Naruto and Hinata both whipped towards the door when they heard it click open.

"Sensei! Are the Akatsuki gone?" Naruto asked hopefully.

"Indeed, and you are free to go as well." Nina stated with an expression that wasn't as happy as it should have been.

Releived, he and Hinata let out a breath that they didn't know they were holding and hopped off their chairs.

"Oh, wait!" Naruto said suddenly. "Sensei, Hinata said she lost her dad and cousin when everyone was rushing for shelter. Do you think you could help her find them? I'm not very good at looking for people..." He scratched the back of his neck, a little embarrassed.

Nina glanced at the younger girl who looked away nervously.

"Of course." She said, opening the door and stepping out of the house, the two following behind her.

They began heading for the area around where the festival had been taking place. By now, it was three in the morning, just a few minutes after the Akatsuki's escape, and some people were already coming out of hiding. The anbu had just made the announcement that the intruders had been taken care of and that it was safe to go home, people were searching for their friends and families that they had lost sight of among all the panic.

"Hinata-san, might I ask you where you last saw your father?" Nina inquired, scanning the crowds from afar.

"U-um, I-I think it was a-around the Kintai shrine..." The girl said, hands fidgeting nervously.

Nina nodded and motioned for them to follow her, she jumped up onto a high roof and started in the direction on the shrine.

Once the large, decorated shrine came into sight, they glanced at any surrounding buildings that may have acted as shelter.

"Hinata-sama!" A voice called from below. They looked down to see a boy around the same age as Naruto and Hinata. He leapt up onto the same ceiling where they stood.

"Your father is looking for you! We must-"

"Hinata." Another voice joined them, this one was deeper and held a very displeased tone.

"Outou-sama!" Hinata squeaked.

The man frowned deeply as he glared at the girl.

"Did we not speak about leaving my sight without permission?" He shot her a warning glare, as if daring her to talk back to him.

Hinata's eyes were glued to the roof tiles beneath her feet as she fidgeted uncomfortably.

"I-I-I..."

"If I may interrupt, Hyuuga-san, your daughter was looking for you the moment the anbu announced that the threat was taken care of. You must understand she was only trying to protect herself, as I'm sure you would too." Nina stated.

Hinata's eyes widened as the man's cold stare turned to the white haired woman. He glanced over her for a moment before speaking.

"With all due respect, I would ask you to stay out of family business." He stated with about as much respect as a wealthy merchant would have for a beggar.

"With all due respect, Hyuuga-san, I would ask you to rethink what kind of mindset you hold if you believe obeying your demands is more important than your daughter's safety."

Both Naruto and the other boy tensed and stepped back as if expecting a fight to break out. Hinata could barely move through her trembling.

"But then again, that's none of my business." She stated with a cold smile.

"U-um, s-sensei, do you think we should leave now?" Naruto asked nervously, he wasn't sure if he should even be saying anything right now.

"I suppose we should." Nina said smoothly, she turned to the taller man. "Pleasure meeting you, Hyuuga-san." She stated before both she and Naruto disappeared.

"Sensei, why'd you do that?" Naruto asked when they reappeared just outside of the village center.

The woman didn't glance at him as she began walking.

"What do you mean?" She asked.

"Everyone knows that Hinata's dad is super scary and no one likes to argue with him." He stated. "Aren't you worried he won't like you?"

Nina chuckled quietly, surprising Naruto as well as slightly worrying him.

"Umm, are... are you ok, sensei?" He asked, he had never seen her laugh at anything before, much less at something that wasn't supposed to be funny.

"How much does acceptance matter to you, Naruto?" She continued to stare straight ahead as she continued. "If what you say is true, then he is the kind of person who tries much too hard to use power and intimidation to establish superiority. I know the type." A certain Uchiha came to mind as she spoke. "Though it may not mean that he is completely unreasonable. Holding the title of Head of Clan often comes with a world of pressure to deal with, so try to see him as a person instead of an intimidating figure. Especially if you wish to remain friends with Hinata." Nina finished as they reached the more populated section of the village. "This is as far as I can take you, I'm sure you will make it home safely. Try to get some rest." She nodded a goodbye and began walking back in the direction they came from and, in just a few moments, she had disappeared from sight.

The next morning, most shops and workplaces were closed due to the disaster of the day before. Hundreds of volunteers roamed the streets, some were moving pieces of rubble and others were repairing buildings. Officials has estimated that things would be up and running in less than a week.

Sakura and Sasuke's squad, along with dozens of others, had been assigned to help with the cleanup effort. They had been put in charge of cleaning up the area next to the First Conference Hall and Naruto decided to tag along. After all, Nina had cancelled their training that day and he didn't have anything else to do.

He waved at his friends as they came into view and together they began moving the large pieces of cement that had fallen during the attack.

Nina silently slipped into the Hokage's office, closing the door behind her. She scanned the room and began searching through all the papers that were piled on the desks. There were documents about the ongoing interactions with neighboring countries, predicted economic growth, plans for a change in the achademy curriculum: everything she didn't need.

When she got to the Hokage's desk, she frowned at the mess of papers on and around the table.

'She never was the most organized child...' Nina recalled seeing toys scattered around in a similar fashion when the Senju was younger. She paused as she noticed something very brightly colored under all the white papers. Picking it up, she saw that it was a red folder with the word "Akatsuki" labelled across the front in bold lettering.

Opening the folder, the first page she saw was what seemed to be the dialoge from an interview. Upon closer inspection, she realized it was an interview about the attack yesterday. She turned to the next page: the same thing. She turned to the next page: the same thing. There were dozens and dozens of papers recording what had been said during numerous interviews. They all included names and numbers labeled at the top of them. This wouldn't be too out of the ordinary had she not read the questions they asked.

Which building were you taking shelter in?

Did you see someone fighting either of the Akatsuki members?

Did they seem to be winning or losing the battle?

Can you give a description of the person?

What kind of jutsus was the person using?

Nina stopped when she got to the fifth page. She slid back out of the room with the folder in her hands, making sure that everything else was where she had found it.

The woman shut the door behind her as she stepped into the small wooden house. She set the folder down on her desk and began reading over the papers once again.

There was page upon page of the same questions asked to different people. There were all kinds of responses yet she noticed that they all fell into three distinct groups. The first and largest group were those that simply said no when they were asked if they had witnessed the battles and that was the end of the interview; then there was the group that said they had seen the battle but couldn't give descriptions of any of the people they saw; then the last and smallest group was the people who said they saw the battle and were able to give descriptions of who they had seen.

So far, the few that fell into the last group had given very vague, incorrect descriptions of herself, just as she had intended by casting that genjutsu. The person they thought they saw was a middle-aged woman with dark red hair, wearing a black cloak that covered most of her body. Of course, that was the description that the witnesses gave.

Nina flipped another page after she was finished reading, but what greeted her next made her blood run cold.

"A young woman with white hair, long white hair."

"Maybe in her twenties."

"She wore some kind of kimono, definitely not anything fit for battle."

"I don't think I saw a forehead protecter."

An exact description of her appearance was printed on the sheet of paper before her.

Impossible.

Had this person broken through her genjutsu?

No. The paper says the man is a civilian.

Had he been out of its reach?

No. No one outside its radius could have seen her.

She assessed every possible reason that could explain how he had seen her real appearance but none of them seemed to be reasonable.

One more idea came to mind, but this one was difficult to swallow.

Could her genjutsu have missed him?

If it was true then could it have skipped over other people as well?

Gripping that thought with a nervous hand, Nina began hastily flipping through the papers. She had to find any others that knew her true appearance.

The sun had already set by the time Tsunade's meeting was over. Tiredly, she dragged herself into her office and plopped down on the seat in front of her desk. A heavy sigh could be heard as she moved the papers that were strewn across the table, picking up a thick orange folder. She opened it and pulled out the paper that was tucked in the very back and scanned it over for the hundredth time.

The individual seen by the villagers is almost certainly a woman, however, the specific description of this woman is unclear. There are two versions that have been described by the witnesses, the only common aspect was the gender of the individual.

As of yet, the Investigations Squad believes the less common description is likely the more accurate of the two, although civilian manipulation and error must also be taken into account. A lookout notice for women of both described appearances will be given to all shinobi, however, only jonin and anbu members may know the reason as to these notices.

The situation must not be known to the public.

Tsunade sighed and shoved the paper back into the folder.

"Im too tired for this." She mummbled. Even though she hadn't read the interviews yet, just the thought of having to sort all this out was giving her a headache. "I'll deal with this tomorrow." She promised as she pushed herself off her chair and left the Tower, trying hard to keep from thinking about the issue as she headed home.

"Hey sensei." Naruto greeted as he arrived at the training field the next day. He seemed a little less enthusiastic than usual.

"Good morning. We will pick up where we last left off, the topic of genjutsu." She stated. She would always give some background and information about what he was going to learn before he actually learned it. They had made this a habit and Naruto always looked forward to hearing her lessons and, when he prodded her enough, her stories as well.

"Genjutsus can be very powerful and very dangerous if the user casts a good one. It is, in its bare form, simply an illusion. However, a well-done illusion can feel more real than reality. These are important jutsus to know, especially if your opponent is stronger than you. As long as they cannot escape the genjutsu, you will have the upper hand. Now, let's begin. We will start with a simple one, copy my seals." She said. Bringing her hands up in front of her, she began forming hand signs without sending chakra to them.

Tiger, rabbit, tiger, hawk, dog, snake, bull.

Naruto mimicked her motions. Suddenly, he felt a bit dizzy and he stumbled back. When he regained his footing, he looked up at Nina.

"Did I- sensei?" There was no one there.

Everything seemed normal, the same trees, same vines, same field. Everything except for the fact that Nina had vanished.

"...sensei?" He called hesitantly. "Are you here?" He suddenly felt a strange sensation in his arm, he looked down to see that there was nothing there. When he looked up again he nearly jumped back in surprise. Nina stood right in front of him, a slightly concerned expression on her face. "Sensei! What- Where did you go?!"

"Nowhere. That genjutsu makes the target believe that certain people around them have disappeared. You must have casted it on yourself." She stated, slightly amused.

"I did? Heh..." He rubbed the back of his neck, an embaressed smile on his face. "Sorry about that..."

"No need to apologize. I didn't tell you who to direct the jutsu towards, I suppose it simply defaulted to yourself. That must have been quite confusing." She smiled softly. "Take a moment to collect yourself if you need to."

Naruto shook his head vigorously.

"No no! I'm fine!" He reassured. "Let me try again, I can do it." He stated, getting into position and focusing his chakra flow.

"If you insist. Try to aim for me this time." She stated. With a nod, Naruto speedily formed the correct hand seals and concentrated, eager to get it right this time.

Nina stood still for a moment before turning to look at him.

"You did well." She complimented. "Now, let's learn a few more."

Hours later, the sun was halfway down the horizon by the time Naruto made it home. Apparently, practicing genjutsus drained chakra fast. He had been so tired that he spent almost an hour laying on the grass after training ended, catching his breath and restoring some chakra. He had learned a large number of genjutsus and would have kept practicing if it wasn't for Nina who refused to let him. At first, he had complained about needing to perfect the jutsus, but soon the fatigue hit him and he begrudgingly agreed.

'Tomorrow I'll practice some more!' He promised himself. A growl coming from his stomach made him realize how hungry he was. 'But first I should eat something!'

Nina stared at the three pieces of paper laid out in front of her. These three simple pieces of paper held the information that had been giving her headaches for the past two days.

How was it possible that they were unaffected by her genjutsu? It wasn't anything by their own doing as two of the three people named on the documents were civilians, so what did she do wrong? She had been going over every step of her casting process and couldn't think of any place where she could have faltered. She had done everything correctly.

Right?

Nina let out a slow breath and looked at the papers once again.

The names had surprised her at first, there was no pattern as to who these people were. One was a shopkeeper, the other was a cook, and the last was a shinobi. They didn't have anything in common nor was it likely that they knew each other at all. This only confirmed that it was something on her part that caused the jutsu to skip over them.

Her gaze shifted to the paper on the left side, this one documented the interview of the only shinobi who had seem her true appearance, he seemed to remember a particularly large number of things about her.

"She didn't use any chakra, only taijutsu."

"I would say she's a foreign shinobi."

"I could not sense her presence, she hid it well."

"She was fast enough to match the Akatsuki member's speed."

Nina stared at the words, she knew there was little chance they would look into his claims too much as there was so little to go on. However, in the off chance that they decide to start a search, she would have to be extremely careful in hiding her identity. It seems that she would also have to be more cautious around Hinata in the future, after all, her father was one of three people who knew what she really looked like.