A/N- Hello all! This is a prequel to another story I am working on and it shouldn't be very long. I hope you all enjoy and please don't forget to R/R!
Disclaimer- I do not own Naruto. However, those characters that are obviously not part of the series are mine.
Hachi Uzumaki, leader of not only the Uzumaki clan but Uzushiogakure, could not be classified as a slacker. He gave his entire life to further building and protecting his village and was made leader of Uzushiogakure in his late twenties.
Under his leadership, the Land of the Whirlpool became a power player in its own right. True, shinobi of Uzushiogakure weren't as well known by the average citizens as those from the Five Great Countries, but the high ranking officials of those countries did know an Uzushio-nin when they saw one. And that meant that jobs sent to Uzushiogakure were the high paying/high risk kind.
These very dangerous, but few and far between, missions coupled with a lazy lifestyle meant that there wasn't nearly as much work for Hachi as their was for one of the Kages. But that didn't stop the aging man from looking for more work, earning him the nickname 'Hatarakimono' or Busy Bee.
And because of this, Hachi could always be found in his office. He was usually leaning over his desk in concentration as he tried to complete the day's paperwork while stroking his goatee, as if the action was helping him to read his reports faster.
His emerald green eyes were hard with experience and only softened when with his brothers or their children. His red hair was only beginning to show a few silver strands and was usually kept in a businessman-like cut. And usually he was dressed in a long-sleeved, black outfit, with the crest of his village on his shoulders, and be basking in the warm sun's glow. But today was not like normal days.
Today there was more then just a few reports on the lives of the villagers and an assassination mission or two on his desk.
Today, he could not afford to wear such comfortable clothes and traded them out for worn armor.
Today there was no peace, just war, and today he could be found standing over his desk. Staring down at the desk which is riddled with maps of the Five Great Nations instead of daily reports.
The Third Shinobi World War had stolen the calming peace that had once been over the Land of the Whirlpool. And in it's place was the suffocating grip of war.
At first, they had been able to avoid joining into the war, but then one country after another fell into chaos and Hachi was receiving reports of Kumo and Kiri vessels surrounding their home. He had no choice but to raise his defenses and call his people to arms.
But now, now that almost a year had gone by since they had entered the fray, Hachi could see that his people were dying out. He couldn't keep the citizens or children out of the war anymore and knew that if Uzushiogakure didn't get help soon, they would be at the mercy of his enemies.
And that grim fact had aged the man more then anything else in his short life of thirty years.
Deep lines of worry and frustration had carved themselves in his forehead and around his mouth. His eyes, though still hard from the war, were beginning to look tired and his hair had lost a lot of it's vibrancy as it traded out the red strands for a duller grey.
That did not mean however, that Hachi Uzumaki looked week. Quiet the opposite in fact. It just made him look stoic and determined to see this war through. And it was this look he wore everywhere, hoping that it comforted his people. In the privacy of his office however, he let his true worry show. Especially as he stared down at the maps that littered his desk with the latest movements of the enemy surrounding him and his people.
On the top most map, which he has been leaning over for almost an hour already, he can see the latest intel of the war that his shinobi have provided him. With his forces marked in blue and the Kiri forces marked in red, it became apparent to the man that if his people survive it will be largely due to luck.
But Hachi Uzumaki was not one to think highly of luck in times like these. Times where the world is tearing itself apart in war and when clans' secrets are hunted for like wounded prey in a ravenous carnivores den.
Which had led Hachi to his current predicament.
With the outlook of the war playing unfavorably for him and his people, how was he to insure his people's safety? How was he going to protect his clans history or it's knowledge?
There was no definite answer for the head of the Uzumaki clan and he cursed at the maps, as if doing so would change the maps characteristics. His mind worked furiously to think of a solution but every possible answer he thought of was immediately rejected as he didn't have the time or the resources. Caught in the cycle of brainstorming and rejecting any idea that surfaced, Hachi didn't seem to notice when another Uzumaki entered his office.
"Sir." The other Uzumaki called to get his clan's leader's attention.
Jolted from his thoughts by the sudden arrival, Hachi turned to face the man.
This Uzumaki was like Hachi, as all Uzumaki's looked similar, but was different despite Hachi being younger then him. First, while Hachi's hair was bright red with silver running through it, this one's was mostly grey with only a rusty brown strand here or there. And while Hachi's eyes were an emerald color, this Uzumaki had tired blue eyes. He was one of the clan elders and he had one of the people to elect Hachi leader of the clan when his predecessor passed. And yet, Hachi could not recall the man's name.
"The reply from Konohagakure has arrived by hawk." the older man said as he held a scroll up for Hachi to take.
Quickly snatching the scroll away, the clan leader tore the scroll open and read it's contents with a rekindled hope. His hope however quickly died as he read through the scroll before placing the message onto of the maps he had been staring at perviously. Leaning over his desk again, he let a disheartened sigh escape him.
Hearing such a sigh, the older Uzumaki could guess what the scroll had said.
"They aren't coming are they?" He asked softly as Aoi slowly shook his head.
"Kiri and Kumo have taken the land and sea between us. Anyone coming to our aid is impossible." Hachi said softly before standing slowly. "Can you bring me the council members? we must begin discussing how to appeal to Kumo and Kiri."
"We're going to surrender?" The elder Uzumaki asked, his eyes narrowing at his leaders back.
"We have no choice. The only other alternative is to be eradicated." Hachi defended as he looked back at the older Uzumaki.
"So we are just to roll over and obey Kumo and Kiri. Forgive me Lord Hachi but that is the worst decision you can make!" The elder man shouted, his blood beginning to boil at the thought of just laying arms down. "Our ninja are not so weak that we need to stand down."
Frustrated that his orders were being challenged, Hachi glared at the older Uzumaki.
"What would you have me do then, huh? Keep fighting? Let more and more children die in the vain hope that we can survive one more day? And what about after the war? If we are destroyed then our history and the archives will belong to the victor! YOU know just as well as I that we cannot allow that!" He shouted back at the older man.
Everyone in Uzushiogakure knew that the archives contained information that could not be let outside the Uzumaki family, with the exceptions of those few individuals the family thought could properly handle such information. In fact, the scrolls of the archives could only be opened with a small blood offering made by an Uzumaki so most residents would rather see the library-like building destroyed rather then have it fall into enemy hands but to do such would cause such a lapse in knowledge that the Uzumaki Clan's allies would be behind by generations. If they survived the war as well that is.
Which meant that the Uzumaki Clan had to survive, in one way or another. At first, Hachi had thought he could fight the war out and his people survive that way, but Kiri and Kumo were too strong now. The only way his people could survive is if they stopped fighting and waited the rest of the war out, even if that meant making themselves prisoners.
And with that knowledge, a heavy silence fell between the two men that was almost palpable as the older man realized Hachi's point. And this made the silence drag on, as Hachi silently began to envision not just their village destroyed but his family as well. No he could not allow that. Shaking his head, Hachi went to restate his order when the older man cut him off.
"You know as well as I that even if we surrender, they will demand the archives. And if we don't comply they will kill everyone and take them regardless." The elder Uzumaki said softly.
"But if we fight, we will all die and they will take the archives anyways." Hachi pointed out, getting a nod from the older man before Hachi saw a spark in the mans eyes.
"There is a way out." The man said, his voice steady and determined.
"What do you mean?" Hachi asked quietly as he tried to figure out how the man had come to such a conclusion from their impending doom.
The older man smirked a little at his leader before quickly answering.
"Lady Kushina lives in Konohagakure. If we can get the archives to her, then regardless of what happens to the clan that knowledge can be kept in the family. And if we fall, we might get lucky and she'll rebuild our clan in Konoha." The man said serious as Hachi began to seriously consider the mans suggestion.
Letting the man's point tumble in his head, Hachi began thinking at a million miles as he suddenly had an answer to his earlier problems.
"You're right. We may not survive but she, and her future children will." He said softly as he took to pacing around the office while continueing to think.
He could save his clan's history and knowledge if he could get it to Kushina. But there were so many scrolls, too many for hawk messengers. Even if they sealed the scrolls inside one larger scroll no hawk could carry such an item. It would have to be carried by person, or by a group as weight was not displaced after sealing. Meaning that whatever they stored all the scrolls in would be as heavy as the scrolls inside.
But there was the larger problem of Kiri and Kumo holding the land and sea between them. He couldn't just send anyone and whoever he did send might also end up as the last Uzumaki's. So who did he chose?
Hundreds of names came to his mind, but he knew he could not send them all. Otherwise, Uzushiogakure would fall to quickly and the enemy could catch wind of his plan. Which meant that he was leading his village to their death on the hope that maybe three or four select shinobi could sneak past the enemy and bring all the vital information of their village to the one outside clan member.
It was not a pleasant idea, in fact it was boarder line crazy, but what else could he do? Hope to ride out the war. That was more crazy in Hachi's opinion so he had no choice but to go through with this sudden mission.
But who to entrust with such a mission?
That question began taking up all of Hachi's attention as he began pacing back and forth, the man watching closely.
"Sir?" He called, worried about his leader.
Aoi looked up at him and realized he needed his help.
"Listen here. I need you to go down to the archive and seal all history scrolls into a traveling scroll. Do the same for all technique scrolls, starting at S-class and move down to C-class. We shared the D-class with other shinobi so we can leave those, but everything else has to be sealed off. When you're done bring me the scrolls and tell no one what happened." Hachi demanded as he quickly pulled out records on his remaining shinobi.
The man quickly left to do as he was told as Hachi went over the files. The opened the first file and read over it.
He couldn't send anyone, as he needed a strong team but not one so strong that they kept drawing attention to themselves. Thus he needed an infiltration team, someone who was trained in the specific task of getting behind an enemy line and that meant he only had a few choices.
Pulling out those folders, Hachi spent the next few hours checking one shinobi against another to create the strongest infiltration team her could.
It was almost two hours later when the elder Uzumaki returned with two very large scrolls and placed them up against Hachi's desk. Looking up at him, Hachi nodded before instructing the man to send word to Team Owl that he wanted them in his office. The tired ninja nodded and went to find the team as Hachi left his seat and approached the scrolls.
He noted that they didn't have any sort of seal on them so he quickly drew the Uzumaki Safety Seal. Once drawn, he sat back down at his desk and sighed in relief. Only an Uzumaki could open those scrolls now and Hachi had added an incinerate seal as well. Thus if someone other then an Uzuamki tried to open the seal, it would combust. Which gave Hachi enough peace of mind to let these two scrolls go, but now he had to figure out what to say to the team he had selected.
Sighing softly, Hachi sat down to contemplate this while waiting for the team. Within ten minutes, the team was standing before him and Hachi looked them over while recalled their files.
The team leader was his own nephew, Katsuro Uzumaki. He had the same bright red hair that Hachi had and eyes that seemed to shift from sky blue, to ocean blue-green, and electric green. His build was more lengthy then Hachi's however, as Katsuro had long dangly limbs and a long face, just like his father. But this lengthy frame did not equate to a weaker body, the opposite actually.
He was one of the most talented shinobi Uzushiogakure had seen in a while, becoming a genin at 9 and promoted to chunin at 11. Now 14, he definitely deserved the rank of Jounin but had yet to claim the title since the war kept getting worst. He was highly skilled in Kenjutsu and Fuinjutsu and training in his chakra nature when he had time. His brilliant use of Shadow Clones and Henge made him an excellent scout and his extensive use of seals made him a hard opponent to deal with.
And his two teammates were just as difficult to handle. Aki Uzumaki and Ryu Hanta were both only little older then Katsuro but like their leader, they were making names for themselves as well.
Aki was a good looking girl. She had brown-red hair and soft blue-green eyes on a round face. She was of normal stature but was rapidly growing into a womanly figure. Although, in her file someone had written in to not let those curves fool you, she easily lifted three times her own body weight if needed but most the time she didn't need to. Made a genin at 12 and now a respectable chunin at 15, she was trained in surveillance and tracking. Making her one of the most difficult people to manage as she often used this training to disappear completely.
Ryu, a 15 year old medic-nin, was perhaps the most normal looking of the team and that was likely due to the fact that he was a civilian shinobi. He had dark brown hair kept in a buzz cut with a little stubble growing on his narrow jaw. Intelligent golden eyes danced with curiosity but his highly disciplined choice of career forced the boy into silence.
Born to a family of doctors, apparently it was only after Ryu had a run in with Aki in their childhood that the boy had made the choice to be a medical ninja. His file didn't go further into detail as to what had happened, but Hachi was grateful it did. With nothing but the texts of his parents a a scroll or two hidden away in the archives, Ryu made himself into an irreplaceable shinobi as he became Uzushiogakure's first and only Medic-nin.
And thus, they were the perfect team for this mission. Katsuro could scout for Kiri or Kumo nin, Aki could use every trick she knew to keep them hidden, and Ryu was there to support the two if they did meet trouble and hopefully pass on his knowledge once he got to Konohagakure. If they got to Konoha.
Thinking of that, Hachi brought himself back to his reality as he regarded the team before him. They were obvious tired, as they had just come back from a long patrol. They were dressed in pretty standard shinobi garb, with Katsuro and Aki wearing bandanas over their red hair to help blend in.
The three stood before him, their eyes silently questioning why he had summoned them. Sighing lightly, Hachi interlaced his fingers and rested his chin on the figures.
"I have a mission for you three." He said sternly, watching the curiousity flare in all three of them.
"Before I can tell you about the mission however, you must accept it." Hachi further explained.
Aki and Ryu quickly exchanged worried looks, knowing that whatever mission their leader wanted to charge them with was obviously very important and very hush hush if he wouldn't discuss it until he knew they were going to accept. They then looked at Katsuro and nodded slowly, getting a nod in response.
"We are your tools Hachi-sama. Command us and we will obey." Katsuro answered simply, letting his uncle know that they were willing to do the mission. Hachi nods solemnly at that.
"I have received information that could make or break this war." Hachi said seriously, trying to drive in how important this was. "This information must be brought to Konohagakure as quickly as possible and cannot be intercepted by enemy forces. You will carry it there by means of the two large scrolls before you. Should it look like the enemy are going to take the scrolls you are to destroy them."
Hachi paused as he saw the shock flash across the youngsters faces. Looking over the scrolls, the teens faces paled as they wondered what kind of information would take up such large scrolls.
"What information do they contain?" Katsuro asks as he looks the scrolls up and down.
"I can not tell you directly. But this information is so critical that to insure it passes on to Konoha we have made several precautions. First, the seal on the outside of the scrolls can only be opened by an Uzumaki. Should anyone else try to open it, the whole scroll will incinerate itself." Hachi explained. "Also there are hundreds of fake scrolls within, all trapped, to insure the information is passed only to our allies."
"How will Konoha know which scroll is the one they need then?" Ryu asked, wondering why there was a need for so many fakes.
"There are instructions inside for finding the right scroll." Hachi said, waving the question off. "But they all must be delivered to Konoha first and that is the mission I am assigning you."
"You will carry these scrolls to Konohagakure and hand them to Kushina Uzumaki. You are not to open the scrolls during your travels to Konoha and once your mission is complete you are to assist Konoha until you can return here safely." Hachi ordered, noting the tension the suddenly ran along the three.
"That could be months or years." Ryu said softly, struggling with the idea of being separated from his family for so long. Never knowing if they were okay and worrying for their safety. Seeing his worry, Aki put her hand on his shoulder and exchanged a knowing look.
"True, but you three are the best people to send. I need you to do this. Konoha needs you to do this. I humbly ask you to see this through." Hachi said before getting a nod from the three. Sighing in relief, he watched silently as Katsuro took one scroll and passed it to Aki before taking the other.
"We will complete this mission and report back as quickly as possible Hachi-sama." Katsuro said, getting a nod from Hachi.
"Be careful you three." He said softly, his worry coming through. "There are rumors that Kumo has taken the land between Uzushiogakure and Konohagakure."
Katsuro nods at that before he and his teammates leave Hachi's office.
"Anyone else think this is fishy?" Aki asked her teammates, getting warry nods from the other two.
"None-the-less, we already agreed to this mission." Katsuro countered before turning to his female teammate. "Aki, this mission is more your specialty so I'm handing leadership to you for this one. So what are we doing?"
Aki paused a moment to consider this.
"First off ,we'll travel at night to reduce the chances of being seen. Second, if what Hachi-sama said is true we should expect hostility the entire way as well. So make sure you're battle ready but camouflaged." Aki stated getting a nod from the two.
"We should leave tonight as well. The sooner we pass this information the better." Ryu commented, getting a approving nod from Aki.
"We leave tonight just after night fall on the south side beach. There is an old fisher there, or he was, and I'm sure his boat is still tied to the dock. We'll use that and the currents to bring us in towards the Land of Fire and should touch down just before dawn. Until then, make sure to pack light for the trip and rest up for the rest of the day." Aki concluded. She was given a quick yes ma'am before the three split up to prepare for the long journey ahead.
A/N- Well, that concludes chapter 1. Please R/R and let me know what you think.