Another Nine-Tails?!

Master Jiraiya

3 weeks passed by with Akiko and Kabuto staying in the Leaf. The redhead talked with Sakura every couple of days. And she would randomly run into Kakashi. Sometimes she wondered if he was watching her and just chose random times to chat.

Currently: she was sitting on the edge of a random building, watching her brother who was passed out in a hospital room. He arrived a couple of days ago and she's been checking on him once the sun went down ever since then. 'What kind of training have you been doing, Naru? What kind of training ends up with you in the hospital?!' She thought, groaning slightly. Hopping up, she yawned while stretching.

She suddenly sensed someone near her, her lip rising as she snarled. But before she was able to turn around, a cold blade was pressed against her throat. At first, she thought it was Kakashi until a deeper voice spoke.

"What are you doing here? And what do you want with Naruto?!" He spoke with a slight edge in his voice. Before she had a chance to open her mouth, someone else stepped in.

"Let her go, Master Jiraiya. I do not want to kill you." Kabuto's voice came from further back. The kunai at Akiko's throat was lowered and she was able to turn around and look at her attacker. He was taller than her by at least 2 feet and he had long white hair. Red marks ran from his dark eyes to his jaw. He looked older than he probably was. A curved kunai was held at his own throat: Kabuto's signature weapon.

"Jiraiya? So you're the one who's been training Naru?" She directed the question at him. Her dark purple eyes moved to Kabuto's onyx orbs. She gave him a short nod and he stepped back, removing the kunai from the older man's neck.

"How'd you know about that?" His dark eyes narrowed at her slightly, trying to figure out who she was in the fading light.

"I have my ways." She tapped the side of her forehead twice, meaning Karma had been helping her to keep an eye on her brother.

"What's your name, kid?"

"You don't need to know. You'll just report it to the Hokage." Kabuto cut in. The muscles in his legs tensed as Jiraiya reached into his pocket, pulling out a small notebook. The Medical ninja watched him scribble something down before returning it to wherever he took it from.

"Vixen, let's get going." He turned slightly and watched her walk past the white-haired Shinobi.

"Akiko Uzumaki: the daughter of the 4th Hokage." The redhead stopped and slowly turned to look at him, her eyes wide in fear. This man was one of the Sannin, like Orochimaru. He was far more dangerous than he let on. "You've been missing from your home village of the Hidden Leaf for nearly 2 months. The only trace of you being in the village is your scent. That means you never left by the main road. How did you leave?"

Kabuto had his kunai out within a second while he stepped in front of his girlfriend protectively. "No." She look at him, silently telling him to lower his weapon.

"Akiko, you can't-"

"I know!" She turned her attention back to the older man. "I can't tell you much about how I was taken, but I can tell you this: I wasn't taken willingly. Despite being forced to leave my home, I don't wish to leave my new family."

"Akiko, we need to go. Before you start talking and don't stop." A hand was placed on her shoulder. She turned around and they began to walk away.

"You were taken by Orochimaru, right?" He shouted after them. It was Kabuto's turn to freeze. Anger began to flow off him in waves while his fists clenched.

"So what if she was!?" He spat, looking over his shoulder to look at the Sannin. "There's no way you're taking her away from him. Not anymore. If you Leaf Shinobi were quicker in finding her then maybe you could have had a chance to save her. It's too late now. If you try to take her away: I will not hesitate to kill you."

"You're talking madness!" Akiko exclaimed as she softly grabbed onto his right bicep. "He's a Sannin. You can't fight him by yourself and win!" She felt his intense aura die down as her words reached his brain. "You're smarter than this, Kabu. Don't overestimate your abilities and underestimate your opponent. Don't die because of your ego."

Onyx eyes softened as he looked at her. It amazed him how no matter how angry or irritated or worried he was, just having her by his side was enough to calm him down. He hugged her tightly before teleporting back to their hotel room.

"How much did you hear?" Jiraiya asked before slowly turning around.

"Akiko is a good kid. She just happened to be at the wrong place at the wrong time. It wasn't her fault she was taken. If she tried to fight back she would've gotten hurt. You should know that better than anyone, especially since he used to be your teammate." Kakashi said as he stood at the edge of the building roof, his hand in his pockets. "She loves her brother more than anything. The kid with her cares about her, and that just adds to how dangerous he is. He won't hesitate to sacrifice someone to protect her."

"I'm not going to tell the Hokage about her being here. She's been watching Naruto for the past couple of days and due to the distance I watched, I couldn't make out much about her appearance. It wasn't too hard to figure out who she was once I got a good look at her.

"Thank you, Jiraiya."

"Yeah, yeah." He waved him off as he began to walk away. "You know, you and the kid look similar."

"I know. It's been brought up more than once." The Jonin leaned back slightly, looking at Naruto and how he was doing. Still asleep. He turned back to the older man but he had disappeared.