NC: Auryn Chapter 15

Fandoms: Harry Potter / Naruto
Rating: Mature
Languages: English, Japanese, Latin, Greek
Genre: Adventure/Action
2nd Genre: Humour
Character A: Harry J. Potter
Character B: Uzumaki Naruto
Summary: (Based on esama's "Subject of Change", continued with her permission) When Harry Potter died, he didn't expect to end up meeting a giant fox, a pervert, get changed into a girl and end up with some kid who had was capable of giving Snape the warm and fuzzies.

WARNING: Genderbend, Gore, Character Death, Canon Divergence, Jiraiya.

Unusually for a member of the Yamanaka clan, Buta was a very powerfully built man that towered over even Morino Ibiki. He made a name for himself in the Third Great Shinobi War as a tank, scout and internal insurgent. His skill at memory extraction and understanding allowed him to not only understand all that there was about an enemy Shinobi upon possession, but to also effectively impersonate them long enough to get into enemy territory and go on a killing spree using their own techniques and Kekkei Genkai. They called him the Change of Heart because any Shinobi that encountered him on the battlefield would betray their own – and hold no memory of their actions while he was in control.

Jiraiya knew him fairly well, Buta was usually amidst those first in line at his Icha Icha booksignings – second only to Kakashi and Anko (Hiru-sensei usually got private signings, even previews of the next books). He had a killer sense of humour but when it came to his job, the mask slammed up so hard and fast it would give you bruises just talking to him.

Hence why he tried not to bristle too angrily when the man marched into the room, picked Naruto up by the scruff of his neck – ignoring the whirlwind of fists and feet – and dropped him outside the door without a backwards glance. Leaving just Jiraiya, Inoichi, Ibiki, Kusushi, Buta and Hari in the room.

The bear-like blond man glanced around, “I doubt her mind is capable of this many intrusions,” he rumbled slowly.

“Kusushi-sensei will be remaining here to maintain her health,” Inoichi explained, “As for our presence, Uzumaki-chan's mental fortitude is immense, she will easily be able to handle the strain of multiple intrusive presences as long as we take care not to damage anything.” Her mind showed no signs of the repeated attempts at possession he witnessed in her memories, let alone the mental intrusions she suffered at the hands of the dark haired man she called 'Professor Snape'.

Buta stared at his cousin, an eyebrow moving up into his hairline. Inoichi chuckled, “Don't worry. She's had mental intrusions a lot more traumatic than anything you can do,” he assured his cousin. There was a reason why Buta stuck to front-line combat, his mental techniques were powerful, but brutal. He was a bulldozer who often destroyed more than he intended to upon possession – hence why his victims tended not to remember what happened when he controlled them. Mental trauma prevented the memories from being catalogued. But Uzumaki-chan's mind was resilient enough to handle his cousin's presence, and it wasn't like she would try to fight back either.

“She's gone mind to mind with the Kyuubi, repeatedly. You're not all that scary Buta-kun,” Jiraiya pointed out impatiently. And that was that.

“Right, we're going in, Uzumaki-chan will guide us to where she's sealed Kabuto's memories within her mind. We've yet to go through them and I had intended on leaving things to her as going through memories with so many foreign presences in her mind is dangerous. However, the events of earlier today have necessitated the risk. Kusushi-sensei, please maintain her vitals and check for any brain haemorrhaging. If things go wrong, I want Anko and ANBU Cat to guard the room, send for Tsunade-hime or her assistant Shizune-san. Get Uzumaki-kun to do it if needs be, he will certainly be determined to help.” The boy would probably abduct Tsunade right in front of Danzou if he had to. “Ibiki, Jiraiya, as you two aren't seasoned mind-walkers, I want you to stick on our coattails, don't touch anything and keep your Chakra steady. Buta, I hate to say it, but keep your hands to yourself and be careful how to speak to Uzumaki-chan, she's stable right now but her mind is volatile. If she takes you as hostile, you'll end up with mind burn.” Everyone nodded as Inoichi gave out their orders.

He turned and knelt down beside the blonde girl's bed, she had been quietly watching them with half-lidded eyes, worryingly still on the prison issue grey bedsheets.

“Ready?” he asked, she sighed through her nose and nodded, arm shifting and stretching out. Skin contact wasn't necessary but it made a stronger bond when he could pass directly from body to body without needing to lose energy traversing empty space. He felt Jiraiya and Ibiki plant hands on his shoulders and knew that Buta was right behind them, one hand on each man's back. Mentally, Inoichi would go first, opening the door as painlessly as possible for the others while Buta would bulldoze forward sweeping both Ibiki and Jiraiya up along with him in the Chakra link. It was a bit messy and would give them the headache of a few too many Sake the night before, but nothing a mug of coffee and a plate of dango couldn't resolve.

“Let's go.”

000

Tsunade never had the best of tempers, she knew that, but what so very few also forgot was that she also had the best control and the best poker face of her old team-mates. Only Jiraiya beat her on that front, and only because he had more practice. But either way, here she stood, leaning against the ruin of her Sensei's desk with the three Elders stood in front of her, their wrinkled up faces even more prune-like with disapproval.

“You're a bit late, Danzou,” she told him lightly as she pushed herself up and turned away from him. Everything was a subtle power play, from the way she stood, deliberately showing her back, the sound of her voice, even the lack of honorific she attached to his name – far from her usual disrespect, no, this was calculated. Like surgery against a poison, or weaving a delicate Genjutsu that would shatter like a frozen spider's web at the first wrong move. Danzou was no stranger to them, but he was a butcher with them. He worked from the shadows but left his sticky dirty fingerprints on everything he touched – fingerprints so bathed in shadow that only those who knew who they were looking for could find them. And within the next four hours, Tsunade would know every dirty fingerprint he'd left behind in Konoha's Black Files.

The elderly man arched an eyebrow, “How so, Tsunade-hime?” he questioned, voice lightly reprimanding almost as much as it was mirthful. Like she was a naughty child he found amusing or cute by being so disrespectful.

That tune would change soon enough. Already her mind was working in layers and layers, the way only Genjutsu specialists, Iryou-nin and Fuuinjutsu masters managed to make work. Ways of catching the slippery eel, ways of shutting down his ANBU, ways of executing or assassinating him if needs be, how to save face in front of the other nations, how to maintain the spy-network he had built up within the last forty years (it would be a shame to lose such a resource).

She shuffled the papers Shizune had delivered not too long ago.

Upon the disappearance of Team 7 and the Spit-Streak, Danzou sneered and made his dramatic exit, dropping his ominous 'blah-blah ruin of Konoha blah-blah Sarutobi's taint blah weakling blah'. She had been a bit busy swallowing back her nausea over the fresh bloodstains on her office floor and gesturing Jiraiya to find the missing teenagers and at Kakashi to gather any trustworthy ANBU he knew to go and find them as well. Shizune had then returned with the hospital's blood-test results and a rather flabbergasted head of the hospital demanding to know it it was true. If the Demon Brat really was the son of the Yondaime and a real Uzumaki descendent, if the young lady really, honestly and truly was of the Yondaime's line as well. He had vomited into a waste-paper basket when she confirmed it. She then learned that, while he may not have condoned it, he never stopped any of his Medics refusing the whiskered boy service when he was injured or from ignoring him when they were forced to deal with him.

She then let him leave, without ordering his silence – knowing that by the end of the week, the majority of the village would likely be aware of the truth. That would resolve half the trouble the Council would no doubt give her about revealing the truth – and really, she understood that Sarutobi was worried about Iwa and Kumo wanting the boy (for different reasons) but with the whole village looking to protect the Yondaime's legacy, it was just stupid to keep quiet about it and risk him turning into that bloodthirsty psycho that Suna had created out of their Jinchuuriki. The Ichibi was one thing, she could handle the Ichibi easily, Jiraiya even more so. The Nine Tails? Not so much. If she had inherited her Grandfather's Mokuton it may have been possible, but her grandmother's Uzumaki genetics had ended up superseding his in terms of Kekkei Genkai. She still possessed his regenerative abilities, but they were so much weaker in comparison to his that it couldn't really be called the same thing. She was his grand-daughter in name and blood only, she had none of his skill, ability, charisma or any of those things that made him great.

Which was why she was going to ignore his shadow entirely and be the best that she could be. She would be great – without his special talents and gifts. She would rise above him on her own terms, in blood, sweat and tears.

But she never said that it would be her own blood and tears.

She lifted the blood-test, “I hate politics and I suck at it, so let's cut the crap.” A lie, but they didn't know that. She was good at politics, true she hated it, but she was good at it. Hard not to be when you sat at your Grandfather's feet and witnessed him strong-arm the other great Nations into some semblance of peace. “Your attempts to delay my inauguration so you can get your private ANBU forces to forcefully interrogate Hari are about as obvious as those bandages you insist on covering yourself with,” she told him blandly. And really, with the length of time he had been without an eye and without the use of his arm, he could have found something other than bandages to use. Even Kakashi had more imagination – using his Hitai Ate to hide his Sharingan instead of bandages.

Homura and Koharu frowned but she didn't give them a chance to speak.

“But as I said before, you're a bit too late. For the last three hours I've had Yamanaka Inoichi, Morino Ibiki, Jiraiya and Yamanaka Buta combing through the girl's mind for anything of interest. And had the head of the hospital run her blood-test along side Shizune to confirm the test I performed earlier. Here,” she said, offering them the folder, face bland and uncaring as she handed over the proof that Hari was not only the Yondaime's daughter, but she was also Kushina's daughter. And she was old enough to know it. The three elders scanned the information with crow-like gazes before turning their attention back to the blonde woman. Tsunade smiled thinly. “There is no longer any doubt who she is, and any attempts to spirit her away for any reason will be treated as if it were an abduction attempt on the Sandaime's grandson. So keep your hands to yourself, Danzou. Or I'll break them,” she added with narrowed brown eyes. Naruto was family, that made Hari family. And Tsunade had lost too much family to risk losing any more.

There was a beat before the one-armed man bowed his head somewhat, wrinkles tight with displeasure, “Of course, Tsunade-sama.” Ah, he was acknowledging her victory? That was unexpected. She kept her expression stony as he made his customary excuses and left, Homura and Koharu following behind with their usual parting graces. She waited until she could no longer hear their dwindling footsteps before sighing and shaking her head. The more things change, the more they stay the same.

“Genma,” she called, knowing the brunet was stood outside, standing guard as he had done for Minato so many years ago. It made her smile a little on the inside, she wouldn't have to look far for the Captain of her personal Guard. “I want you to keep an eye on the office. Don't let anyone in or out. I'm going to T and I to see how things are going.”

He saluted, thumping a fist to his chest in an archaic but more respectful gesture than she had received from anyone in Konoha yet, “Understood, ma'am. Also,” he smirked, “Very nicely done, Tsunade-sama.”

She smirked in return, glowing a little under the honest praise. “It was, wasn't it?” she decided as she left the room, preening a little at her success. It was nice to have that feeling again after so long of drowning herself in Sake and failure and pain. Maybe coming back really was worth the headache. Already those kids... that stubborn brat Genin and his snooty but well-meaning sister were making her... better than she was before. Better than the bitter drunk she used to be, the woman who lashed out and tried to hurt others as much as she was hurting. A woman she would have pitied twenty years ago.

She chuckled as she Shunshin'ed to the appropriate entrance and let herself in, feeling the Fuuinjutsu markers on the wall identify and allow her entrance. Once inside, she moved towards the chambers they set aside for their own people and spotted ANBU Cat and Mitarashi Anko stood/lounging outside one of the nicer rooms.

“S'up, Sexy-Kage-sama?” Anko chirped mirthfully from her spot on a chair, chewing on the wooden skewer of her long eaten dango. Tsunade refrained from pointing out that if she kept doing it she would get splinters in her tongue, mainly because Anko would make a great many jokes about oral and licking her out that she may have to put the Special Jounin into the Intensive Care Unit for – not to mention Jiraiya was behind that door and she was fairly certain the conversation would end up in Icha Icha.

“How are they doing in there?” she asked instead.

Anko snorted, “Finished about twenty minutes ago. They sent several of the blond Gaki's clones to get munchies and they've been talking about what to do with the information ever since. And how to handle Missy.” The dusky haired girl made a scoffing noise, face twisting in disgust. “What a waste of talent,” she muttered unhappily, exchanging a mutinous glower with Cat – who judging from her body language was almost as displeased with it as Anko was.

“Explain,” Tsunade demanded, fighting the urge to rub her eyes.

“Buta and Ibiki have been pushing for a complete Seal of the girl's memories. Everything she managed to rip out of Kabuto's mind. Inoichi and Jiraiya have been trying to shoot them down but given how the girl isn't even a Shinobi, it's hard going. Ibiki's also been pretty damn insistent that we get the technique she used to steal those memories shut down somehow. Sayin' how it's a threat to the security of Konoha and all that.” Anko made a sound of disgust in the back of her throat. “If 'Chino is sayin' the girl is capable, then I say she's capable. No offence to 'Biki, but 'Chino knows what he's talking about when it comes to minds. When it comes to mental fortitude and shit.”

“And Jiraiya?” Tsunade asked.

Anko shrugged, “He's been quiet, weird enough. I think he's got at least eight ideas chasin' their tails in that bushy brain o'his, but it's hard to tell when he gets that stony expression on his face.”

“The girl?”

“Awake in here. The others have all shufted into one of the secure Lounges. The kids are in here too. Last I heard, Missy was giving Pinkie a chewing out for stabbing her earlier. There was tears,” Anko added with a sneer of disgust. She was of the opinion there should have been blood – some people needed to spill blood to really understand what the problem was, she should know, she'd shed a fuck ton of it working under that cunt Orochimaru.

Tsunade's eyebrow shot up, she'd known that the Spit-streak had been stabbed, she hadn't thought it had been Haruno. She would have to have words with her at a later point. That sort of behaviour, to civilians, would provoke pure outrage and cries for disciplinary actions. The Shinobi would shrug and say Hari should have been more observant and dodged. Given how she wasn't a Shinobi though, the line became a little blurred and Haruno would have gotten a write up and a black mark on her record. But if Hari wasn't making a fuss then Tsunade didn't see any reason to add to her already almost mountainous pile of papers – and given the girl's performance against Kabuto, she really should have been more careful and dodged it, she was fast enough to put Haruno on her ass before the girl was even aware of her moving.

Anko grinned ghoulishly, “I know, right?” she crowed, interpreting her new Hokage's facial expression into... whatever it was. The way her former team-mate's student worked, mentally, was still an area that Tsunade was afraid of treading. She was too scared of finding out how badly Orochimaru had tortured and twisted the young girl who even now was barely hanging on and trying to rebuild herself.

Oh well, it took a mountainous level of pressure to compress coal into diamonds.

“Alright. I'll check in on them and then see what Inoichi and Jiraiya have to say before coming to a decision,” the blonde woman decided before heading into the room, the closing door cutting off Anko's salacious and witty retort before it could taint the delicate ears of the three Genin.

The three of them were sat on hard uncomfortable plastic chairs around the grey bed, Hari was sat up looking a little pale and shaky as she listened to them argue and chatter. Tsunade arched an eyebrow in mild alarm. The girl was shaking ever so slightly, her eyes were a touch glassy but most damning of all was the fact that her legs were completely still, not a twitch or a tremble. Striding forward, ignoring the Genin, she set her hand against the girl's forehead, frowning at how cool her skin was and the clammy feel of her flesh. Her hand lit up pale green.

Hm, no actual damage. Residual feed back of Chakra blocking- ah, that was it. The nerves to her legs had been pressured and pinched by the intrusion of so much foreign Chakra presences in her mind, she was temporarily paralysed. It would last an hour or two and she would be weak for the rest of the day but tomorrow she'd be right as rain.

“You'll be fine. Just some nerve pinching. Give it an hour or two and you can start walking again, slowly though. Your legs will be weak until tomorrow morning,” the Medic explained easily.

Hari nodded, looking unsurprised. “Kusushi-sensei said much of the same thing,” she admitted and Tsunade made a mental note to speak to him, any competent medic she could find would be a boon at this stage.

“How are you handling things?” she asked, slipping into her Commander mind-set. Having been one of the combat generals during the Second Shinobi war, it was easier to slip into that role than attempting to take her Sensei's as Hokage.

Green eyes slid away to focus on a corner on the far side of the room, no doubt gathering her thoughts. “It's.... hard to say. Having seen everything... I regret... I regret killing him. Kabuto. He may have had no love for us but... he wasn't evil. He'd been used and abused and hurt so much that, I can understand where he's coming from. Why joining Orochimaru would be attractive, despite what he was doing at the time,” the girl admitted, hands twisting in her blankets. “He... Danzou took him away from Mother Nonou. Took him into ROOT. He said that if Kabuto went, she could stay behind. He lied and set them up to kill each other. Nonou didn't even recognise him. ROOT had completely replaced the Kabuto she rescued with someone else, some imposter. He was betrayed on such a intimate level that it destroyed him. Orochimaru just happened to show up at the right time.”

Sakura stared sniffling again, “That's horrible,” she whispered. Kabuto hadn't been a bad person when they'd spoken, she had hated him when she found out he was a traitor but this... no wonder.

Tsunade sighed, “Welcome to the old school of traditional Shinobi,” she stated. That was the way things were done, before the Hidden Villages. Shinobi were attached to the Daimyous and treated as disposable. They were tools who existed without honour or emotion because such things were a liability. It was a belief that had persisted from the old days with very few who actually knew why or where it came from. Just that it was from the golden age where mountains could be moved and oceans could be split. They mistakenly believed it would make them strong without understanding that it was simply an insurance mechanism created by their Lords. After all, if all emotion was removed, if you had nothing or they had something dangling above your head, why would you ever betray them if they treated you badly? It's not like you would even care. “The downside to that is, what happens when the one you betray survives. After all, you can't betray someone who has already stabbed you in the back. You're either a dead-man walking, or you've been released from your previous line of work.”

Good grief Danzou. For someone who was slated as her Sensei's rival, as the one most likely to take the Hokage title away from him, he was was remarkably short sighted and ignorant about people.

“Alright, here's what's going to happen now. You four are going to stay here with ANBU guarding you. You're all high-profile targets and it's best if you stay here out of Danzou's sphere of influence.” Her smile was sharp. “He's tried to have agents placed in T and I before, but part of the assignment is submitting to mandatory mental and medical examinations. He's never managed to slip someone inside so you'll be safe here. I promise.”

Naruto nodded, turning strangely serious and earnest eyes on her, “Thanks Baachan,” he said seriously. Taking everyone in the room aback with his show of levity. She couldn't even find the reflexive annoyance at the nickname. She nodded seriously, wondering if this was one of those changes brought about by fixing the mess someone had made of his mind. Unlike Naruto, Kushina was capable of shutting up and sensing the seriousness of a situation, she could drop the prankster spirit and turn into someone who was serious and capable.

“I'll get someone to bring you guys some food later,” she promised before turning and leaving.

It looked like she would be removing Danzou sooner rather than later. But what she did with him would depend almost entirely on what information she received from Jiraiya and the others. She could see Ibiki's discomfort with allowing the girl to keep access to Kabuto's memories and knowledge if she'd formed an opinion like that – it could easily evolve into something Anti-Konoha, much like Kabuto's had, and then be passed along to Naruto. And yes, Hari was quite anti-Konoha. The difference was, Naruto would never let her do anything against the village, or be swayed against his dream. Even by her.

“Bye, Sexy-sama,” Anko catcalled as the Slug Sannin departed, grinning like a chesire cat around her wooden splinter.

Tsunade only shook her head and flared her Chakra a touch. A moment later she sensed an answer from Jiraiya a few rooms down and made her way towards the source. Ibiki's office. It wasn't what you would have expected from the stoic Shinobi, but then again, it used to be Inoichi's office before he stepped down as Head of T and I. It was a circular room with red wood panneling, bookcases lined the walls filled with files – duds – and an array of squishy arm chairs and one office desk with an even squishier chair behind it.

The occupants of said room all went quiet and looked up expectantly as she entered. “Report,” she demanded, not arching the eyebrow she wanted to when Inoichi quickly vacated his seat so she could sit down. She supposed she should get used to this differential treatment from her old friends, she was the Hokage now. Even if she hadn't wanted the job to begin with.

Ibiki opened his mouth to speak, only to have Jiraiya snap his head up and look intently at his old team-mate, silencing the Intelligence Specialist. “He murdered my student,” the white haired Shinobi growled, filling the room with the thunderous growl. Tsunade knew she was the only one who's blood had not chilled at the sound, but that didn't mean all the hairs on her arms hadn't stood on end. Jiraiya was protective of his students, all of them, he didn't act like it, but one message from Minato was enough to have him haring back to Konoha as if the Kyuubi itself was nipping his heels. “Remember the kids in Rain, Yahiko, Nagato and Konan? Yahiko is dead. That bastard, murdered my student.” Tsunade could see his eyes bleeding gold, his pupils distorting. This time her blood did run cold.

“Jiraiya, stop,” she ordered softly, already seeing his fingers beginning to mutate.

“He ordered the Uchiha Massacre. It was nothing more than a cover up,” the Toad Sannin continued, his voice now harsh, grating, a bass rumble of grinding boulders. The skin around his eyes was changing colour, darkening to a muddy red – maroon. His fingers were webbing and his forearms were thickening, she could see his face beginning to swell.

“Enough!” Tsunade snapped, jumping from her chair and slapping him forcefully out of his chair and into the far wall. She trembled a touch. That was the first time she had ever seen Jiraiya lose control of himself and gather Sage Chakra without Ma and Pa Toad to regulate the energy and prevent him from turning into a toad himself. He hated that form, but he still showed her and explained what would happen if he gathered too much energy and wasn't able to balance it properly.

He would turn into a Toad. And then his body would calcify into a stone statue. And he would die.

“You will get a grip! Now, Jiraiya! I need the head of my Intelligence Division and Spy Networks functioning with a cool head and an objective eye right now! Danzou's crimes go significantly further and deeper than any personal hurt to you and I!” Tsunade barked to the man who hadn't bothered to move from the floor, from the wood splinters and destroyed files. She made a mental note to requisition a new bookcase for Ibiki and send him some of her favourite Sake.

There was silence in the room, the other Shinobi were too shocked by the strange transformation the white haired Sannin was going through to even move. It was common knowledge that he didn't possess a Kekkei Genkai! It was one of those things he bragged about often. That he didn't need fancy family techniques to be awesome and he wouldn't use 'em even if he had them because he made his own and that was just how he rolled.

“He defiled your Grandfather's grave on Orochimaru's behalf. He took the Mokuton gene treatment.”

Tsunade stilled at the almost guilty rumble from the splintered bookcase.

He... Her Grandfather... Orochimaru...

Killing Intent exploded off her tiny frame but she didn't say anything, or channel any Chakra. Inhaling deeply, she turned around and looked at Kusushi-sensei, “Kusushi-san, would you be so kind as to pop outside and request some tea? I need something to settle my nerves before we go any further,” she told him, her voice deceptively light.

The Medic-Nin, his face chalk white with a mixture of fear and horror, nodded and quietly excused himself as Tsunade returned to her seat and sank down in silence. No one in the office moved for a time. In all honesty, they were too scared to. Tsunade was still radiating enough Killing Intent to put most Chuunin into Shikumi (Death Viewing), her hands were laced so they couldn't see just how much they were trembling with the need to wrap themselves around Danzou's throat and squeeze until he stopped twitching.

Kusushi returned, tray of tea and dango in hand, clinking ever so slightly as he trembled.

Again, in complete silence, Tsunade made her tea and took a sip. Mustering a herculean level of self control, she reigned in her Killing Intent and gave Ibiki a level expression.

“Report,” she ordered slowly as Jiraiya pulled himself out of the splintered bookcase and sat down on her otherside.

000

Chapter Fin...

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