Title: Uzumaki Chronicles

Summary: Sometimes the wheels of destiny begin to turn when you do something insignificant – like introducing yourself to a traveler. And everything began from an introduction – the rise of a clan long forgotten by its own allies, and of a destroyed village hidden in whirlpools. Uzumaki Naruto is not alone anymore – he has the remains of a great power walk next to him. The other Uzumakis.

Pairings

Since this seems to be a big deal when reading stories, I will just mainly stick to canon (which means no big focus on romantic relationships). Which, in turn, means pairings will be as follows:

OC/OC – both F/M, M/M, F/F, as well as possibly polyamorous relationships, with queerplatonic relationships and genderqueer characters in relationships also mentioned in the future;

SlightlyHinted!CanonPairings – I cannot write romance to save my life, and to be honest, this is not what the fic is truly about. Not to mention, since this is an AU and I like experimentation, if there are any pairings they may not be canon at all;

Maybe!NonCanonPairings – See above for reasoning. Also, blackkat is a devil incarnate and her rarepair hell is allconsuming. If you're someone who reads her works, I assure you, one of these chapters you're going to see a reference to her (or three, or like THREE THOUSAND because Kat is really a devil, I kid you not. Also, read Stormborn because it is amazing.);

SlightlyHinted!CanonCharacters/OC – because let's be real, crushes are things that exist. Whether they are requited or not, though, is still too early to tell.

Warnings

Just to clear all things up, and because I don't want to get yelled at later:

There will be the occasional Japanese phrase thrown in. The characters are speaking Japanese, and as such things like Nee-san/Nii-san will be found. Also, I am going with –dattebayo and all its variations. Names of jutsus will vary.

There will be explanations down for everything marked with a star, which marks my own interpretation of the Narutoverse. I tried to sneak the explanations nearer the place of their marking, but it cuts the story awfully and I gave up. I'm sorry; you'll have to scroll down to read them.

This will be a story with a heavy presence of OCs. However, no OC will be paired with a canon character (the Gaara/OC above is strictly friendship from my point of view). There will be OC character development, which automatically means less screentime for canon characters.

There will be language used in this fanfiction. It is a character trait, and it is expected to have some curses flying around. However, heavy swearing is reserved only for characters who swear on a daily basis.

There will be sexual references. Be it jokes, drunken mumbling or the like, it will be there. Also, it is not limited to straight jokes. You have been warned.

Not all characters will be straight. All non-straight characters are OCs unless information for this is specifically stated in canon.

This won't be the idealistic world of Kishimoto. The main characters are ninjas, and as such there will be gore and manipulation and whatever else that comes with the occupation. Also, my mind is pretty disturbing and dark, which will undoubtly leave a mark on my writing. And iryo-ninjutsu. Iryo-ninjutsu, its use and the reasons for its use has to be one of the goriest aspects of ninjahood.

English is not my first language. I will make mistakes I am unaware of. Please point them out to me so I can correct them.

My writing style is still under development, so I'm sure there will be drops in quality from time to time. I'll do my best to slightly tweak all written chapters every six months if I feel the grammar and vocabulary is poor, so if that worries you, you're warned.

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, the inspirations for the characters or the fanfiction. They all belong to their owners. More information about the fanfictions that inspired this one in my profile.

Edit 21.02.2017: Switching this story to present tense, because my writing style changed considerably, and besides, it's that much easier to write in. I've also rewritten the first three chapters, more or less. There should be only minor details changed, though.


It is but another normal, busy day in Konoha when the strings of Fate begin to weave what can be considered a change into one boy's life, and thus, reshape the future of the whole shinobi world.


It's almost noon on an unusually hot summer day and everyone's hurrying to go shopping and be done with it before the heat fully settles in, which results in the usual noisy crowd in the main market place. Since roughly thirty percent of the inhabitants of the village have gone outside to run one errand or another despite the weather, it's almost impossible not to be caught in a human traffic jam unless you're a full-time (thus, chuunin level or up) ninja and can travel by the roofs. This is why a particular boy weaving his way around the thick mass of villagers as if without as much as a thought, humming a cheerful tune and ignoring everyone whose eyes are on him, is such a big deal to the ANBU squad stationed nearby to monitor all travelers (which includes, of course, the newcomer).

The boy is of little below average stature, pale and thin with delicate, doll-like features. His messy dark teal hair is up in a short ponytail, and his eyes, only a few shades lighter than his hair, as if reflect the light that hits them. His attire's slightly uncommon for these lands – a short samue-like robe in teal with dove grey colored pants and black ninja sandals – but there are no pouches on his person, only a katana with a white sheath strapped on his back. Such a beautiful male who isn't a ninja but at the same time is obviously not a normal civilian would have certainly turned heads either way, as such types are most often spies, however the main reason for all the stares he's getting, both from civilians and shinobi alike, is simply because the boy can afford to be skipping down the crowded street without a problem.

Totally unaware (or uncaring) of the disruption he's causing, the boy manages to out-maneuver his way out of the busy crowd, and, obviously with a set destination in mind, rounds a corner and continues down a smaller street. After five minutes of looking around, he finally stops in front of an old wooden building next to a closed food stand. It is, as pointed out by the half-decaying sign above the door, supposed to be a music shop, albeit its obviously rundown appearance and half-hidden location are apparently enough to chase any potential clients away. The boy glances around again, as if verifying he's at the right place, and enters the shabby shop without hesitation, all the while continuing to hum his cheery melody. The bell on the door dings so pathetically at his entrance it's disheartening, however the smile on the boy's face doesn't even twitch, and he continues with his song, undisturbed.

The shopkeeper, an old and petite balding man with white hair and too many wrinkles to count, lifts his gaze from the kokyū he's repairing, and stares at the newcomer in both confusion and wonder. The cyanheaded customer bows his head as a greeting and finally the hum comes to an end. He stops tapping his foot alongside the melody he's been humming, and directs an absolutely-blinding grin at the awaiting senior.

"Konnichiwa, Oji-san*!" He exclaims happily. "I am in immediate need of a new biwa, do you happen to have one?" Seeing the man hesitate, the boy smiles again, this time as if a little sharper. "Ah, no worries, no matter how old or broken it is, as long as I like it, I will take it, so please show me absolutely everything you have, ne?" The slightly threatening lift of his voice may have been left undetected by the shopkeeper, but that doesn't mean it doesn't do its job: five minutes later, on the workdesk are piled no less than thirty or so biwas, all old, rotten and broken, but all with beautiful designs carved and painted on them**. The wide grin that spreads on the boy's face is almost maniacal. "Now we're talking, Oji-san."


The cyanhaired boy is, again, skipping down the street, this time around considerably happier than before. On his back, above his katana, rests a pretty mauled wooden biwa, painted with intricate and swirling patterns in black, gold, reddish and all tones of blue, and in his right hand is held a half-eaten stick of dango he's currently munching at. He almost skips past a colorful building, with a big tree with a swing on the side, slowing down and then stopping at the sight of a crowd of adults and kids around the entry. They're creating quite the commotion, as it can be heard three streets down from there. A school graduation, perhaps? However, as he scans everything around him, the outsider doesn't miss the boy in a vividly orange jumpsuit who's sitting on said afore-mentioned swing, moping around and looking at the crowd with a longing so very obvious on his face. The dark-haired male narrows his eyes a fraction as his eyes catch a spiral symbol on the left shoulder of the orange jacket, and, in a spur-of-the-moment decision, skips cheerily to the kid, ignoring the hurled looks of distaste and disgust to both of them.

"It seems like you're not exactly a liked fella around here, huh?" He remarks cheekily. The boy lifts his head slowly, revealing azure blue eyes, dull and lifeless. The two of them stare at one another for some time, completely silent, until the sword-carrier's face splits into a big grin. He squats in front of the (for now only assumed) Academy student, making them on the same eye-level. "No need to look so glum! You can try again!" He tries to encourage him. The blond's entire posture tenses, and the older one immediately knows he's said something wrong.

"That was my last try." The other admits, finally breaking eye contact and looking down shamefully. The traveler catches himself just before his eyes can widen. The orange-wearing kid looks around eleven, not the mandatory thirteen (or fifteen, if that really was his last possible try***) years of age that are usually expected of an Academy graduatee.

"Well, you know, you might not be the one at fault here." The tealhaired**** teen tries to cheer the blue-eyed boy up. "I have heard rumors about a shinobi from Konoha who refuses to use Ninjutsu and Genjutsu, only Taijutsu, and he's a super-powerful Jounin! I'm sure it's the same for you! You have the talent, just not to the fields they are teaching you!" The blond looks away again, ashamed.

"I… didn't pay that much attention to the lessons. They were all boring and I couldn't understand them." He mutters softly. The ponytailed male hides his wince.

"Well, I'm sure you have something you're good at, you've just not searched long enough!" Seeing that his encouragement words do nothing to soothe the child, the teen lets out a soundless sigh. Well, it can't be helped, he supposes. He has to do it. "I mean, look at me!" The boy glances at him. "What do you think I am?"

"You're a sweet-talking traveler with an unusually pretty face." He deadpans. Said traveler laughs awkwardly, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Yeah, it looks that way, doesn't it?" The kid nods, completely serious, and wow, the blond should feel lucky he doesn't take offense to that. "Want me to tell you a story?"

Another nod. The cyanhead reaches out to his back, unclasping his katana (miraculously without making the musical instrument that's also attached there fall down) and bringing it forward.

"Actually, although my family aren't ninja, they are from a line of strong fighters." He tosses his sword from one to the other hand nervously. "However, no matter how hard I trained, how many times I practiced and repeated all the katas, even my five-year old cousins could beat me. The only thing I was remotely good at was swordfighting, or kenjutsu, as you shinobi call it, but even then all my achievements from that field were that I didn't completely suck at it." The boy's listening with rapt attention, gaze concentrated on the other male, as if he's revealing the secrets of life. The speaker has to force down his laughter to continue. "In the end, I threw the sword aside and, in a fit of rebelliousness, decided to learn how to sing and play an instrument." The Academy student raises his eyebrows, skeptic and juuust on the verge of mocking. "Yes, when I returned everyone was pissed off, but no one really cared that I wasn't that good with anything else. 'You'll distract our enemies better than we can, no matter how hard we try, and you can collect more information about them', they said. So, even if there aren't really enemies to go against – that is just the paranoia of the old people – I can be useful in a battlefield, even if I'm not a combatant. And I even earned this." He slides the sword out of its sheath carefully, showing the blond the blade. The child gasps.

"Wha-…" The teen chuckles good-naturedly.

"Surprising, right? It was my great-great-grandfather's. There is a rumor that it was actually a blade in a biwa, but there is no proof if that's true, especially since it's a katana blade. But on the off-chance it is, they gave it to me to guard the family with it. Though, admittedly, it doesn't look like much."

"It doesn't look like much…" The boy repeats dazedly. "OF COURSE IT DOESN'T, IT'S LITERALLY A PIECE OF RUSTED SCRAP!" He screams out suddenly, jumping into a standing position and pointing at the blade. It is, indeed, a very sad picture – the metal is chipped and there almost isn't a place void of rust. The traveler blinks rapidly a few times, startled. This temper seems somehow familiar, but he can't put his finger on it…

"Um, I don't want to be invasive, but what's your name?" He inquires curiously. "Ah, by the way, I'm Isamu, nice to meet you." The traveler adds after a moment. It seems his cheering up method has worked after all (which is honestly a relief) because the kid strikes a 'victorious' and 'heroic' pose and yells for the whole yard and beyond to hear.

"Right now, you are looking at the future Hokage of Konoha, Uzumaki Naruto!"

In the following silence, the tealhead stays kneeling on the ground, unmoving. The wind blows, leaves rustle, forming a small whirlwind, and the red spiral talisman on the sword's handle flutters innocently in the air.

For what is surely the first time in his very short life, Uzumaki Isamu unceremoniously gapes.

'What.'


An almost six years old Isamu runs forward towards a plump redheaded kunoichi with seemingly impossibly long hair reaching to her ankles, grinning like a mischievous cat.

"Kushina-nee-chan!" He jumps at her, and the woman bursts out in a cheery laugh, catching him mid-leap and spinning him around.

"How's my favorite little cousin?" She asks, rubbing her cheek on his. Isamu squeals in laughter.

"Now, now, Kushina, don't terrorize my son so much!" A woman in her early thirties with pine-green hair up in a high ponytail walks closer and held her hands forward, obviously waiting for her son to be returned. "Also, he's not your cousin, he's your nephew from the-" Kushina sticks out her tongue at the woman, effectively cutting her off, turns her head back to the tealhead, and begins rubbing their noses together. The kid giggles.

"You're as stuck-up as always, Mariko! Live a little!"

Mariko sniffs disdainfully, obviously getting into the role of the stuck-up mother.

"Well, at least I don't leave my husband stand there awkwardly like a tree in the middle of the sea, do I?" Kushina whips her head back so fast her neck cracks, looking at the afore-mentioned blond. He's surrounded by other curious Uzutanes and is futilely trying to shrink down as much as possible and then some.

"Oh Holy Log! That's right! Minato!" With a hurried 'Wanna fly, cousin?', she nonchalantly throws Isamu in the direction of his mother, ignoring the crazed laugh that escapes the child's lips and the furious string of curses the mother lets out ("Don't throw my son around like a rag doll, you red shitbloke, do you think he's inherited your stone head, HUH YOU FAT –?!") in favor of getting to her man as fast as possible.

With the angry roar only a seasoned Uzutane that has been in numerous clan fights could produce, the kunoichi charges at the crowd, punching her third cousin twice removed Itohara in the face ("That's the fifth time you break my nose, you bitch, stop mauling my beautiful face!"), stepping on top of her fifth cousin thrice removed Tomohime ("For the last time, Kushi-chan, I'm not a ladder!"), jumping over grandma Tsubone, unintentionally kicking her in the head and sending her sprawling on the ground ("Kids these days! If you're going to jump over someone, do it with grace! WITH GRACE!") and landing on the back of great-grand uncle Hideyoshi, pushing him down on the grass, effectively causing him to choke on his fake teeth and almost swallow them ("Kushcsinyaaa!*cough*") before continuing to maul the rest of her relatives.

The other Uzushio people who have decided to stay away from the newcomer, give roars of approval of their own and jump into the melee fight. The kids younger than ten group together and watch the show, laughing hysterically, cheering random people on and making funny commentaries ("Oooh, right hook in the face of the mightiest loser Daichi-" "-Cousin Tamayori kicks the pretentious prick Shirazawa in the nuts, that has to hurt-" "Natsume is alive and kicking, ladies and gentlemen, it seems the old hag still has some fight left in her- OUCH!" "I'M ONLY THRITY-TWO YOU LITTLE SHIT!" "DON'T HIT MY BROTHER WITH YOUR SMELLY SHOES, YOU WRINKLED SNOBBY MONSTER!").

Beside all the commotion, Minato stands forgotten, sweatdropping at the destruction festival unfolding before him.

"When she said her relatives are rowdy…" he trails off, rubbing his neck awkwardly, "Well. I didn't expect that, though I really should have." A giggle sounds next to the shinobi and he glances to his right, finding there the cheerful Isamu.

"Why did she bring you here? You weren't allowed to enter even when you two were getting married." The boy asks, turning his head in the Konoha ninja's direction with a smiling face. The light of the fires burning in the center of the compound reflect in his eyes like they're made from glass. It's a rather disturbing sight, the shinobi notes. Then the tealhead grins, showing teeth and gums. "You must've bribed her with ramen, ain't I right?"

Minato returns the grin with an equally big one of his own.

"Actually, that's the thing." The Uzutanes are finally mostly done with their friendly spar (Shirazawa the Pretentious Prick and Tamayori the Moon Princess are still spitting fire at each other – thankfully, not that literally yet – and Yutanari the Official Ramen Chief is cheering them on) and are nursing their wounds, still arguing out loud. Very loud. Kushina walks up to them, smiling softly, apparently correctly guessing what the two are talking about. Minato mirrors her expression. "We-"

"Kushina-chan!" Another female voice yells somewhere from the tents. Konoha's Yellow Flash sighs. The kunoichi turns around and waits for the woman running towards them to come closer. She has her long Indian red hair braided and placed over her chest. In her arms lies a small clothed bun. The Red Habanero's eyes widen and she edges closer.

"Is that…?" She trails off, unsure. The Uzumaki woman nods, beaming.

"Say hello to little Saika-chan!" The baby starts shuffling around, as if answering to her name, and opens her eyes lazily.

"Look at her! She has your eyes, Yorinami! And she already has this much hair! Well, for a baby. Though it's not your colour… When's her birthday?" Kushina asks while simultaneously gushing, bending forward to see her new cousin better.

"She has uncle Satoshi's dark red hair. And she's born on 15th July." Isamu adds, appearing as if out of nowhere. Hearing his voice, the baby instantly stills, ignoring Kushina's horrified mutter of '15th July, of course it would be 15th july'*****, and turns her head, as if searching for something. "Here, Saika." Isamu taps his finger on her little fists. It's instantly grabbed and clenched. The cyan-haired boy laughs. "I'm not leaving you, no need to get protective." Kushina and Minato watch the two kids in amazement.

"Isamu-kun's taken quite a liking to Saika-chan." Yorinami whispers to her cousin, giggling. "I think they have a mutual crush on each other. Isn't it cute?" Kushina laughs awkwardly and Minato coughs.

"Aren't they a little young for that?" The kunoichi asks, slightly spooked. The smile that grows on the mother's face is downright creepy.

"My daughter is barely a month old and she tries to sneak out to see him. I don't think I can misunderstand their relationship." She has gone extremely stiff. Another awkward laugh.

"Sneaks out?" Minato whispers, confused. Kushina plasters a smile on her face and gestures for Minato to drop it, fast

"Soo… you don't approve?" …But she herself doesn't. The pale-haired woman turns to face her cousin like a robot, with a totally blank smile. The Konoha duo gulps.

"Kushi-chan…" She trails off. Said Uzumaki is sweating profusely.

"Is that your baby?" Isamu suddenly points to Kushina's swollen belly, successfully disrupting the tense atmosphere. Yorinami's head snaps down so fast her neck actually cracks. Suddenly everyone quiets. Shirazawa the Prick ungracefully falls on top of Her Highness Tamayori in shock. The pregnant woman looks around like a deer in highlights. Everyone from the Village Hidden in Whirpools is grinning at her with disturbing smiles.

"Is that true, Kushina-chan?" Someone calls out slyly.

"Are you really going to have a child, Kushina-chan?" Another adds, snorting.

Kushina laughs awkwardly, rubbing the back of her neck. "Yes, actually." Minato shrinks under the stares of his wife's village.

At the confirmation, the whole camp explodes in a multitude of conversations, no one quite sure who's talking to who.

"And when is the baby going to be born?" Tomohime yells from somewhere in the crowd, her voice barely audible.

"Around the start of October!" Kushina bellows back, unable to hide the grin on her face.

"What is it – a boy or a girl?" Shirazawa adds, panting, his voice rasping from all the screaming during the fight.

"And how're gonna name it? Want help?" Yorinami asks unperturbedly, crawling closer to her friend, with Shirazawa still lying on top of her.

"It's a boy. And no, I have a name in mind." She shares looks with Minato.

"What's the name then?" Isamu inquires, tugging expectantly at her dress. Kushina smiles softly down at him.

"Uzumaki Naruto."


"You don't believe me, do you." Naruto says dejectedly after a few moments. Isamu snaps out of his thoughts and frantically shakes his head.

"No, that's not it, I swear! I was just shocked to hear your name, that's all." That isn't a lie. The boy regards him curiously, but still guarded.

"What's so interesting about my name? It's just that: a name, and not even one of those fancy ones. You know Naruto is a ramen topping, right?" The blond snaps at him defensively. The sword-carrier barely manages to hide his wince. He doesn't want to annoy the boy.

"But it could mean maelstrom too, you know. That's a cool name, don't you think?" Naruto hums, uninterested. Isamu sweatdrops. "A-Anyway, I think you'd make a splendid Hokage."

"You're lying." The kid accuses him, standing up. The tealhead glances upwards, meeting bright blue eyes.

"I'm not. I believe in you." The younger Uzumaki twitches, as if it's something that's said to him for the first time.

"Are you-" he begins unsurely. Then rustling of leaves cuts him off. Both boys turn their heads towards the noise, one more alert than the other. A silver-haired man with a Konoha Chuunin vest is walking up to them. "Mizuki-sensei!" Naruto calls out and the man smiles. Isamu feels a sour taste in his mouth. There's something disturbing in this smile…

"Yo, Naruto. How are you? I'm sorry for the Graduation Test by the way, but I did everything I could." The orange-clad Academy student looks down, suddenly gloomy. Cat-like eyes narrow a fraction. There's no way a Chuunin working as a teacher will make such a basic mistake like bringing up a failure in front of a perfectly cheerful student. Something is amiss. "However, I may know something that would help you." The shinobi glances at the traveler, all traces of hospitality gone, as if they have frozen off his face. The message is obvious: 'Get out of here or I'll make you'. Isamu hums distractedly and stands up, ruffling the blond's hair while simultaneously making sure to engrave the feeling of his chakra signature in his mind.

"Go for it, Naruto. If it helps your dream to become a Hokage, then don't stop!" He's rewarded with a grin and a wave he gladly returns while walking away.

The teal-haired boy starts walking briskly in the direction of the Konoha gates. His work's finished. He will report the new Uzumaki to the others, and if there is a need to, he will be able to track him. There isn't any need to worry about him.

However, if this Mizuki does something to him, anything that gets him hurt

Isamu shakes his head frantically, trying to clear it from the violent thoughts. It's most likely just jealousy, anyway. Naruto is Kushina-nee-chan's son, after all, he acts so much like her, and Isamu really misses her and her antics.

He's just imagining things, the sword-carrier convinces himself.

But…

But, surely it won't hurt to glance back just one more time… Naruto has the same face as his mother, even if the coloration comes from his father. Isamu really misses his aunty.

The Uzumaki throws a lax look back, over his shoulder, and freezes, his eyes going impossibly wide. His cousin has the brightest smile that's ever possible of existing shining on his face, and is jumping around in happiness. And behind him, his Mizuki-sensei is allowing a terrific smirk to bloom on his pale face. The air reeks of half-hidden bloodlust.

Then Naruto turns around, and the smirk immediately becomes a pleasant, friendly smile as the silverhead begins gesturing around with his hands. The blond is nodding along, thoughtfully, and when the teacher leaves to somewhere, the kid follows him without question.

Isamu breaks into a run, just faintly reminding himself that he's still being followed by the annoying ANBU and that he isn't allowed to follow the both of them, nor to go too fast. He reaches the Konoha square in seconds and frantically looks around for some place to hide. When he finally finds the building he's searching for, the traveler runs towards it at sonic speed, bumping into people and not even apologizing. But this is some important work he has to do, and if he doesn't reach his destination in time, the consequences will be so dire he'll never be able to live it down-!


The ANBU assigned to watch him sweatdrops. This guy obviously has quite the dump to take, if he had to run like that.

The tealhead he had been assigned to watch had run into the public bathroom like his pants were lit on fire.

Every day there are stranger and stranger people visiting Konoha, the masked shinobi muses, though it's no wonder when you count the amount of weirdos in the shinobi business. They are magnets for craziness, after all.


Isamu locks the door of the cabin and sits on the seat, exhaling quietly in relief. He isn't sure if the trick will work, but at least for now, it seems he's in luck today. The ANBU guarding him obviously don't want to watch a teenage boy take a dump today.

He brings out a scroll and a paintbrush and begins writing furiously, his Kanji becoming almost messy in the process. This has to get to the Elder the fastest way possible, or, if he's right, they will all be screwed. Royally screwed.

The Uzumaki writes out an appearance description, a name, and what has happened. Then he includes the parentage of Naruto. He's truly sorry, but this one time the wishes of the boy have to be ignored. At the bottom of his report, he adds a plea for help. There's no way he's doing this alone. And he knows which people to drag down with him, too. At this particular thought, he almost smirks. Those two will definitely kick his ass later.

Waiting for the ink to dry (and thanking all the Gods he knows by name it's quick-drying ink) before carefully rolling the scroll up, the boy slips it in his sleeve and stands up, stretching. He flushes the toilet, just in case the ANBU decide to listen in, and unlocks the door. He washes his hands thoroughly, mindful of any ink blotches that might have been left on his pale skin. It won't do if someone figured out what he has done, after all.

Isamu exits the public toilet, skipping around like a cheerful idiot, and, after asking for directions that one sweet grandma every village apparently has, takes off towards one of the numerous parks Konoha has.

He has a message to deliver.


It's almost laughably easy to infiltrate Konoha, Isamu thinks as he sneakily drops the scroll on the ground, the object conveniently falling between two rocks and a bush, where no one will notice it unless they're looking for it. And it's even easier to send information to someone, the boy muses as he forms a one-handed Ram Seal and whispers 'Fuuin' before walking away like nothing has happened. The seal itself isn't that complex and only disguises the scroll as a dead mouse for a short time, but it's more than enough for the eagle summon that comes down not five minutes later and grabs the disguised scroll. The bird flies away, cawing.

Isamu smiles serenely.

Now it's just a matter of time.


A ruffled chuunin barges into one of the numerous bars Konoha has, looking positively horrified.

"Uzumaki Naruto has stolen the Forbidden Scroll!" He roars to everyone inside.

All customers turn to stare at him, in various stages of speechlessness, before one of them finally snaps out of his stupor and scowls in disdain.

"Don't go around screaming such sensitive information, you nutjob! This is not a shinobi bar – there are civilians here!" The ninja barks, pointing at one boy with dark-cyan hair who lay on his table, sleeping peacefully. Next to his head is a half-full bottle of sake. One of the ninja sneaks forward and pushes the tealhead lightly. The body thumps on the floor, dragging along the bottle with a limp arm. He's completely wasted.

"Yes, because a fifteen years old lightweight traveler can do something with that information." The chuunin snorts. "We have orders from the Hokage – search for Uzumaki Naruto and capture him, preferably without injuries."

The crowd of shinobi leers as they get out of the bar, hurling insults at the 'demon boy'. One of the nastier ones picks up the snoring civilian and throws him on the ground near the entrance of the building.

"Let's go demon-hunting!" One chuunin howls drunkenly, making the whole crowd laugh.

"Don't get carried away." A scalding voice interrupts the cacophony harshly. "We have a mission to fulfill – to retrieve the Forbidden Scroll from the Uzumaki brat and to return it to Hokage-sama. And to do that, first we'll have to find the demon." The female jounin reminds them. "But after that…" She trails off, smiling cruelly. "Well, we are allowed to bring him a little more roughed up than normal, right?"

"Mikako, you're a genius!"

"That's our Mikako-sama for you!"

"All hail the Nagasawa Shioyaki****** Stand Head!"

The crowd walks away, their ugly laughter echoing around them.

No one is left outside, save for the boy laying on the dusty road. His eyes suddenly snap open, slit-pupiled and glowing greenish-blue in the dark, and he glances at the direction in which the group of shinobi have gone. The traveler jumps to a standing position with surprising grace for a supposed civilian. Then he propels himself in the air with the confidence of a seasoned shinobi, and begins hopping from roof to roof faster and faster, until he finds himself on the edge of a forest not too far from the village.

Two figures that have been obviously standing there for a long time jump down from the tree branches, facing Isamu. The distinctly taller one by a few heads tenses.

"I'll screw you over a thousand times for that stunt, you little shit." He growls, clenching his fists and bulking his muscles even more. His dark – almost black – red hair is worn in a long spiky ponytail that seems to have a will on its own, spiking up as if hissing at the boy.

The tealhead laughs awkwardly, wringing his hands in his lap. "As much as I would have been happy to allow you to screw me over here and now, the current circumstances do not permit it. Also, your baby sister will be there to witness it all." He ends with a sunny smile. The other male stays dumbfounded for a few seconds before gritting his teeth and cracking his knuckles threateningly.

"Stop twisting my words, you bent-over-and-back shitass!" He roars, charging at the younger. A small hand clasps his wrist at the last moment, preventing the hotheaded man from attacking.

"Onii-san! Please stop this at once!" A crimson-haired girl, looking no older than eleven, begs her brother while restraining him, taking no notice of his struggle. "We are here because of clan business! You can't allow personal grudges to get a hold of you! The mission and the comrades-"

"-are always first to think about, yes, yes, I know." The older sibling mumbles, embarrassed by the scolding. Isamu hides a giggle behind a hand and a cough, and a few veins pop on the longhaired man's head. He points angrily at Isamu. "However this guy is different!" Said guy waves cheerfully. His sister sighs tiredly.

"Tetsuya-onii-san, please do a favor to me and all the people born with Uzumaki blood across the world and don't pick fights with our cousin. This is a very dangerous and important mission we cannot afford to fail, and Isamu-san is a key piece leading to said mission's success. With all this taken into consideration and with the additional knowledge that the more time we lose with your fights, the more time you two will be forced to spend together, I plead you both to be on your best behavior." The girl commands with her chin held high.

Isamu salutes with a bright grin plastered in his face. "Roger, Tsugumi-chan!"

Tetsuya scowls. "Che. As long as you don't get polite on me, I'm fine."

Tsugumi smiles serenely. "I won't, as long as you two get along nicely like friends." Both males feel shivers run up their spines. "Now, let's go." She turns to the forest. "We have a Clan Head to find and bring back, after all."


NOTES AND EXPLANATIONS:

*yes, I wanted to use the term 'uncle', not 'old man/grandpa'

**while the real, Japanese (not modern, but original) biwas are not usually decorated in any way, much less carved into (onto?) (as far as I know), this is not Japan, so understandingly the customs here are different. Since making musical instruments is, frankly, considered an art in my version of Naruto's universe, it makes sense that the crafters would want to show their 'style' a bit more, which brings us to the numerous carved and painted designs. Each is unique, which makes duplicating musical instruments made by famous crafters several times more difficult, and finding stolen ones – easier. It started as a precaution from theft back when ninjas were just rogues, as while shinobi might not know how to play on the instruments, selling them resulted in a hefty sum of money. As such, the most famous instrument-makers started to mark their works, to stop anyone from lying whose creation one such instrument was, and to make finding it once stolen easier. While now the danger of theft has drastically declined, it has become a tradition few craftsmen don't follow.

***such a lax program exists because all nations are in peace now, and because almost always the ones who fail are civilian-born Academy students. Ninja like these, unless on par with Jiraiya, are in canon seen as basically 'cannon fodder' or 'Red Shirts'. The shinobi who have a clan get the more prestigious missions, and in war times civvie-ninjas are sent as scouts and spies because their worth is less than the clan-born ones. It's like this in canon, as far as I have noticed. If you don't believe me, rewatch the series and count how many times when a Konoha ninja was killed brutally and easily, and was shown just for their death, was a part of a clan.

****this OC's hair colour is very difficult to describe – it's dark cyan, but a bit more greenish-grey, which, again, I cannot explain in one word. However, if someone is curious, then you can google 'Seta Soujiro Log Horizon' – his hair colour is the closest to the one I'm using I could find.

*****The Ghost Festival in Japan, alternatively Chugen, is a traditional Taoist and Buddhist festival held in Asian countries. On it respect is paid to all deceased, which makes it different from the Qingming Festival (where respect is paid only for the older, if I'm not mistaken).

******Shioyaki Stands, for anyone who doesn't know, are stands where baked fish (most often mackerel) on a stick is sold. As the person writing the article "29 Japanese Street Foods" said, they are 'saltier than salt itself' (which is both a hint towards why exactly Mikako is an alpha bitch with a brain (yes, she has her reasons), and a stealth pun. God, I suck. So much.).

The Names and Characters:

Isamu – the inspiration for his character came when I was watching 'Log Horizon' and Seta Soujiro let out killing intent, then smiled cheerily at the next moment. His was the only name I choose without first checking what it means. I originally chose it because it sounded Samurai-like, and now that I know the meaning, it's even more fitting. ,the Kanji the name is written with, means 'bravery'.

Saika – maybe my most favorite character design – I love how she looks (though for now you've only seen her as a baby). I absolutely can't wait to start writing her, it will be so fun! She's the only one so far who has no inspiration and literally has just appeared out of nowhere (except maybe that killing sword from Durarara? idek). By the way, hers is a name I put together with major help from a Kanji-Translator site, because I couldn't just let go of the name (Honestly, I love that sword!). 'Sa' or means 'early', or 'i' means 'uncommon', and 'ka' means 'song'.

Tetsuya – for those who have read Marquis Black's Naruto fanfic, this one will be easy. He's inspired by Gajeel Redfox from Fairy Tail, though they have major differences that will come up later. For the ones who know of the Iron Dragon Slayer, this one is glaringly obvious: the Kanji for 'Tetsu' is and means 'iron', and the Kanji of 'ya' means 'to be'.

Tsugumi – another Fairy Tail inspiration and this one is from Wendy, though they don't have a lot in common now, since I actually started thinking of her as another character separately from Wendy. She sounded a lot like Tsugumi to me, but I had a list of other names ready for her, mainly consisting of herbs and flowers. She was actually almost named Tsubaki, but I think Tsugumi suits her more. The 'tsu gu' means next and the 'mi' is the Kanji for reality/truth .

*I decided to include the names of the Uzumaki mentioned, but I warn: I haven't thought much about them, so the reasons for the naming are more often than not either dumb or just plain non-existent.*

Mariko – inspired by real-life (former?) idol Shinoda Mariko from AKB48, but idek why, exactly. Maybe because she's so unfunny it can't even be funny, she's quite scary, and she's kind of serious (NOTE: only kind of).

Itohara – some kind of a mix-up between Sashihara (as in AKB48 Team A (later HKT48) Sashihara Rino) and Itano (as in Team K AKB48 ex-member Itano Tomomi) that I can't, for the life of me, explain. I'm not even sure what gender they are, exactly. I only know they love their face very much, and would rather prefer if it isn't being punched every time Kushina comes over (which is impossible).

Tomohime – again, Itano Tomomi strikes (and despite what it actually looks like now, my oshimen had always been Acchan), however, I do love Tomomi too, and it rather shows, is my humble opinion. The result – Tomo + Hime (Princess). No, I don't regret it even one bit.

Tsubone – anyone who has watched Hunter x Hunter would probably recognize Tsubone the Zoldyck Butler (aka the most badass Grandma in the whole HxH universe).

Hideyoshi – Hide from Tokyo Ghoul, anyone? (This one, I have absolutely no idea where it came from, it just… happened. Somehow).

Daichi – like Sawamura Daichi from Haikyuu (honestly the reasons are getting even more and more ridiculous but what's truth is truth)

Tamayori – Like the Japanese Goddess Tamayori-Hime. And like the card from WIXOSS. Yes, I'm serious.

Shirazawa – it first was Shiratorizawa (like the Volleyball Club from Haikyuu, again) but I wanted to include 'Yazawa' in it (like Yazawa Nico from 'Love Life' my all-time favorite). I ended up with Shirazawa and I don't even know how, but. Well. It's not like it's happened for the first time.

Natsume – this one's inspiration is the little sister of Ichigo from Yumeiro Patissiere (yes, I watched that. The two whole seasons, even. Sue me.)

Yutanari – one of Japan's numerous emperors' given name. Yes, I made him into a ramen chief. I'm not regretting anything.

Yorinami – pretty sure this is the name of shop (not really sure, I saw it somewhere in the internet once upon a time. Also, yes, I did name one of my characters like a shop that may or may not exist.)

Stupid mistakes I made while writing/editing this:

-Decided a suitable synonym for 'crowded' would be 'overpeopled', ha

Soooo, I really hope you like this, and have a nice day :) Bye!