His very first memory was of the most beautiful shade of red.
"My baby... my precious baby..."
It tickled his face, yet he didn't mind, his attention already captured by the vibrant blue eyes that looked down at him. They looked down at him with such care, such love, that it immediately filled him with warmth.
"So beautiful..." She giggled weakly at the curious hands that tugged at her long hair. "You know your mommy don't you?" She leaned down to kiss him on the forehead. A pair of cerulean eyes stared at her in wonder. "And so smart too, just like your daddy hmm?"
Her words were just noises to him, but he unconsciously leaned closer to the wonderful figure beside him. His mother.
"If..if only it wasn't like this." She gasped as her body rippled with pain. "W-why, why on this day?"
He remembered her battered body that cradled against him, shielding him from the cold.
"I'm sorry..."
A flash of golden light and they were whisked away. Instantly, the atmosphere changed, and he cried, protesting the horrible feeling permeating the air. The feeling of hatred that pressed down on him was unnatural.
"Kushina... there's no other choice."
There was another person with them now. He had such bright hair that stood out against the night sky. His face was familiar, and he already knew that this person was special. The yellow-haired man glanced down at him. The myriad of emotions that passed through his face was uncountable. Happy, proud, sad, angry, and most of all... regret.
"Don't look so sad... Minato. I'm... I'm happy. Happy that you loved me. Happy that it's our son's birthday."
The woman with the beautiful red hair spoke softly and sadly.
"If...If I had any regrets...It would be that I won't see Naruto grow up."
Why was she so sad?
"Naruto will be the one to stop him... The one who will carry our dreams."
The man looked down with a gentle expression.
"Because he is our son."
Father. That was who the man was.
"Because we are a family... of shinobi."
Family. That was who they were.
A loud roar that drowned out all other sound was the only warning they received. The claw went down, and twin cries of pain sounded loudly into the night. The blood of his mother and father dripped down, landing on his chest.
"Naruto...don't be a fussy eater...eat a lot and grow up to be a big boy."
She was in such pain... yet she continued to speak.
"Take your bath everyday... go to bed early, and sleep well!"
He cried loudly, wondering where the warmth had gone.
"Make friends, it doesn't matter how many..."
He couldn't understand.
"Study well! I was never good at that, but maybe you will be..."
The beautiful voice tinged with such sadness.
"Everyone has things they are good at, and things they're not... don't feel bad, if you can't do it all."
She was crying as well. Choking slightly on her words.
"And remember, avoid the three vices of shinobi. Don't borrow money if you can help it. Save what you earn from missions. Don't drink alcohol until you are 20, and don't overdo it."
He reached out with a hand, trying to reach her.
"And as for woman...just try not to pick a weird one... try to pick someone like your mother."
Trying to hold on to her.
"Naruto... you are going to experience a lot of pain and suffering... remember who you are! Find a goal, a dream! And don't stop until it comes true."
Because he knew...
"There's so much more I want to say... I.. I want to stay with you... I love you."
That they were saying goodbye.
"Naruto...this is your dad... listen to your mother okay?"
Even though they had just met.
"We love you."
The world went white.
His eyes snapped open, any trace of sleep disappearing rapidly as his body readied itself. It was a natural reaction for shinobi; to wake up at a moments notice. It took a split second for his mind to catch up with his body, and he sighed.
He felt the presence at the door long before the person reached it. Sitting up on the bed, he waited for the person to reveal herself.
"Naruto-sama?" The voice was soft. "Are you awake?"
Getting up from the bed, taking care not to disturb the sleeping figure beside him, he made for the door. Opening the sliding tatami, his eyes met his startled guest, and she squeaked in surprise. Reaching out with a hand, he caught the smaller girl before she landed on her back.
"Yumi... good morning." He smiled down at the blushing girl in his arms. The girl was dressed in a light blue yukata that suited her rather nicely.
"G-good morning!" She averted her eyes from his revealed chest, as he wore only his boxers to bed. "U-uhm... breakfast is ready, a-and the Master would like you to join them."
He frowned inwardly, settling for a thankful nod as he set the girl back on her feet. She looked down at her feet shyly, refusing to look up at him.
"Tell Shigure-dono that I will join him shortly." He said with a smile.
"Hai, Naru— Ah!"
She was cut off as Naruto reached down with one hand so that he could tilt her head towards him. Looking down at the blushing girl, he smiled radiantly at her. "Thank you, Yumiko-chan."
"H-hai!"
He watched her scurry off with amusement, before returning to his room. Noting that it was already past the normal breakfast time, he went to freshen up. It wasn't proper for a guest to keep the host waiting after all.
Returning to the bedroom, he started getting dressed, noting that fresh clothes had been laid out for him. He shrugged before putting on the offered hakama; the silky clothing had a rather elegant design, consisting primarily of black and white. Finishing putting on the formal clothing, he picked up the last piece in his ensemble. He wrapped the long red scarf around his neck in a familiar fashion, uncaring that it looked out of place with the formal hakama.
"Miyabi." He called out to the room. A head peeked out from under his blankets, and he chuckled as the girl rubbed at her eyes tiredly.
She was beautiful in an unearthly fashion, with soft, elegant features that was almost incomparable. She was around his age, with hair of the purest white, and as she looked up at him with wide amethyst eyes, he simply gave her a raised eyebrow.
"Didn't sleep so well?"
"...No." Her voice was soft, and she looked questioningly at him, head tilted to the side. Her usual expressions and tones were emotionless, but he had grown used to it. He knew that she wanted to know why he had woken her up, especially since she loved her sleep.
"I'm going down to breakfast, are you coming?" He asked.
The cute looking girl simply nodded before she was enveloped in smoke. Dispersing a few seconds later to reveal a small animal. The fox was the same colour as the girl's hair was, and had the same, large amethyst orbs. The small fox lept down deftly before running up his body to perch on his shoulders. He chuckled before reaching up to scratch the fox fondly on the head. The fox leaned in to his touch and settled down comfortably on his right shoulder, its fluffy tail curling around herself.
"You could have stayed you know." The fox looked at him with one bored eye. "Heh, when did you get so overprotective I wonder?" He smiled as the fox huffed, smacking him lightly with its tail.
He had to traverse quite a bit before he reached the dining hall. Along the way, he shared greetings with the staff that worked here. The guards and servants had long-since gotten used to his appearance, and greeted him with familiarity. He made for a rather notable sight after all, with his long red scarf that had its two lengths trailing all the way down to his knees. Of course, his bright blonde hair and piercing blue eyes were also memorable, not to mention his ever-present white fox.
Arriving at the entrance to the dining hall, he shared a nod with the two guards before they opened the sliding door. Stepping inside he noted the people that were seated around the low table. Only three people sat at the table that had enough room for a dozen others.
"Morning." He greeted before sitting down beside a red-haired girl, who smiled at him.
"Naruto-kun, good morning." She greeted in return, and he smiled back at her.
"Naruto-nii!" An excited voice called out across from him, and he had to smile back at a beaming little girl. She also had red-hair and blue eyes, similar to the girl beside him. "Mornin~"
He chuckled lightly at the excited little girl, noting the specks of rice that littered her face. "Miharu, Chiaki." He greeted.
A stern cough interrupted their greetings, and he turned his head towards the end of the table where an older man sat. With greying hair, and a stern expression on his face, he emitted an aura that seemed to command respect.
"Shigure-dono." He greeted, getting a grunt of acknowledgement from the man.
"You're late." The man told him.
Naruto smiled sheepishly at him. "I was up rather late. I apologize."
"You're sitting improperly."
Naruto sighed, before adjusting himself, sitting back up into the seiza position. He found it rather troublesome, but decided to appease his host for now.
"Better. Now, we eat." Shigure said, even though the smaller of the two girls had already begun eating.
Sharing a look of amusement with the girl beside him he began to eat the food laid out before him. A traditional meal with miso soup, fish, and rice was prepared for him, and he happily dug into the meal. Every now and then he shared some with the fox on his shoulders, getting disapproving looks from Shigure.
"Miya-miya~" The smaller girl called out, and the fox on his shoulders shivered slightly. Ignoring the smaller girl, the fox curled in on itself, trying to hide from the exuberant redhead.
"Chiaki. Finish your meal."
The smaller girl pouted, looking at the fox in longing, before returning to her food.
"Naruto-kun." He looked to the girl beside him in question. "Do you have time after this?"
"I do." He smiled at her. "Want me to look over your seals again?"
The girl blushed lightly. "I-if you don't mind..."
"I don't, I'd be happy to help."
"Wah! What about me Nii-chan?" The smaller girl shouted. "You said we could play today!"
He looked across at the adorable girl with amusement. "Of course, Chi-chan, we can play afterwards."
Seeing that everyone had finished their meals, Shigure looked pointedly at the two girls at the table. Seeing the disappointed looks from the two redheads, Naruto gave them a small smile as they left the room.
"Come." The older man gestured.
Naruto followed the man silently to his study, where he joined him shortly at another table. Shigure calmly poured a cup of tea for him, and Naruto gave him his thanks. The two shared a moment of peaceful silence, sipping lightly at their cup.
"So..." Shigure broke the silence. "I take it you are leaving soon."
It wasn't a question, and Naruto raised an eyebrow in surprise. "You knew?"
The older man scoffed. "Please, don't underestimate me youngin'"
"Ah, right, sometimes I forget that you really are an old-timer." Naruto grinned in amusement as the man narrowed his eyes. Shigure barely looked a day over 50, but his true age was more than double that. The benefits of the Uzumaki longevity.
"...arrogant brat..." The man muttered, with no real heat behind it.
"I've stayed here long enough, there's nothing more to gain from staying here."
The man scoffed. "And I take it the team from Konoha that entered the borders yesterday has nothing to do with that?"
"A team from Konoha?" Naruto tried to act surprise. "Well now, that's news to me!"
Shigure regarded him with a bland look, shaking his head. "Whoever sent them in were truly foolish."
Naruto nodded in agreement. "Somehow I don't think they did their research..." He sighed. "That, or their intel is severely lacking."
"They will be found within the week." Shigure noted. "And I don't think either of the factions are too fond of Konoha at the moment."
Sending a team of Konoha nin into water country in its current state was tantamount to suicide. Especially if the team of infiltrators made their entrance rather noticeable. Water country didn't bother to guard its borders for a reason after all. It's easy to get in... getting out was the hard part.
"No, I don't think they are... especially given our history."
The bloody mist, and the will of fire never saw eye to eye. Mist nin loved to make fun of Konoha for its peaceful tendencies. And the bloody mist was a rather apt name for water country at the moment, as the civil war had kicked up immensely.
"They are here for you." Silence met his statement, causing Shigure to sigh. "Sending in a team of greens... has the Hokage gone mad?"
Naruto smiled wryly. "On the contrary, I think the Sandaime still has a few years left in him."
"Hmph, that old geezer..." Shigure scoffed. "The current version of him is a pathetic mockery of his former self."
Naruto frowned but could not refute him. The Sandaime had never been the same ever since he took up reigns for the second time. The sharp wit and incredible knowledge was still there, but the fearsome ability to utilize that ability had not shown itself in a long time. With several blunders happening in recent years that would never have happened in his original reign.
"So..." Naruto began, eyeing him with an expectant eye. "Have you thought about my offer?"
Shigure grimaced. "Yes I have."
"And?"
"It's foolish. The risk..."
Naruto scoffed. "Now who's being a pathetic mockery?" Meeting the glare head on, he continued. "You and I both know that this opportunity is once in a lifetime."
"I have our clan's future to think about, I can't afford to place all our hope into this." He replied stoically.
"Then? That's it? You will whittle away the rest of your days in this place? Hiding under the Water Daimyo's pleasure... pathetic." Naruto spat out angrily. "Have you no pride? What about the future of Uzu!"
"It's exactly Uzu that I'm trying to preserve here!" He shouted. "I was entrusted with the last of our people, and I won't let some snot-nosed brat with an idea endanger us all!"
They glared at each other tensely for a few moments, before Naruto looked away. "Fine." He sighed. "I didn't think you would go for it anyways."
"Then why—"
"Progress, Shigure-dono. At least you seriously considered my offer." He got up slowly. "I will go now, I believe I have two girls to meet with."
He made his way to the door before stopping. Turning back to look at the Uzumaki Head. "Just remember, Uzumaki-dono... who we represent."
Shigure watched him go with a contemplative expression.
"This was a fucking terrible idea, Hana!"
His voice was loud, and it echoed rather loudly in the misty forest. She turned her head to glare at the person who had shouted. "Shut up!"
"No! I will not! This is your fault in the first place, if we didn't listen to your stupid idea—"
"Well, you seemed fine with it when I suggested it in the first place!"
"That's because I thought we would stop near the border!"
Genma sighed as he watched the two fight with each other. Thankfully they were beside a waterfall that drowned out the majority of sound, else he would be worried. Watching as the three dogs, known as the Haimaru brothers, became agitated along with Hana, he decided to step in.
"Guys! Settle down!" He interrupted sharply. "We are in this mess together, and we're not getting out anytime soon. So. Calm down, and think."
Seeing the two shinobi sufficiently chastised, he toned down his volume. "Now, any of you know where we are?"
The brown-haired male shook his head. "We're not near any landmarks that I know of...and that's from a rather outdated map too."
Information on water country was quite rare, especially recent ones. It was what happens when a country seemingly plunges itself into civil war every generation.
"What about our contact?"
Hana grimaced. "If it wasn't a ploy to draw us out in the first place, then he is likely dead or worse."
He sighed, nibbling on his senbon absently. This situation had quickly gone to hell. Right from the beginning, when they had agreed to meet up with a mist informant, he had a bad feeling. He should have listened to his instincts, as their contact never showed up. Instead, a whole squad of mist ninja had ambushed them. It was only due to his quick thinking, abundant usage of explosive tags, and the fact that they were close to the shoreline that allowed them to escape.
"We're fucked." The brown-haired nin stated. Hana and Genma couldn't refute him.
"What do we do Taichou?" Hana asked him worriedly.
He crouched down, beckoning his team to follow his example. Taking the senbon out from his mouth, he used it to draw on the muddy ground. "We entered the country from around here... ran several miles here..." He stopped to think. "We saw a mountain on the way right?"
Seeing the nods from his teammates, he sighed. "Then... we are probably here." Circling a spot on his make-shift map, he felt his heart drop as he realised the implications.
"T-thats..."
"...Middle of the country."
They took a moment to consider their situation. A rag-tag group of Konoha ninja stuck in the middle of the largest civil war in history. Surrounded with enemies that would love nothing more than to capture and interrogate them. Communication was impossible, and as far as HQ was concerned, this was supposed to be a simple B-ranked mission. In other words, they were completely screwed.
"We have no choice then." He got up slowly, eyeing the surroundings warily. "There's only one way we are getting out of this."
"You mean..."
"Finish the mission." He confirmed.
Hana and the other nin shared a look. "How do you know he's even here, Taichou?"
Looking back briefly, he shook his head wryly. "We don't."
He admired the tranquility of the garden before him. It was arranged beautifully and seemed to have the colour red as its central motif. Overhead, a Sakura tree served as his shade, gently blowing in the breeze. Sighing in contentment, he closed his eyes, taking in the gentle breeze and wonderful scent of the garden.
"Naruto-kun."
He opened his eyes slowly to regard the girl beside him, smiling as he took in her hesitant expression. "All done?"
Seeing her small nod, he gently took the scroll from her arms, and carefully examined it. To a regular person the patterns on the scroll might have looked like a form of elegant calligraphy. They were far from just words however, as each of the symbols on the page served as the stepping stones to a legendary art.
Fuinjutsu. The art of sealing.
"Not bad Miharu-chan." He praised her, getting the girl to blush slightly. "I see you took my advice to heart, your ends are much smoother now." He pointed his fingers at a particular symbol that denoted 'strength'. "This one... do you see the problem?"
She frowned in concentration as she eyed the symbol. "No..." Suddenly blinking, she gasped. "The centre!"
"Correct." He nodded. "The lines are not connecting properly Miharu." He looked around for something to use as an example. Finding a rough fallen branch, he picked it up. Snapping the piece of wood in two, he held one of the pieces up. "See this Miharu?"
She nodded, eyes furrowed in concentration..
"Watch." He brought his right hand up and pressed a single finger to the branch. Miharu gasped as his index finger lighted up briefly as it touched the wood. "I've just applied the seal you have just created to the stick."
"T-that's amazing!" She shouted in awe. "That's the highest level of sealing!"
He chuckled slightly at her expression of awe. "Now now... I wouldn't say the highest. It is quite hard to use however."
Imprinting a seal from just sight or memory was incredibly hard, as it was impossible to see any error in the design before applying it. Being able to create and imprint seals from just a single touch was said to be a result of sealing mastery. To the true practitioners however, imprinting was rather simple compared to the true pinnacle of sealing techniques.
"Anyways, take it." He handed the branch off to her, smiling as she took it in her hands delicately. "Try flexing it."
The girl blinked before obeying, bending the piece of wood slowly. It seemed to hold up steadily for a split second before a resounding crack echoed through the area. "Ah!"
Laughing at her surprise, he took the broken stick from her surprised hands. "See the results?" He gestured to the area where the split had occurred, and she was surprised to see that the two ends were split unnaturally in a diagonal fashion. "Your seal worked to an extent, as it clearly tried to keep the branch together. But it failed to truly spread the chakra around the branch. As a result, it only held up marginally better than it would regularly."
He took the other half of the original branch, before imprinting another seal. "Here." He handed the new stick to her. "Try again."
This time she was more eager, and immediately tried to snap the branch in half. To her surprise, the stick bent easily to her pressure but did not crack. Instead, the rigid wood had turned flexible. "Wow..."
"A perfected seal is incredibly efficient Mharu. The purpose of this seal enhances the structure and rigidity of almost anything." Picking up the enhanced stick from her hands, he gave it a flex of his own. "Of course, given enough force..."
-CRACK-
The stick snapped loudly in two, sounding much like a whip cracking in the air. "It will still break just like any other stick. If you wanted to fix that problem, I would try and change the properties of the wood, into something much more compact, like iron."
"Wouldn't applying a stronger strength seal work too?"
"Hmm, to an extent Miharu. Something as brittle as this wood wouldn't hold very long even with a stronger seal. You know what happens when a sealing structure becomes unbalanced don't you?"
She looked at him in understanding. "Ah, I see..."
The most common problem that came with sealing was usually meeting the balance requirements. You could design the most complicated and amazing sealing array that could theoretically do anything... if you could balance it. Nature was all about equivalence after all, and there was only so much Chakra could make up for.
"Still, very good Miharu-chan." He said, ruffling her hair fondly. "You're improving rapidly, soon you'll be able to design your own arrays."
She blushed at his praise, but shook her head. "I'm not even close to you or grandpa though... and you're the same age as me."
He sighed. "Didn't I tell you to stop comparing yourself?"
"But-"
"No buts, you are your own person." He spoke firmly. "You should work at your own pace."
She didn't answer him but did seem mollified. They sat in comfortable silence for awhile, enjoying the tranquility of the garden.
She thought about the boy beside her; the single most talented Uzumaki that she knew, surpassing anyone that was alive. He had seemingly come out of nowhere a few months ago, coming into their clan house with impunity. How he even found the last remnants of the Uzu people remained a mystery, but after the heated talks with the clan elders, he was allowed to stay. The others remained wary of him at first, as he looked nothing like an Uzumaki, with his bright blonde hair and blue eyes.
As he continued to live here however, many of them slowly opened up to the strange boy. He was unusual, in that he could be perfectly fine conversing with the adults and elders as if he were one of them. Similarly, he could converse perfectly fine with the children, being able to frolic and laugh just like them.
An enigma in the shape of a boy.
She tried to understand him at first, holding him at arms length, content to observe him from afar. But he broke down her barriers with a single glance, drawing her in with an errant smile. He was incredibly interesting, and the more she discovered about him, the more questions she had. He often deflected her questions about him, answering them vaguely. All she knew was that he was an Uzumaki that was raised in Konoha.
And he had a goal. Something that drove him everyday, because he was constantly thinking, planning, studying. All for the sake of something that she longed to understand.
"I'm leaving today." He suddenly said, breaking the silence.
Her heart dropped as she took in his words. She immediately opened her mouth to voice her protest. "Why? And so soon too..."
"I have to." He took in her sad expression with a frown. "Hey, why the long face?"
"But... you're going away."
He lightly tapped her on the head. "Not forever, Miharu-chan."
She raised her head at that. "You'll come back?"
"Of course." He ruffled her hair, and chuckled when she fought his hands feebly. "You're family after all."
She smiled at that, but remembered the situation at hand. "Then why are you leaving?"
"Business, my dear." He answered with a wry grin.
"Konoha?" She asked.
He nodded in reply, sighing as he fell back onto the wooden floor. It had been a long time since he had been back to his home village. He wondered how much it changed.
"You know, you never did tell me if you were a Konoha-nin."
He looked at her through the corner of his eye. "I know," He confirmed, smirking as she pouted. His open-ended answers always served to further her frustration every time.
They fell into silence, each of them lost in their own thoughts. Though he would have much preferred to stay here, he simply could not. He had been putting off the eventual return to Konoha at the back of his mind for the longest time now, and now it had made itself known.
It was time to go back home.
He sighed, staring up at the slow-moving clouds with lidded eyes. Quiet and peaceful days were going to be out of reach for a while, it seemed. Things had been picking up lately, both in Water Country, and around the continent. Restlessness was obvious, as nations moved to secure their borders despite the period of peace they had enjoyed. Peace was nothing but an illusion in the world of shinobis. He knew that better than anyone.
Suddenly, the pitter-patter of swift moving feet echoed loudly throughout the surrounding area and before he could even open his eyes, he felt a soft weight settle onto his chest. Raising his head slightly, he peered down at a shell-shocked fox with a raised eyebrow. The snowy-furred fox gave him a pleading expression as she huddled deeper against him. He chuckled lightly, slowly sitting up, exchanging an amused glance with Miharu, before he turned towards the entrance expectantly.
He didn't have to wait long, as the familiar footsteps of the girl sounded loudly.
"Miya-miya~"
The fox shivered in his embrace, and he had to laugh.
Just another day at the Uzumaki compound.
The situation was bad.
He eyed the surroundings with a cautious eye, taking care to pay attention to anything that looked out of place. They had been doing their best over the last few hours, taking careful steps towards their destination. But even with all of their careful preparations, he could not shake the feeling that they were being trailed. Hana's dogs seemed to share the same opinion, as they kept agitated looks around their surroundings.
Their highly sensitive noses sensed something in the air, but could not pinpoint or locate it. Whatever it was, he knew that it could only be trouble for them. He only hoped that whichever faction it was, it was one that was more neutral towards Konoha than the ones under the Mizukage's control.
Beside him, Masu and Hana crouched down low, both of them anxious in their respective stances. He couldn't blame them, considering the steadily worsening feeling in his gut. He had been on hard missions before; S-ranked ones that required the most from every single member involved. But this... these types of missions were always the worst. When all of your known variables are wiped out, and you are left in the middle of a botched mission.
A number of his best friends had died in this manner.
In the middle of enemy territory, their objective unconfirmed, and with no real exit strategy... they were in deep trouble. He could only hope that their close proximity to the 'neutral' city would keep the dogs at bay, so to speak. But eventually, they would grow tired— probably in the next few moments. The neutral city was only neutral by mutual understanding, and the two warring factions that respected it was only doing so because it benefitted the both of them. After all, you could not rule a country without its citizens. But that same neutrality was not extended to foreign shinobi on their soil.
"Taichou..." Hana's voice was whispered, yet it was heard over the din of the surrounding trees. Despite how natural their surroundings seemed, they were all on edge, and the suddenness of her voice only served to raise their tensions.
"...Yes?" He whispered back in the same tone, keeping his eyes on the city from their vantage point.
The grand city of Ryūkyūden had seen better days. Where the grand walls of the palace city were usually lined with men, it now remained empty. The typically busy capital would have their grandiosely large gate open, ready to accept the steady stream of traders and visitors to the palace. Now, with the civil war in full effect, its gates remained closed and all of its remaining manpower was used to keep order inside. Right now, it was overfilled with civilians that had been driven off their lands by the constant conflicts, and because of the generosity of the Water Daimyo, they had been allowed to set up their camps inside of the city.
A neutral city in the middle of a warzone. If there was any way for a foreign ninja to survive in these bloody lands, then it had to be here. The only question remained was... how they were going to find out if he was inside. Sneaking in was out of the question, as the Daimyo had numerous elite shinobi under his command— the ones that had sworn loyalty to the royal family, long before the war had erupted. He could probably sneak himself in, as infiltration was something that he had practice in, but sneaking in with both of his teammates was simply undoable. Hana had her dogs, and Masu... well, it was better for that particular chunin to stay away from any sort of acting.
"We don't have much daylight left," Hana remarked, looking up at the steadily dimming skies.
Masu twitched nervously at the remark, clenching and unclenching his hands in a nervous gesture. "We should go, Taichou, we need to rethink our strategy."
Genma sighed loudly, slightly annoyed at his comment. "Where? If we go back we're dead, because I don't know if you have noticed, Masu-san, but we've been tailed the whole way here." Toning down his bitter reply, he continued in a more sombre note. "This is the only place we can go."
He looked into both of their eyes. They were rookies, they should not have been here with him. It was supposed to be a routine courier mission. Deliver a scroll to a certain person and return, hence deserving of the B-rank difficulty. Instead, they were now in an effective S-ranked mission gone fubar.
"But, taichou... if we go in..." Hana bit her lip with a nervous expression.
"There's no way we can do it, not with your dogs anyway."
Her eyes suddenly narrowed. "What are you trying to say?"
Before either of them could erupt into another unnecessary argument, he cut them off, "Enough! At this point, there's no other choice. Either we go inside and risk a diplomatic incident... or we stay here and prepare for whatever capture teams they have."
They fell into a silence once more, each of them thinking deeply. One was worse than the other, but both of them were pretty bad. An international incident that would fall to the Hokage and the Fire Daimyo to solve... the three might as well cut off their own heads, as the backlash would surely destroy them. Still, it meant that they could keep their lives.
"What if... what if we claim diplomatic immunity or something?" Seeing the disbelieving looks he was receiving, he tried to elaborate. "Well, you know, like how that diplomat from Suna was all haughty and stuff even after he was caught trying to smuggle one of our jutsu scrolls out."
Hana sent him a sharp look, along with a quick smack to the head. "That only works for diplomats, you idiot! And sanctioned diplomats at that."
Masu uttered a few profanities under his breath, but refrained from lashing back. He muttered something like 'it was only a suggestion', which was thankfully unheard by Hana.
Giving them a wry look, Genma gave his thoughts on the issue. "If we go directly to the Water Daimyo under the pretense of a message, then maybe... maybe they might help us out."
It was a long shot, as he did not know the man at all. But hopefully, he would be able to see the benefit of having Konoha in his debt. And as long as he agreed to keep everything quiet, they could avoid an international incident. The fallout would be far less, but the three of them would probably be demoted and assigned a probational period.
"Oho? What do we have here?"
Three separate kunai knives raced towards the speaker even before he finished speaking, each of them seeking to kill. Before they could pierce the new arrival, they seemed to slow to a half, bouncing off an unknown surface just before hitting the target. The stranger did not seem to mind the attack, as he did nothing in retaliation.
Just as the two chunin were about to spring into action, Genma's eyes widened in sudden recognition. "Hold!"
The two stopped, both of them looking back at him in disbelief. Masu had been in the progress of sending out a earth jutsu, while Hana had a kunai in each hand, her loyal dogs growling by her feet. Genma ignored their stunned looks, meeting the eyes of the new arrival.
Blonde, messy locks that jutted almost lazily in every direction. Dressed in a highly mobile garb that was reminiscent of the ANBU uniforms, but modified. A red scarf wrapped around his neck, with the long ends flowing in the breeze. A pair of whisker-like marks marred his cheeks, and he further confirmed his suspicions as he met the boy's eyes. Twin blue orbs of the deepest cerulean met his own.
There was an arctic fox on the boy's shoulder, the creature giving him a lazy look.
"Uzumaki Naruto." He called out, getting an inclined nod from the blonde boy. His revelation caused his teammates to become slack-jawed.
"What!?"
Genma opened his mouth for a slight explanation before he was interrupted. The Haimaru brothers growled even louder, but this time it was not directed at the blonde.
"We have company in... t-minus-five seconds," Naruto remarked in a bland tone, his eyes had a note of mischief in them. "I suggest you girls get ready."
Hana and Masu stared blankly at him. "Wha—"
A surge of chakra, and the area was promptly bombarded by an enormous body of water taking the shape of a dragon. It exploded as it collided with its chosen targets; the three Konoha nin and dogs.
Hana was panting as she quickly scanned her surroundings. Her heart quickened when she saw her ever-faithful dogs by the side, unharmed but dazed from the sudden movement. Masu was crouched beside a nearby tree, cradling his left arm in silent agony.
Almost before she could react, an enemy fell down towards her and she had to parry the katana with her kunai.
Mizu-nin, judging by the symbol on the man's headband. As she noted his origin, she was already preparing for her technique. Lashing out with her second kunai, the attacker had to cut off his attack, but was not ready for her dogs who promptly bit into his legs. His screams of pain was promptly silenced as she stabbed her kunai into his heart.
Noises of combat surrounded her, and she could barely retain a grip on the current situation. Nonetheless, her trained instincts came into play, and she fell back in a defensive position by Masu's side.
He was pale and gasping with short breaths while gripping tightly on his left arm. Even before she reached his side, she could already tell that it was broken— the angle looked simply unnatural.
"Hana—"
Even before his exclamation, she was already in motion, ducking under the horizontal swing that was meant to take off her head. This time she was ready, and lashed out with a low sweep that took the attacker by surprise.
The attacker's scream of pain as her dogs tore into him was loud and guttural. In a few short seconds, he went silent.
"Masu, are you alright?" She asked, her eyes scanning the area carefully. Her dogs fell into a semi-circle around her, knowing that one of their team was hurt.
"I...fuck... it-it's really bad." The pain was getting to him, and given how pale he was, Hana was sure that he was falling into shock.
Sheathing one kunai, she quickly reached for her side pouch, and grabbed one of many pills inside. With one eye keeping a lookout, she shoved the pill into his face, which he promptly took into his mouth without question. The soldier pill would keep him moving for now, if only so that he wouldn't faint on her.
It had all gone to hell so fast, but she couldn't help but wonder.
"Where the hell are the rest of them?"
A/N: Thanks for reading.
This fic is an experimental fic on my part, and as such, I probably won't spend much time on it.
Written a long time ago, the key idea for this fic was to make a Naruto that was driven from the beginning through quite a vivid memory. To that end, he is strong, well versed in all aspects of being a shinobi, particularly sealing. He wants to honour the memory of his parents who had given him so much, and finish the goal set by his father. To defeat the masked man.
I have always loved reading AUs with fuuinjutsu and settings with some background changes that have very entertaining results. For example, let Hinata's mom live for a few years more, giving her the support she needs to not be a complete failure. She would still be a reserved person, and probably not as strong due to her gentle nature, but her character would be much more likable than canon. For Sakura, make her an orphan, either through the Kyuubi attack or otherwise, giving her the drive she needs to actually become something notable. For Sasuke, the easiest thing would be to have his mother live, giving him a pillar of support and someone to fight for. That would prevent him from going completely power hungry and obsessed with a single thing. Change his gender too, as that will create an even better dynamic. I've always felt that if Sasuke were a girl in canon the story would make 200% more sense.
Anyway, see you all next time.