sannin.

"Did you come here after following him?" Hanako asked curiously. Jiraiya looked at her for a moment and then back at Naruto.

"You can't tell anyone about my presence here." Hanako pressed her lips tightly and nodded before looking back at a happy Naruto. Joyful, oblivious boy.

* * *

Time passed really fast. The month the trainees were given was almost over and the day of the final test was almost there. Between hanging around with her brothers, Naruto's training, Sasuke's training and some therapeutic meals with Hyori, Hanako barely even had time to process all the new information she had. The name Samara Otsutsuki had its own pedestal in her thoughts. Who was Samara? And why was she so important in her memories? Was she really related to her? Or was she this person?

In the last month, not only the Hokage had been right about its unsettlement for Hanako, but the ANBU had been supervising her a little too keenly. Hanako could feel them watching her every single minute of the day. She could feel them staring through her window at night while she slept —if she managed to fall asleep that is.

All the Genin participants that made it to the final, were already done with their training, and were now just waiting for the day to come, which was in about two days from that moment. The three Genin from Suna were back, if they even had left for that matter.

The moon illuminated the dark village. Hanako sat on a rooftop, contemplating its rounded shape and the beautiful stars that surrounded it. Gaara sat in the opposite roof, looking too at the moon, before his eyes found her. Hanako looked back. He was supposed to be asleep, but the Uchiha knew that he didn't sleep. He couldn't, or else the Shukaku inside him would take full control of his personality.

"Why are you here?" Gaara hissed lowly. "You shouldn't be here."

"Isn't it a little too risky for you to stand there, where anyone could see you and attack at any moment?" she asked lowly. Hanako was suddenly standing on his same roof, right behind him. Gaara looked at her sideways before turning back to stare at the moon.

"Normal people tend to leave me alone," he said. "They know that if they bother me, I'll kill them." His voice was threatening, but Hanako only smirked.

"I'm not afraid of you," she said a little too determinedly, which made the redhead look at her in curiosity. "Much less, of what's inside of you."

"I had a dream about you." Gaara stood up and turned to look at Hanako.

"It wasn't a dream," said the Uchiha. Her eyes met his. Gaara had expected red eyes but instead they were pitch black. "It happened. We made a connection back there, Gaara."

Gaara frowned, "How do you know my name?" Hanako smiled.

"How couldn't I? You're a person of interest." Gaara's sand reacted protectively and covered him before attacking her. Hanako jumped, and the sand crushed the roof in the spot she used to be. Hanako landed on the other side of the roof and looked at Gaara with a wide smirk. "Interesting..." she observed how the sand immediately retreated back into the gourd he carried on his back. "What else can you do with that?" she asked.

Gaara smiled twistedly, as he looked at her with murderous eyes. "Do you want me to show you?"

Hanako smiled wider. "Oh, please do... But," she looked behind her. A Genin from the Sound approached them quietly, as if hoping to catch them by surprise. "I won't be your opponent," she finished.

Gaara frowned. At the moment the Genin appeared, Hanako was gone. Gaara knew she had to be watching them from somewhere, carefully observing his movements. Maybe she was waiting for him to lower his guard.

Dosu jumped on the roof Gaara was in. "I would've thought that Hanako Uchiha was here with you just a moment ago," he said.

Gaara looked at the Genin with serious and bored eyes. "What brings you here? I'm not in a good mood right now."

Dosu chuckled. "I can see that, Gaara." His tone of mockery only managed to piss Gaara off. "I was actually hoping that you would be sleeping so that it would make things easier. But I hear that you don't sleep, am I wrong?" Gaara only stared at him harder. "Truth is, I am here to kill you, Gaara. I want to be the one that faces Sasuke in the finals, so that I can be the one to kill him."

Gaara smiled faintly. "We both have something in common there, we both want to fight Sasuke Uchiha. But the real question is, can you really kill me for it?" Gaara approached him. "I say you can't. What do you say?"

"I say my sound is faster than your sand." Dosu showed him his metal arm with sound producing holes in it. Gaara only stared at him with a smirk on his face

Hanako watched from the distance. It took only a few moments for Gaara's sand to surround the entire roof. What was the use of sound waves if they could easily be trapped among the sand grains? Useless. The Uchiha turned around at the moment Dosu's screams of agony resonated across buildings. Two days until the final exam began. Two days until those screams could be Sasuke's, the Hokage's or even her own. Two days until Orochimaru striked, two days until the village's probable demise.

* * *

Only a few more minutes for sunrise to come. That day, the Chunnin arena would be filled with important guests from the Fire Country and the Wind Country. All finalists were supposed to be present in the field early that morning so that they could begin with the exam.

Hanako left the village early that morning, heading to the spot where Sasuke and Kakashi trained. That day, Hanako would finally test how strong had Sasuke managed to become in one single month under Kakashi's tutorship. Not only to measure how well he might do against Gaara, but because Hanako knew that that day Orochimaru would finally take the last step of his plan. The day of the final test was upon them, sooner than they had all hoped.

Hanako took a detour when she felt she was being followed. Instead of heading straight to the mountainous region, she decided for the long way through the forest. After walking out of the gates of the village, the ANBU's presence became even more noticeable by the second. The farther she could walk from Konoha, the higher the chances would be of the ANBU attacking her.

And just as she had thought, a kunai flew towards her head from behind. Hanako had little time to move out of the way, and the knife grazed her cheek before impaling itself against the bark of the tree in front of her. The wound in Hanako's cheek healed almost immediately.

"Oh? I could have sworn I got you there, but there's no visible cut." Hanako recognized the ANBU's voice at the second and her eyes narrowed.

I don't recall the last time a brat came here to interrupt our training.

Hanako gritted her teeth. "Nerumi...ka?"

"Hisashiburi..." said ANBU muttered, "Hanako Uchiha..."

"What are you doing here, Nerumi?" Hanako glared at him through his mask. He wasn't alone, a few more ANBU were hidden in the shadows behind him, all wearing their respective masks. Hanako was sure they were following her unofficially. The Hokage would have never sent the ANBU after her, he would've sent Kakashi if it were the case. Which meant, someone else gave them the order or they were there on their own accord.

"Taking out the trash," he mocked. Hanako clenched her fists. "You just saved me time by walking out of the village by yourself, though, so thanks."

"You shouldn't thank me yet," Hanako met his eyes through the holes of his mask.

"ANBU have been disappearing unexplainably since you got here, it couldn't possibly be that you had something to do with it?"

"You'd be surprised," Hanako smirked. "Maybe I do have something to do with those disappearances. Maybe they're not disappearances, but murders."

"Kisama..." The ANBU all took out their weapons and got ready to attack her, but when Hanako activated her Mangekyou Sharingan, they all stopped their movements.

"I really wouldn't do that if I were you," Hanako warned angrily. "If you attack me right now, you will face the same destiny of your comrades. You stand no chance against me, and you never will. Might as well turn your backs now and leave, before I change my mind and kill you anyway."

"Danzo-sama was right about you, you're the same as Itachi Uchiha. You're the same as all Uchiha will always be. Selfish killing machines, that care only about themselves." Nerumi pointed his tantou at her but didn't move forward.

"So, you're here under Danzo's orders?" Hanako interest suddenly spiked up as she looked at Nerumi with a wide grin. She chuckled evilly. "One month," she started slowly. "The Hokage said I had only one month before I would be forced to leave the village. Do you know why?"

All the ANBU lowered their weapons and listened to her. Hanako looked at them with hatred filled eyes. The redness of her irises glowed in the partial darkness of twilight. "Because today's the day he will be killed," she continued with a faint laugh. "Today's the day the village will be destroyed and the Hokage will vanish. You will be in need of another person to take the place Hiruzen will leave behind, and who better than Danzo himself to be that person? This is all just part of his evil plan."

"What could you know about that?!" Nerumi snapped at her words. He was about to attack her and Hanako summoned her Kama in record time; but another ANBU stopped him.

"Stop it, Nerumi!" The ANBU took off his mask, to reveal Kaito's face. Kaito, the one who used to be Hanako's sensei in the past. Hanako stared at him coldly, refusing to believe what her eyes were seeing. "Don't be reckless."

"I have changed my mind," Hanako stated, closing her eyes at the same time she tightened her hold on her weapon. "I made a deal with Danzo once. If he or anyone under his orders even dared to harm an Uchiha, I would kill each and every single soul related to him and then I would kill him. You have just confirmed your death wish, so I will kindly make it come true."

"What are you talking about?!" yelled a female ANBU. "We haven't harmed you yet!"

Hanako smiled as she pointed back at the kunai still nailed on the tree. "One of you did, with that knife over there. It cut my cheek, I just heal quicker than the average."

"Of course, you would know that if you even tried to research your opponent," Orochimaru appeared behind one of the trees. "But you are too accustomed to underestimate your targets. What a shame..."

Hanako's eyes skimmed among the trees until they fell on the snake man. "What a surprise. Just who I wanted to see," she said.

"I'm flattered," Orochimaru chuckled.

"You could also be on that blacklist," Hanako disappeared in a fraction of a second. Orochimaru barely had any time to dodge when he saw through her intentions. He moved just in time as the scythe destroyed the tree he was beside of. Orochimaru landed at the side of the ANBU corps, but they didn't intend to attack him. They were too loyal to Danzo and not the Hokage, so they probably knew about their plan.

"I do not intend to fight you right now, Hanako-kun." He smiled. "If possible, I would like to avoid any further conflict between us."

"Why would I do that?!" Hanako snapped at him.

"Because we have the same purpose," he said. "To destroy Konoha; isn't that your purpose?" He smirked. Hanako looked at him fixedly. "Remember what we talked about back at the Forest of Death, remember how the elders have treated you your entire life. They're not worthy of you, Hanako-kun, you are far more valuable. They, on the other hand, and this entire village is merely replaceable."

Hanako lowered her weapon, looking at the ground. She wanted to say Orochimaru was right, but she didn't feel that way. Even though she wanted to see the village burn, she didn't want to be the one to set the fire either.

"So, Hanako-kun, what do you say?" Orochimaru extended his hand towards her. "Would you come with me? Would you be by my side when this place burns down to ashes?"

Nerumi jumped at his words. "This wasn't our deal!" A snake shut his words as it surrounded his neck. Nerumi gagged as he tried to pull the reptile away from him, but his strength wasn't near enough. "Kaito..." Nerumi muttered weakly. Kaito didn't move to help him, he couldn't. Instead, he observed Hanako seriously; but the girl avoided his glance. The teacher she knew was dead, he was killed by Hidan two years earlier. There was only explanation she could find for his presence, and it was that he wasn't really alive.

The Edo Tensei can reanimate souls by summoning them from the pure world, in exchange of a living soul of course.

Hikari's words resonated in Hanako's mind. The Edo Tensei was a jutsu that her sister had studied under the Hokage's request. A jutsu that could revive dead people. Orochimaru had stolen the scroll that contained information about its development, and now it seemed that he had finally mastered it.

If Kaito was there, he was just another experiment. The now living proof that the Edo Tensei indeed worked.

The ANBU attacked under the despair of seeing their comrade in trouble. Hanako reacted to their movement and fire surrounded her in a moment. The fire formed into long whips and attacked each of the ANBU, evaporating every single drop of their body fluids. The ANBU turned into mummies and fell on the ground as corpses that soon disintegrated into ashes. Kaito looked at them with a straight face. Nerumi gasped and looked at Hanako in horror. His mask fell down, and Hanako looked at his face for the first time.

Time froze. Nerumi was the model that had participated with her in Jiraiya's book cover. The fire slowly died down and Hanako let go of her weapon, which disappeared into thin air, as her jaw dropped. "I can't believe this..." she muttered

Orochimaru chuckled. Now, it was only him, Hanako, Nerumi and Kaito. "It looks like you have already met each other."

"Hanako..."

The Uchiha ignored Kaito's words and turned her back to them with a shake of her head. "I don't want to hear it," she hissed. "I will see you later," she looked one last time at each of them, "but then I won't hesitate to eradicate you."

Orochimaru let go of Nerumi when Hanako disappeared into the darkness of the trees. The smile on his lips never faltered, not even for a moment. There were only minutes left before sunrise, and he still had a few things to prepare before the big event.

* * *

Kakashi and Sasuke warmed up, getting ready for the final test. Well, more like Sasuke warmed up while Kakashi "supervised" him while doing so. The sun was almost up. The young Uchiha had changed his clothes to a black single suit and tied bandages in his forearms. Clothes more comfortable for the nearing battle. His weapons were still in the accustomed places.

Sasuke was getting tired of the warm up exercises, and sighed tiredly. "Where is she?" he asked.

"Give her time, she'll be here soon," Kakashi replied calmly, still reading his book.

"What if she forgot?" Sasuke asked again.

"She didn't, I can assure you that."

"She hasn't been here in weeks..." the Uchiha looked at his sensei, at the same time he stopped his movements.

"She has, you just didn't notice, which only proves you still need some experiential training."

"No, that proves you just can't take your eyes off her," Sasuke snapped, which made Kakashi move his eyes away from the book and towards the boy. He didn't say anything. Sasuke smirked and continued to look back at his sensei, but this time with mocking superiority, as if by finding out that piece of crucial information he already had the upper hand in their relationship. "I noticed. You stared for too long. Maybe I didn't sense her presence right away, but I noticed your staring, which led me to notice her. And you didn't notice I was observing you while you stared at her." Sasuke scoffed. "And by the way, it wasn't her, it was a clone."

"And your point is...?"

Sasuke shrugged. "I was just wondering how much she distracts you, and how would that affect your performance during missions."

"I am wondering how that affects you in any way."

"She is my family," Sasuke hissed. "So I suggest you take your silly thoughts about her out of your head."

"Last time I checked, she wasn't related to you."

"I see her that way."

"Well good for you then, but that doesn't give you the right to make choices about her love life." Sasuke stopped talking for a moment and looked at ground.

"She won't choose you," he said lowly. Kakashi looked at him for a moment and then returned to his book.

They stayed in silence for a few more minutes until Kakashi spoke again. "It took you awhile..."

Sasuke raised his head and his eyes widened when he saw Hanako. She seemed displeased. Hanako looked at him, her eyes were opaque. "Let's just get this over with, or we'll be late."