It was midnight when three strangers strode into Takumi village. A stern looking man in his forties with short brown hair, peppered with grey, and dark brown eyes, led the two others in. On his right stood a younger male in his teens, with cropped brown hair and the same dark eyes, looking rather ordinary, and to his left was a slightly older looking woman, sharing the same brown hair cut to her shoulders and slightly lighter shaded eyes. From the traits they shared it was easy to assume they were family. "Quickly, Chie, Hiro. The inn is nearby." The older man ordered gently.

"Hai, Otou-san," His children replied as they quickened their pace. They made their way to a building exuding warm light and stepped through the door, the soft tinkering of a bell alerting the owners of their arrival.

"Welcome." And elderly man said with a small yawn. He hadn't expected anyone else to come tonight so it was a good thing he was a light sleeper, "How can I help you?"

"We need a room for the night," the father explained.

"We have plenty of space tonight, would you like to separate rooms or stay together?" He watched as the parent shared a look with his children.

"Together." He decided, placing a couple of coins on the table.

"Room 14," The innkeeper said, taking the money and handing them a key, "It's a four bed room on the second floor." The man gave him a brief nod and left for his room with his son following behind.

"Thank you." Chie said quietly with a smile, before catching up with her family.

"Make sure you keep out of trouble," their father reminded with a stern look. They were standing outside of the inn in the early afternoon, "And make sure to be back by sunset."

"Hai, Otou-san." The two children replied in sync. He gave them a nod of farewell before ambling down the road to his own destination, a sake bar.

"So what are you going to do, Mi-Chie?" Hiro asked, catching himself at the end of the sentence.

"I'm going to go shopping for some sealing equipment and see what else I can find along the way," She answered, "Feel free to do whatever you want, just be careful alright."

Chie warned.

"Right." He nodded before making his way to a small bookshop, leaving the elder sibling alone. From there she made her way down bustling streets, passing multiple stores and scrutinizing their wares. Takumi village had truly earned its name as the village of artisans. She had a hefty amount of ryo she could spend but would be careful to be sure that each purchase was worth it.

"Over there! Young lady!" A rough voice called, "How about a beautiful hairpin to match your own beauty?" It was flattering for sure, and to keep up her ordinary façade, Chie decided to see his wares. The man did not disappoint, each ornament had been beautifully crafted, from the delicate looking combs to the ornate pins. She spotted a floral hairpin, decorated with several white blossoms that hung down from threads, and picked it up. It would be a nice gift, she decided. That thought led her to do a bit more of her gift shopping here. Chie picked up another pin, which had soft, warm-looking blooms bursting at the end, and a dark wooden comb, decorated with golds and reds.

"Could I get these?" She asked, handing showing them to the vendor.

"Of course. Are they going to be gifts?" He asked, calculating the total.

"Yes," Chie smiled warmly, "I came to the village with my father and brother on one of his delivery trips, while my mother stayed at home. Her body is ill so I hope a gift can help her get better faster."

"She must be happy to have such a thoughtful daughter." The vendor responded, "The total comes to 17,000 ryo." A bit pricey, but for the quality she was getting Chie happily handed over the money. "Thanks for your patronage." She nodded her head in his direction and began to leave when he caught her attention again. "Wait, have this as well, as a gift." He pushed an extra pin into her hand.

"Thank you." She said earnestly. It was simple, with metallic flowers painted a dark blue with leaves hanging off the end. She thanked him once more and discretely sealed the items away into her pouch. Looking around, it soon became obvious she was in a district specialising in female wares. Deciding to check the other areas she walked further down the street and took a left. This was definitely more like it. There was several rough buildings, different blacksmiths, focusing in different tools.

''Perfect,'' a deep voice purred in her mind. Chie shrugged it off and went to check the closest one. It seemed to specialise in axes, not really what she had in mind so she moved to the next one.

"Welcome back." Her father greeted. The sun was just beginning to set and she was the last one to arrive.

"Did you buy anything?" Hiro asked curiously. He himself had bought a couple of useful and interesting books.

"Yep." Chie was very happy with her purchases, and the fact her funds were only slightly dented.

"It's good you two enjoyed yourselves," the older man stated with a smile, "let's get going then." His children followed him out of the town, mingling with the thinning crowd, and before long they were back in the forest. The trio disappeared into the canopy and immediately began jumping from branch to branch, a fox appearing alongside them. Letting the henge drop, they reverted back to their everyday appearance.

"So what did you buy Miyu?" Hizashi asked curiously, "I know Iruka spent the day flittering through the bookstalls but I didn't manage to spot you."

"I went to get some gifts, sealing equipment, and then visited the blacksmiths." She replied casually. It seemed the bounty she had received from Hanzo would last quite a while.

"Blacksmiths?" He repeated, "You'll definitely have to show me your purchases when we return to Konoha."

"Hai, sensei." Miyu responded. Despite her and Kurama's talks of rebuilding her collection she hadn't bought more than two different ones. It looked like it was going to be a slow process.

''If you were not so picky it would be quicker.'' Kurama grumbled. Miyu shrugged, she had only picked the ones that 'felt' right.

The hours dragged on and they took a single short break to recharge their energy. Hizashi was happy his team seemed fit enough to endure the journey. It was a bit tasking to ask it of a genin squad, but Iruka and Miyu were more than able.

"I can sense four people up ahead." Iruka announced, once again showing his apparent talent. "What do we do?"

"That's the team we're reliving," Their sensei explained, his Byakugan activated, easily identifying the ninja. "Let's head up and meet them." Their break was cut short as the three dashed to their targets. The jounin and his team were on high alert when they popped out of the trees, one of his team having drawn his sword. "Relax, Keiji, it's me." Hizashi, greeted with a small wave.

"Hizashi." The man was definitely relieved. He gave a signal and the drawn sword was sheathed. "It's good to see you're doing well. Is this your team?" He looked towards Iruka and then Miyu, "They look a bit young."

"Yes. This is Umino Iruka and Uchiha Miyu." Hizashi introduced, "Guys, this man is Takahashi Keiji and his team." His students gave a nod of acknowledgement.

"Uchiha, huh... I wouldn't have guessed it if I hadn't already known." Keiji commented. "Anyway this here is my team." He swept a hand over his trio. They were of varying ages but two looked vaguely familiar, especially when the one with the katana coughed a bit. "Morino Ibiki, Gekko Hayate and Itou Tokara." Ibiki seemed to be the oldest by a couple of years and still had his bandana, which seemed like a trait among his team. Miyu had never met Tokara or even heard of him, though the light-haired ninja seemed alright, he held himself with a confidence that could only be backed by skill.

''Gekko, he would be a good sparring partner for practising kenjutsu.'' Kurama intoned. He had never left the trees, instead opting to watch from his vantage point while keeping his presence unknown.

"As you can see, my team is pretty tired so we'll be taking our leave," Keiji informed, "I look forward to seeing your genins in action next time Hizashi." He gave a signal and he and his students soon disappeared from sight.

"Let's get going." Hizashi ordered, "We're close to the border but I don't like leaving it unattended."

"Hai sensei."

The border between the Land of Fire and the Land of Wind was a contrary thing. On the Land of Fire's side was near-endless forest, full of vivid flora and healthy fauna, which thinned out the further away one went from its centre. On the other hand the Land of Wind was a vast desert, rising and falling dunes underneath the harsh sun and the frequent sandstorms, only showing signs of green at its very edges. For two days already Team 7 moved along the border, diligently guarding it in the uncomfortable heat. It was tiring and tedious, Miyu spending most of her time sending out shadow clones to train somewhere away from prying, all-seeing eyes, and Iruka could usually be sneaking peaks into his newest books. Hizashi wasn't too happy either. In the beginning he had though it would be a great change of scenery, but had apparently forgotten how boring it could get.

It was late afternoon on the third day when Miyu was jolted out of the typical border control mindset. Her head ached slightly as she received a sudden influx of memories from her clones, causing her to falter in her step and catch the attention of her teammates. "Are you alright Miyu-chan?" Hizashi asked worried, seeing her face scrunch up in pain before morphing in to shock and then horror.

"Dammit! We need to get out of here and fast!" Miyu shouted sifting through her information to get an estimate of time.

''He will be here in a couple of minutes,'' Kurama answered simply. He wanted to see how this would turn out, if his former container had improved enough since entering the past.

"What is it?" Iruka asked, "An enemy?"

"Yes," Miyu hissed, "And he's heading this way, quickly."

"Shouldn't we confront him them?" The brunette asked confused. Wasn't that the whole point of border control?

"Not this ninja." She tried to usher her team away but Hizashi seemed to have his own plans.

"Wait, Iruka is right," The Hyuga said tensely with his dojutsu activated, "We have to see what this foreign shinobi wants and if he can be deemed a threat." Their youngest member sighed. She was hoping for an easy mission, but this just complicated it that much more. Though, to be fair, it was her own foolishness that brought on this curious stranger.

''He is here.'' The fox took up a wary stance, lowering his body closer to the ground, and the rest of the team followed in suit, sliding into cautious defensive stances.

"Found you." A monotonous voice called as a cloaked figure appeared in a swirl of sand in front of them. She wouldn't call his voice emotionless though, since she could hear the underlying irritation. "How interesting." He didn't seem older than fifteen, with brown eyes and short red hair. The rather handsome young teen had a fragile look about him as if he would blow over in a harsh wind, though Miyu certainly knew that wasn't the case.

''Looks can be deceiving as you have heard and experienced,'' many times before. Kurama expressed wisely. Iruka didn't appear to recognize the older boy though their sensei definitely did.

"Sasori of the Red Sand," The Hyuga named with a hostile glare, "What are you doing here at the borders?"

"A Hyuga? A fox, and a couple of children..." Sasori tilted his head to the side as he examined the team, stopping when his eyes landed on the young girl, "Imagine my surprise when I saw over fifty small children, all identical girls with blonde hair and blue eyes, training out in the harsh desert." Miyu cursed under her breath as Hizashi sent her a glance that foretold the tongue lashing she would receive later.

"You still haven't answered my question," He stated calmly with an edge to his voice, "What are you doing here, shinobi of Sunagakure?" Iruka without knowing the full situation, remained silent, observing the conversation carefully.

"Isn't it obvious?" The redhead answered, "I came to see the child who could create so many shadow clones, more than most jounin, apparently without looking even the slightest bit winded." He never took his piercing gaze of her and she stared back defiantly.

"So now what?" Miyu wanted to be anywhere except near the master puppeteer, "You've seen me, now leave."

"I don't think so. I want to see, what else can you do?" His wanted to test out his puppets, and where better than some interesting enemy nin. Besides, he needed more practice material if 'that' technique was to be completed. He reached into cloak and pulled out a black scroll and held it out for them to see as it unfurled. Written in the centre was a single character, the kanji for crow.

"Iruka, Miyu, the relief team should be on their way," Hizashi stated, moving in front of his students, "Quickly, escape and alert the ninja in command of the situation."

"Sensei..." Iruka was reluctant to leave, his gut feeling telling him to be especially wary of this new character.

"Hizashi-sensei," Miyu cut in, "I think it'd be better for you to leave." In the end it had been her own actions which had born such dire consequences, she wouldn't let anyone else fight in place of her, especially against such a dangerous foe.

"What are you talking about?!" The Hyuga asked surprised, was she trying to be a hero? He knew, prodigy or not, she would not be able to match up to the experience of a war veteran.

"You'll be faster, a lot faster at getting help. And against Sasori, you're at a disadvantage."

"Disadvantage?" Iruka asked. Hizashi frowned at her words though the puppet user seemed curious as well.

"Please explain." Sasori prompted. She was a just genin... right?

"You use puppets," Miyu began scrutinizing the scroll, "I have no idea what poisons or weapons you've rigged them with but it's definitely a bad opponent for a taijutsu expert who relies on close combat fighting."

"And you think you can do better?" Said taijutsu user was more than irked that his own student seemed to have some many doubts about his skill, though to be fair she was mostly correct.

"You've heard of my... 'other' bloodline, right." She asked quietly, not daring to let Sasori in on her possible abilities. Both of her teammates gave vague nods, accelerated healing, if they remembered correctly. "Well, that makes me the best person to act as a decoy."

"Hn." If it had been a different situation Miyu would have laughed at how well he had managed to perform the Uchiha's signature grunt. As it was, she settled for a small smile, watching him with sharp, resolved eyes. Hizashi, contrary to how he acted most times, was not as nice as one was led to believe. He was a ninja, a master at the art of deception, and rarely showed his more disliked side. He was convinced only his twin brother knew how harsh he could be, and right now, at the possibility of sacrificing a child, he truly wanted to see her full capabilities.

"Bloodline?" Sasori had heard part of what was said and his curiosity overwhelmed his impatience at the moment.

"Oh, yes," She stared at him with fierce determination, "I am very hard to kill and if you let these two go I'd be happy to show you." He looked between the group for a couple of moments before giving a slight nod. He had already defeated a many Hyuga, and unless the boy was also going to claim he had a rare bloodline as well, the red head was content to let him run off. And then, when they returned with reinforcements, he would kill the rest of them. Hizashi cursed under his breath. Sasori was like a predator who had chosen his prey and wouldn't be swayed for anything.

"Iruka, find a place to set up that seal, you remember how to do it right?" Hizashi asked. In the end neither of them would escape. Iruka gave a curt nod and pulled out a blank scroll as well as sealing equipment. He didn't waste time and quickly began a series of complex strokes. "Miyu, you only have to hold Sasori off until that seal is done," He took up his guard in front of Iruka, "I will keep him protected so keep you attack focused on Sasori. As soon as you are in danger though I won't hesitate to step in." After a month with her new sensei, Miyu knew him well enough to know he wouldn't hesitate to switch bodies with her if she got into a troublesome situation. He had given her a rare opportunity to fight and truly test her skills while keeping her team safe.

''Now, how shall we go about this?'' Kurama asked as she stepped forward.

"Are you done?" Sasori drawled. He didn't feel like waiting any longer.

"Yes, thank you for waiting," She answered, most ninja weren't so...'kind'

''We have spectators,'' the fox reminded her, ''do not show all our trumps.'' I will do as much as necessary to keep them safe. She responded in turn.

"Kurama, Restriction level 1 release!" The blonde girl called, as power surged inside her. Hizashi wouldn't have believed it happened if he hadn't seen it. The fox, now as big as a horse, with two thrashing tails, breathing out a deep cloud of smoke.

"Interesting," Sasori stated with a smirk, "You kept me waiting long enough, Karasu!" The marking on his scroll vanished as a pupped flew out, immediately diving for the girl. The familiar three eyed, four armed, figure taken down by Kurama as the fox pounced. His jaws were alight with burning flames as he bit down, though he had to retreat before doing any substantial damage due to the protruding blades on the puppet's body, glistening with unknown poison. Miyu quickly raised a kunai to deflect the poisonous senbon shot at her from the dolls mouth.

"Can you burn it Ku?" The fox smirked, seeing the charred parts of his previous bite.

''Of course.'' He pulled his head back, charging up a fiery attack while Miyu formed a couple of quick seals.

"Futon: Daitoppa!" She pushed roughly twice the needed chakra into the mediocre attack, transforming it into a rending gust. Kurama released his own attack, ''Katon: Gokakyu no Jutsu,'' from what Hizashi could see. The two attacks synched together perfectly creating a deadly wave of flames heading directly at the puppet user.

"Sanshouo." Sasori pulled out a second puppet, the salamander appearing to block the attack with its iron frill. "A fox that can perform jutsu? That would make a wonderful toy."

Kurama growled threateningly, watching as the attack was deflected by the puppet's superior defence.

"Kurama, take down its frill," Miyu commanded, "The hinge by its sides are its weak points-" She pulled her kunai back up and deflected Karasu's bladed arm. A second one came up and she raised another of her won arms, jumping back before the last two could slice her. It was obvious this level of skill wasn't going to get her anywhere other than the grave. She tensed and brought her left hand up into the ram seal "Kai!" The resistance seals on her body glowed, and she already felt a lot lighter. The difference could be clearly seen when Karasu went in for a second attack and she parried each of his limbs before kicking him away.

"But what is a pet without his owner," Sasori pondered aloud. It was either Konoha was training super ninja or this girl was something special, something to be dissected and examined. He upped the ante, adding more chakra treads between him and his puppet, making it faster and its attacks more accurate than the lazy work from before.

"Kuh," His attacks were hitting heavier as well Miyu noted with a grunt. She glanced to the side to see Ku had almost detached the defensive frill, just a little longer before she could burn the puppets.

"You shouldn't look away from your enemy." The puppeteer informed. She was slightly thankful for his warning and jerked her head to the side, mainly avoiding the giant spike protruding out of Karasu's mouth. It scraped her cheek, and she swiped a kunai against the wound, making sure to bleed any poison out. Sasori watched with fascination as the wound healed over without even a mark in a matter of seconds. He missed how his second puppet finally succumbed to the fox, who crunched straight the enhanced wooden body, the iron frill laying uselessly on the ground.

''I'm ready, Kit.''

"..." He muttered something inaudible under his breath and the doll swung around fast, catching her abdomen with a hidden scythe in its stomach. Once again Miyu bleed the poison out before he wound healed over. It took slightly longer and Sasori halted in his attack, observing with increased fascination as the significantly larger cut disappeared.

"...Perfect."

"Now Kurama!" The fox shot off a large flamethrower, verging on white-hot, slamming into the remaining puppets body and sending it to the ground. "Kaze no Yaiba." The blade of wind dug deeply into the puppets body, while the fire burned away the connecting chakra strings. Hizashi watched on amazed. Was this the true skill level of his student?

"Perfect!" Sasori repeated, unaffected by the loss of his tools, "How utterly perfect!" He pulled out a larger red scroll from behind him and Miyu could spot the number of different names written one it. "I have never felt closer to eternal beauty!" The delirious teen exclaimed, "A body that never scars, I want it!" Hundreds of chakra strings stretched from his body into the scroll, causing ripples on the parchments surface, "Akahigi: Hyakki no Soen!" Like a scene from a nightmare a hundred red cloak figures rose out of the scroll hanging suspended in the air. She hadn't heard of this except from Sakura who had tried to describe the technique to her. The lifeless, preserved corpses staring blankly at her.

She could spot a couple of Uchiha in the group as well as Hyuga that must be riling up Hizashi's blood.

"Restriction level 2, release." Kurama didn't question her choice. They would definitely need more fire power. He increased size and additional tail comforted Hizashi slightly.

Though, the real question was how far the fox could go.

"What about it?" Sasori asked grandly, "Why don't you just submit to me? And I promise I won't damage you too badly." She shook her head. Iruka looked close to finished with his seal. It would just be a little longer. "So be it, I wouldn't mind seeing that wonderful ability again." He simply swung his arm and already half the army was diving towards her.

It was impossible to block every attack the trained, older shinobi continued to throw at her, impossible to dodge every jutsu they performed and definitely impossible for her to dispose of more than a mere handful of them. Kurama flung as many as he could away from his partner with a sweep of his tail, biting as many as he could fit in his jaws and slashing as many he could reach. Worse of all, a wound covered Miyu was looked over to see the remaining half of the army swarming her sensei.

"Leave them alone!" She growled ferally, her eyes darkening dangerously.

"Then submit!" Sasori answered with a smirk. Soon, one way or another, he would be getting his eternal beauty. Seeking to antagonize her further he sent more puppets towards her team, specifically Iruka, who was trying desperately to focus on the seal. Hizashi was too caught up stopping the majority that it couldn't be helped one slipped through.

"Stop!" Images of the past filled her head as she tore through the small army. Dismembered limbs, blood-soaked grounds, gutted teammates. Kunai embedded themselves in her body. Jutsus burned and tore through her flesh, as she broke out of their suffocating grasp.

"Activate!" Iruka finished just as a heavy sword came down towards him, landing with a sickening sound. His brown eyes widened at the maimed body before him, "M-miyu!" The blade had clearly cut through her right shoulder, undoubtedly smashing through her collar bone.

''Oi!'' Kurama barked loudly, ''you are not invincible so stop acting like you are or you will really die!'' As if to prove his point Miyu coughed out a mouthful of blood, drawing in a shuddering breath. A couple of kunai slid out of her limbs due to the movement, and clattered on the ground. Hizashi couldn't do anything but try to prevent any further attackers through, his palms flying out in different directions as he disabled more and more opponents. The human puppet pulled the sword out of her body and prepared for another attack, stopping dead in his tracks as the girl glared up at him with blazing red eyes.

"Amaterasu!" Iruka watched as the black flames consumed the ninja's body, leaving absolutely no trace of behind. The girl staggered, holding her shoulder as a flash of yellow appeared in the midst of battle.

"Miyu?!" She turned to face the voice, instead collapsing onto a panicked Iruka.

''Rest, kit.'' The demon fox said softly, ''they are safe... you are safe...''