Where Loyalties Lie

By Chibi Tsuki

Summary: After leaving Konoha for ten years and working undercover with a new identity as a wanderer, Naruto is recalled back to Konoha by Tsunade, bringing his son for another new beginning as a Konoha shinobi. However, his identity is to be kept a secret and his real mission is unspoken of.

Disclaimer: If I owned Naruto… If is good.

A/N: My first Naruto fanfic. Please do review and give suggestions, although I did write this fic to get the story out of my head and actually watch it progress, not just for reviews. I must admit that it's been a long while since I read the details of the plot, characters and organisations, etc. so please correct me if I'm wrong and I apologise beforehand.

Chapter One

Let me in, Konoha

At the end of the path stood the fine gates of Konoha Village, glowing against the flaming leaves of the autumn trees. The cool breeze ushered the two travellers towards the welcoming sight of warm food, warm baths and a safe place to rest. They trod forth, down the road, hardened from frequent use.

"Stay where you are! Do not move!" a voice sounded through the trees in subtle urgency. "Identify yourself!" The speaker cautiously approached, her figure appearing from the thick of the greenery, face hidden in a mask depicting the powerful expression of a tiger.

The taller of the two travellers stepped forth, arms in front, palms facing upwards as a sign of good intention. He spoke in a rich baritone voice, "My name is Kanazaki Tatsuya, and this is Ryuuya. We have travelled from the Cloud Country, seeking a new home in Konoha." Although there seemed to be no malice in his voice, the female ninja held her defensive stance as a precaution and scrutinised the couple. Both were filthy from head to toe, covered in muck, although the smaller person, Ruuya, seemed to be in better condition. Their facial features, smeared with mud stains were impossible to distinguish. However, their toothy grins and striking blue eyes held what appeared to be genuine compassion. Judging from the unusual shade of blue eyes, the pair had to be blood related, most likely brothers or perhaps cousins for the younger had the height of a eight or nine year old and the elder with his happy-go-lucky attitude could not pass for a man in his mid-twenties. The kunoichi however admitted that his lean yet obviously toned physique would support her deduction that he was over twenty.

Her eagle-sharp eyes bore at them from the slits. "Any respectable citizen seeking a new home in any village would look tidy and cleaner than the pair of you. How do I know you two aren't disguising yourselves under that filth and trying to sneak into Konoha?" Her crisp voice held an obvious tone of distrust, even if she herself didn't feel that way. Every village had to take precautions nowadays. The recent masses of banding missing-nins were a threat. Heck, not all of them were missing-nins. Some shinobi were rumoured to have been trained by a mysterious organisation, pretending to be missing-nins to create confusion.

"Ah, that we can explain!" the younger boy hastily blurted. "For the past day, we've been chased by bandits. Everything we had has already been stolen except what we have on us." Desperation to convey his story caused him to ramble onto details, "We had just crossed the bridge away from one of the small towns and had been walking for an hour or so when ten big men came up to us, holding swords and knives. Since they were so scary and we knew we had no chance, we threw our bags as far away into the bushes as we could and ran! They started to chase after us pretty soon and we ran and we ran and we ran, but they kept coming after us. I was tired and I fell many times." At this point, he started indicating at his scrapped knees. "Tatsuya, picked me up and continued running and then he tripped and we fell into the marsh. Then I can't remember what happened." Ryuuya looked up to Tatsuya with pleading eyes, as if wanting him to continue the story.

"I fell unconscious too," the man stated, in an embarrassed fashion, his hand scratching his head. "I don't think I was out for long though. I just found it hard to breathe and woke up. The bandits must've run pass us because I could hear some faint sounds of people storming through the trees up ahead. I carried Ryuuya in this direction as quickly as I could, thinking that it would probably be the safest for us to come straight to the village. So here we are." He sighed, supposedly in relief or perhaps in resignation, waiting for the ninja to pass judgement.

Signalling for her hidden team mates to approach, the kunoichi stared straight at the man's eyes until he returned the stare. He held them. Surprisingly, it was her who broke the contact and looked towards a man fully clad in black, wearing a mask similar to the woman's tight against his face. Addressing him she asked him for his confirmation on the situation which he replied in a whisper, "What they have said is the truth. They had been ganged up by a group of bandits. I recall in the files that they call themselves the Blood Orges, a bandit gang totalling in thirty but of no real threat to us. However, they have been causing havoc to travellers and on occasion have killed a few."

She nodded and murmured, "We will have to report to the Hokage and deal with them later. Did you see the faces of these two?"

"The boy's yes, but I couldn't see the man's properly. His face was swollen on one side like it is now if you look closely," she glanced at him, "probably an allergy from a sting or something of the like." Nodding, she dismissed him and concentrated on the pair, feeling their apprehension.

"I have come to decision that you two will be in surveillance whilst in Konoha. Of course, the final decision as to whether you two may stay in our village entirely depends on our Hokage. You are to see her tomorrow after you've cleaned yourself up." At this point she wrinkled her nose slightly.

"Thank you!" the two chorused in unison, their grimy faces lighting up if that were possible under the muck.

Escorted into the village, the two stared in awe at the people, the shops, homes, and everything else that was in sight, especially the younger of the two. Unsurprisingly, the two amidst a team of Anbu were also the centre of attention. However, people shied away as they approached, hands waving at the smell and eyes staring in contempt. Nonetheless, the pair's excitement could not be lessened.

They were brought to the well polished entrance of the public bathhouse. The captain of the squad whom they assumed the woman to be, signalled for them to wait while she entered to speak with the owner of the bathhouse. In the several moments she was gone, they stood admiring the scenery, devouring the sights of their hopefully future home. At her gesture, they stepped into the bathhouse, walking past the slightly perturbed face of the owner and followed one of the employees down the corridor. The squad captain had left them to be, explaining that two of the team members will remain watching them while she had other matters to attend to. Neither Tatsuya nor Ryuuya paid much attention to her as they anticipated the bath to come. After she had departed, their attendant also left the pair to their privacy as he took their filthy clothes for laundering.

An hour later when she next saw the pair, she was slightly startled yet finding herself swallowing her own chuckles. Donning their rather tattered and heavily stained garments, the two were much more presentable than before. Although stained brown, it wasn't noticeable that their clothes were originally not of that colour; the marsh must've swallowed them whole. The natural colour of their tanned skin could be seen and their necks looked as if they had been rubbed raw. Unusual shoulder-length black hair with blond streaks was tied up behind the man's head. It must be a new style in the Cloud Country. Similarly the boy had his glossy black hair tied up in what looked more like a tuft than a pony-tail. He had a long elegant nose that was out of place in his round cheeks of baby fat. Contrary to her previous assumptions, he looked younger than eight.

What had her stifling her laughter was the swollen, obviously reddened and heavily padded face of the boy's companion. Both cheeks were swollen ridiculously, having both doubled in size, causing his brilliant blue eyes to shrink. Slapped on his two cheeks were gauze pads, taped lightly on the edges. His reaction to the allergy must've been serious for having needed bandaging. It was possible that he had an open wound and the bandages would prevent infection. Although having no oxygen for the wound to breathe would take much longer for it to recover.

Briefly she explained that a new set of clothes, several meal coupons and temporary accommodation would be provided for them by the village until a decision had been made about their stay in Konoha. She handed over the coupons for their necessities and a map with directions on how to find their lodging for the night. During that time, the team of ninjas had suddenly vanished and she gave them one last warning; that shinobi would be surveilling them.

"Wait," Tatsuya called after her, "thank you for all you've done. Please at least give us your name."

She controlled her desire to laugh out loud at his distorted voice and simply replied, "I won't be able to give you my name, but if you'd like to know my alias is Tora and they call me Weapon Master." Like the others, Tora too disappeared somewhat suddenly.

"Well… Are you up for some grub Ryuuya?" the older man asked, although it was more of a rhetorical question.

"Sure thing Tatsuya!" the boy shouted as he followed eagerly behind.

Thank you for reading!