A Revision of History
AN: I do not own Naruto. In my story, Naruto is OOC, which in turn changes how other characters respond to him. He looks like Nagato with blue eyes but has his father's intelligence. Hope you like it. In regards to my other stories, I am still writing them. Some are being completely scrapped and rewritten, others are just taking me longer because I am in college now and do not have as much free time.
The Uzumaki clan were a renowned group of shinobi. They were known for their fuinjutsu, suiton ninjutsu, longevity, and red hair. But what people often overlook is their relationship with slugs. It all started with Taku Uzumaki. While searching for a place for his family to settle down, he came upon an island protected by whirlpools. Using his impressive fuinjutsu skills, he parted them. On the island, he built a home for his family and the future generations. During his time on the island, he happened to find a summoning contract in a deep cave. It was to the Slug summons.
He applied chakra to unseal the scroll, and immediately a slug landed in front of him. It was Katsuyu, the leader of the slug summons. She put Taku through the trials of the Slug. She found him satisfactory and aligned her entire clan to the Uzumaki clan. From that day on the Uzumaki had a special relationship in return for proper treatment and protection, the Slugs taught the Uzumaki all about healing justsu. For thirty long generations, the Uzumaki held up their promise. The Rokubi, the queen of all Slugs, took notice of it and granted the Uzumaki a strong water affinity to make their duties easier.
Things changed when the heiress of the Uzumaki clan, Mito Uzumaki, married Hashirama Senju. She left her home alone, with only her belongings and the Slug contract. It was hers to pass on to her children when the time came. For the first couple years of her marriage, it was peaceful. However, everything changed when Madara Uchiha went rogue. Hashirama tracked down his former friend and pleaded for Madara to return. But Madara would not budge, so Hashirama was forced to fight. Mito watched from the sidelines as her husband struggled with all of his might. Madara, knowing he would lose, pulled out his trump card. He used his Sharingan to take control of the Rokubi.
Madara knew of the close relationship between the Rokubi and the Uzumaki. He was in fanfare watching the horror that invaded Mito's face, as she watched a beloved friend helpless to men's bidding. However, even with the power of a mighty Biju Madara was no match for Hashirama's strength. With Madara defeated the Rokubi was free. To protect the Rokubi from ever being used like Madara used her, Mito sealed her in herself. It was at that moment that Mito Uzumaki became the first Jinchuriki. Using that idea as a basis, Hashirama split up the Biju between the five great nations and Takigakure to create a semblance of peace.
Mito remained Jinchuriki until she felt her death coming. She requested an Uzumaki from her homeland to go and train to be the next Rokubi Jinchuriki. Kushina accepted her role with grace. However, with the destruction of Uzushiogakure Kushina and Mito became the last known Uzumakis. When Kushina became the Jinchuriki, she took on that title. However, it was not much longer until she met the love of her life, Minato Namikaze. They both played pivotal roles in ending the Third Great Shinobi war. When the time came, they married in secret and even conceived a child, that they named Naruto.
On the day of Naruto's birth, a man claiming to be Madara used the confusion of the delivery to release the Rokubi, and take control of her. While under Madara 's influence, she caused mass destruction to the village to the village that she has been protecting for the past 200 years. Minato, using an Uzumaki seal, sealed her fully into his son. The cost though was the loss of his life. Kushina died protecting Naruto from an acid blast. The tale of Naruto, the Jinchuriki of the Six-Tails, starts here.
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I brushed my hands over the soft earth of my garden, like the feeling that I get from touching it. When I reached one of the many plants in the garden, I feel the stem and the leaves to see if it needs water. They are slightly dry, so I pour some water at the base. The plant seemed to preen from the action. I smile as I continue to water all of my plants. While doing so, I notice that there are several slugs in the garden bed. I gently place my hand on the soil as one of these slugs approach it. The slug smoothly runs its antennae on my appendage before slithering onto my limb. The mucus feels ticklish.
"Hello, little slug," I say as I lift the slug to eye level. The slug just lifts its antenna back in greeting. I smile and use the tip of my finger to run up and down its back. The slugs enjoy the contact because it practically vibrates. I reach into one of my snack bags and pull out a blueberry. When the slug identifies the fruit, it crawls onto it and starts to eat it. I place the slug back onto the earth and lay out several blueberries for the other slugs. While they munch on their snack, I go back to watering my plants. When the slugs are full, they go back to their homes underneath the soil. I wave at them, and they seem to signal back.
With my gardening finished it is time to sleep. I close the door to the balcony and make sure that the front door is locked. I crawl into my bed and curl under the cover that is designed to look like water. It doesn't take me long to drift into a world of darkness.
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The next time I opened my eyes I was surrounded by a beautiful forest with a large lake in the middle. I rub at my eyes to make sure that this actually what I am seeing. The surroundings did not disappear. I was in complete awe at the serene scene before me. The trees were large and full of life. The water was clear and peaceful. As I was examining the beautiful environment, I noticed a couple of bubbles drifting from the lake. One landed in my hand and when it popped a gush of wind blew into my face. I held my stomach as I giggled. Suddenly more and more bubbles started to form. They all flew towards me and wrapped around me before moving on. The bubbles oddly felt like the caress that the Jiji sometimes does.
I look to see that all the bubbles are gathering in one spot. Allo of a sudden the bubbles burst and in their place was a giant slug with six tails. I have to crane my neck even to see the top of this gigantic beast. "Woah you are huge!" I yell.
The giant slug looked down at me. "Why hello little Naruto?"
"How do you know my name?" I ask the slug.
"I know your name because I have been with you all of your life." The slug answers.
The response does not make much sense. I just got here, how can this slug have known me my whole life? "Hey, mister, who are you? And where am I?"
"Hmm, well my name is Saiken. As to where we are, we are on your mind."
Now I am even more confused. "My mind?" I say as I scratch my head trying to figure out how we are in my mind.
"Yes, your mind. The reason that I had known you your entire life is that when you were just a couple of hours old."
"Sealed into me? Why would anyone want to seal you into a baby? You look nice." I say in disbelief.
"I am nice Naruto. I was sealed because I was a danger to people around me and myself. On the day you were born, I was ripped from my previous container by a bad man. This man used a technique to drive me into an uncontrollable rage. So a great man sealed me into you."
"My birthday, but that was the day that the Rokubi att-" I freeze in place as my brain put all of the pieces together.
"Yes, I am the Rokubi, the six tailed slug." Saiken does not move from her spot.
"But you don't look like you are dangerous."
"No Naruto everything is dangerous in its way, but I make it a habit not to cause danger to the people and things I like. Let me tell you a story about myself so that you better understand." Saiken then goes on to explain the history between the Uzumaki and slugs.
"Yatta my clan is awesome!"
"They were indeed."
"You know if you think about it you are the last remaining thing that connects me to my old clan." Saiken pauses not expecting this response.
"I guess you are correct."
"Say if you have a lot of knowledge on the Uzumaki, can you teach it too to me so that I can continue the legacy of my clan?"
"I suppose I can. But if I am to train you, it will be in my ninja arts as well. I will turn you into the best Jinchuriki there is."
"Yatta, when can we start?"
"Well we can start tomorrow, but first there are some loose ends we need to tie up. Follow me." Saiken then dissolved into bubbles and drifted away.
I follow the bubbles to a large gate that has a large tag on it. The bubbles materialize into Saiken. "What is this Saiken?"
"This is the sealing matrix. While most sealing matrices doesn't allow the prisoner much freedom, this is an Uzumaki seal that allows me to go where ever I want to as long as I am not attempting to escape."
"Well, why are we here?"
"This will allow us to train together. I need you to rip off the bottom left corner of the tag. It will allow us to communicate better even when you are not in your mindscape. Then I can train you during the day on physical things and teach you while you sleep in abstract things."
"And all I have to do is rip the seal a bit." Saiken nods. I reach up and tear the designated area; nothing happens, so I nod my head.
"Okay Naruto I think it is time we part, but before we go, I have one last mission for you. While I know a lot about the Uzumaki clan, it is limited. I want you to go to your Hokage and request the everything belonging to the Uzumaki, including the manor and all ninja related items."
"Why would Jiji know where they are? And if he did, why would he not tell me anything?"
"That I do not know, but I know that the Sandaime Hokage, has known the Uzumaki clan for a long time."
"Okay, I will ask him tomorrow."
"Then I will see you later alligator." I giggle at her goodbye before I get ejected from my mind. When I open my eyes, the sun is coming in from one of my windows and is hitting my eyes. I use one of my eyes to block out the sun and the other to rub the sleep out of my eyes. Was that real? 'Of course, it was Naruto.'
"Okay, so I can talk to you in my mind."
'Yes, but I suggest you think all of your responses before someone throws you in an asylum' I blush at the thought. Okay well, might as well make some food before going to the Jiji. I make a simple breakfast of rice and an egg. As I eat, Saiken talks to me about how our training will go. Because I am only five, most of the physical training will be conditioning to prepare my body for more things. The abstract things will be things such as geography, math, reading, writing, fuinjutsu, and chakra control, whatever that is. When I turn 8, which is the year I will join the academy to become a ninja, Saiken will teach me the clan's taijutsu, and ninjutsu. The taijutsu is the slug style that has been passed down from generation to generation. Now for ninjutsu, there are several things that I can do. Since I have a water affinity, I will learn Suiton ninjutsu. Saiken will also teach me her ninjutsu, Acid and Bubble release. Any other ninjutsu I choose to learn, she will do her best to show me. Most of the ninjutsu will be below C-rank until after I graduate from the academy.
When I finish the meal, I place my bowl into the sink and fill it with water. Then I get clothes to take a shower; it is just a simple black shirt with an, what I just learned to be, Uzumaki crest, and a pair of shorts. The wash is a quick one, just enough to clean my body, but not enough to enjoy it. I brush teeth after getting dressed. Then I put my sandals on before leaving my apartment. There are not many people around since it is only eight in the morning, but that does not stop the glares that come at my person. Now that I know why people glare at me, I both understand and dislike the villagers. On the one hand, they need someone to blame for all of their misery, but can they not realize that I am not Saiken. Saiken distracts me by telling me corny jokes. It works as I am at the Hokage tower before I even know it. It is a short stair climb to get to the Hokage's office. I see that the grouchy assistant is not there, so I slip into the room.
"Naruto my boy, what can I do for you this early in the morning," Jiji says as he puts his pen down.
"I um. I am requesting as the last Uzumaki in Konoha all things that pertain to my clan." I manage to say with a bit of coaching from Saiken. The reaction is not what I expect. The loving face of Jiji turns into a sterns face. With a gesture, several men wearing all black leave the room.
Jiji rubs his face. "I see you have met the Rokubi."
"I did."
"I was hoping that you would be a bit older before you met, but the Rokubi is a stubborn one." He reaches into his desk and pulls out a key. "This is the key to the Uzumaki manor. Everything related to the Uzumaki clan that Konoha has or that we recovered from Uzushiogakure is in the manor. Noone except an Uzumaki can access the manor, so we never saw fit to try to get anything from the manor." I grasp the key and put it in my pocket. Jiji pulls out a scroll. "This will lead you to the Uzumaki clan land. It borders both the Nara forest and the Aburame bug conservatory." I take the scroll as well.
"Why Jiji. Why did you never tell me?" I say with a bit of hurt in my voice. Tears start to escape from my eyes. I rub at them to clear my vision.
Jiji gets out from behind his desk and kneels at my height. He pulls me into a hug, and my arms wrap around him on instinct. "I wanted to Naruto, but I didn't want you to have a hope of a family when the Uzumaki clan was massacred. It would have killed me to see the light leave your eyes. I was going to tell you when you graduated from the academy when you are old enough to understand what happened. I am forever sorry for keeping this from you." He is rubbing soothing circles on my back.
"Okay, Jiji," I said between sniffles. "I forgive you."
Jiji pulls back and smiles. "Thank you, my boy. Now, how about you come back tomorrow after looking at the manor to celebrate. Now is there anything that you need from your old apartment?"
Jiji hands me tissues to clean my face as I think for a second. The apartment is pretty new, and I don't have anything of value there. "My old clothes and if you can, I would like my plants."
"Done."
"See you tomorrow Jiji." He waves me out, and I head in the direction of my new home.
It takes precisely twenty minutes to arrive at a big opposing gate where Jiji said it would be. There was no lock or anything on the gate, but it didn't look like it would budge. 'Place your hand on the swirl in the middle, and the gate will open.' Saiken says. I do as told, and the gate glows blue before it swings open. As soon as I step through the threshold the gate closes. Well, at least I don't have to worry about people following me in. I take the insight of me. There are small whirlpools that block the path to a small stone path leading to another gate. I take a tentative step, but the whirlpools subside for me and close behind me. On the sides of both of the stone path are two small ponds with a whole ecosystem in it. I skip along the stones until I reach the open gate. 200 feet of the clear ground with a house at the end of the field. I guess this will be good for training. I ran the distance in small sprints, and by the time I made it to the building I was out of breath. I decide to take a small break to regain it. When I regained it I opened the door I am not expecting to see a huge living room. The house looks like a small little apartment, but it is at least ten times that on the inside. 'Saiken how is this possible.'
'Through the use of expansion seals.' I cannot help but release a whistle. For the room itself, it has all different types of furnishing. And there is color everywhere from black to white. It is quite tasty. Adorning the walls are portraits of a bunch of people with red hair like me. I go to one of them, and it looks rather old. The name is Taku Uzumaki. 'Whoa isn't this the founder of the Uzumaki clan, the one to find the slug contract?'
'Indeed'
'Awesome.' I continue down the line of portraits I notice that the Uzumaki that have done incredible things have a white border with swirls around the portrait. For example, all of the kage, Taku, and Mito Uzumaki have these borders. Everyone else has a black border. I am nearing the end of the portraits when I happen upon another white border. 'Kushina Uzumaki.'
'Your mother.' Saiken says.
I can't help the gasp that escapes. I run my hand lightly over my mother's picture. 'She looks so beautiful and so full of life. Kaa-chan.' I cry.
'She loved you dearly. Her dying wish was to watch you grow up.'
I tighten my hand into a fist. 'I'll make that bad man pay. A life for a life.' I declare.
Saiken brings me back to my previous emotional state by saying, 'She wouldn't want you to live your life for revenge. Live for love, for the ones you will learn to love.' I nod at her logic. I will make my mother proud. There are four more portraits left, but unlike the previous portraits the border is red, the names read Nagato, Tayuya, Karin, and Naruto. It is sort of strange to see a picture of myself when I just arrived. Maybe the portraits are self-updating. 'Hmm, these must be the last living Uzumaki's, well at least the ones that still go by the Uzumaki name.'
'Maybe if we ask Jiji, we can track them down. Have them join Konoha and then we can be one big happy family.'
'I agree with that plan. The more Uzumakis there are, the more I will be praised." Saiken says jokingly. I mentally shove her, which she returns. With a renewed vigor I check the next room, which happens to be the kitchen. I open the refrigerator to find fresh food. 'A stasis seal?' Saiken suggests. I nod. The only other room on this floor at least is a tiny study. I make my way over to where I see a set of staircases, one leads up, and the other leads down. I go up and find four bedrooms including the masters along with three full bathrooms. Nothing was noteworthy about the rooms except they have with clothing that the Uzumaki clan favored, typically robes with long sleeves with mesh or armor. Up another flight is the library, and it is huge with thousands of scrolls ranging thousands of topics. I couldn't wait to start looking through it, but Saiken urges me to finish the tour. Going down the three flights of stairs to the basement, I find a massive vault with intimidating seals glowing on the front of it.
After getting confirmation from Saiken, I place my hand in the center of the door. The seals glow blue before receding. Six pieces that come together to create the Uzumaki clan symbol make up the door. Piece by piece the door pulls apart and leaves a circular opening. I step through to see with mountains piles of Ryo. I have never seen so much money in one place. Since I don't need money, for now, my eyes roam to a shelf with many different scrolls. On top of the rack is the word FORBIDDEN. Well, that explains why they are locked up in the vault. I continue to walk through the treasury and find many things such as Uzumaki armor, weapons, Oni masks, and treasures. One of such riches is thin like tube that rested on a pedestal to the very back of the vault. 'What is this Saiken?'
'Ah, this is my bubble blower. My jinchuriki needed a conduit to use my bubble release, so I created this blower. Since then it has become the main weapon for my two other jinchuriki. There is a tradition that each jinchuriki adds a feature to the bubble blower.'
'Wow, so Mito and my mother both used this blower?' I get a mental nod from Saiken. 'Cool.'
'Yes, well you will not need it for a while, so it is best to leave it here before you accidentally lose it.' Saiken teases. I tell her that I wouldn't, but still, leave the blower on the pedestal before exiting the vault. As I leave, the door shuts, and the seals reactivate. Now back in the main living area, I notice a door. When I open it, I find that it leads to the backyard/ training yard. It was about 20 feet by 20 feet of grass with a small pond. There were dummies for taijutsu practice and targets for weaponry practice. 'Okay Naruto, now that you have fully explored the Uzumaki compound it is time for training.'
'Right do not hold back; I can handle it!' I yell.
'Of that, I have no doubt.' She giggles. 'Now for the first part, you will stretch for an hour. My style of taijutsu requires a high level of flexibility.' I nod with determination. 'Then you will do 100 laps in the front yard. It is okay if you cannot complete all of them at once for now. It is less about the running but about building endurance, but with your level of stamina, I doubt you will have much trouble later on. You will have a medium sized lunch to replenish the lost energy. Finally, you will practice punching and kick the dummies on the post-1000 times per limb. Finishing this training will bring you to about dinner time. Once you finish eating and taking a shower, you will go to bed and train in your mindscape.'
'Okay it sounds hard, but I will give it my all!' I do a small fist pump. 'So what does my mental training entail?'
'You will learn four things. The first is general education like math and history.' I grumble a bit about how that is not ninja stuff. 'While it is not necessarily ninja 'stuff' as you say, having this knowledge could be beneficial. For example, say Kumo ninja attacks you, it might help to have a bit of background information on Kumo, such as their typical ninjutsu natures, their clans, and the history between Konoha and Kumo.' I think about it for a bit and agree that having this information would be beneficial in the long run. 'Then you will be learning calligraphy. Now caligraphy is very important in learning fuinjutsu, which your is one of the things that make your clan famous. I assume you would want to know about it.'
'I want to learn everything and anything that my clan knows. Since there are only four of us left it is up to us to keep everything that the Uzumaki clan was alive.' I say with a spark of determination.
'Good I approve. Now as I was saying caligraphy can make all the difference in a seal. If someone with bad caligraphy attempts to create a sealing scroll, she or he can change the meaning of the scroll, and all of a sudden it is an explosive tag. The next thing will be fuinjutsu.' She chuckled at my confusion. 'You won't be learning how to create seals, but looking at the Uzumaki books on fuinjutsu. You will be familiarizing yourself on the common E-D rank seals. By the time you are ready to draw your first seal, you will have all of those ranked ones memorized. You will also learn the process of making ink, which is important in making seals. The last part of fuinjutsu is the basic mechanics. Why when we write the seal a certain way does it create this reaction. When you learn the mechanics, it will make it easier to either adjust seals or create your own.'
'That sounds awesome. I cannot wait to start.'
'I thought you would be excited to learn that. Now finally you will learn about chakra control.'
'What is chakra?'
'Chakra is a mixture of physical and spiritual energy. To raise one's physical energy one must train their body. To train one's spiritual energy, one must train their mind. Now the Uzumaki clan is famous for having tremendous amounts of chakra, add the fact that you are a jinchuriki means you have enough chakra to rival ten Kage's.'
My jaw dropped. 'I must be so powerful.'
'Not necessarily because this means you have terrible control over said chakra. Control is necessary not to waste chakra. Now imagine that your chakra is a faucet, and jutsu is the cup. Each jutsu requires a certain amount of chakra, so each jutsu has its size. Now no matter what jutsu you are attempting the water in your faucet runs out like a waterfall. For some jutsu, this will not do much except overpower the jutsu and waste chakra. But for the ones that have very tiny cups, it will mean that the jutsu will most likely not work. Control adds a filter to your faucet to control how fast and how much water is coming out of the faucet at one time. Does this make sense?'
'I think I get it. So I want to have great control, so I don't waste chakra, and so I can use jutsu that require less chakra. If that is the case, I will not stop until I have perfect chakra control.'
'While that is a great goal, it will be incredibly hard. You see as you drain your faucet your water reserves increases by a little. Because of this reason, I am starting chakra control exercises now, so by the time you graduate you can control a good portion of your chakra. Now to help you, I will be holding back 99% of my chakra so that you only have to focus on yours.'
'You're the best Saiken.'
'Why thank you.'
'So when do we start?'
'Now.'
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I wake up to the sun on my face. I groan and roll over. I feel like the living dead. When Saiken told me that because of my training I would be mentally exhausted, I didn't think it would be this bad. 'Now Naruto you have to get up today, you have a lot to do today.'
'Like what.' I grumble.
'Well first off you need to meet the Hokage for breakfast.'
'Oh, I almost forgot about that.'
'Also you must invite the head family of the Nara and Aburame Clan over for lunch. Since they are your new neighbors, it wouldn't be a bad idea to get them a gift to create good bonds. They will most likely be your future comrades.'
'But I don't even know what either of them likes!' I mentally yell.
'Hmm well the Naras, are sort of lazy but intelligent. The Nara like anything to do with deer, medicine, and shogi. Now the Aburame are calm and collected. They think very logically and are the best at keeping their emotions in check. They like anything to do with bugs really.'
'Well, at least that narrows the list of things to get. Maybe I can look at the library, to see if we have anything that would be of interest to the neighboring clans.'
'Good. Now get up and take a shower.' I roll out of bed before making it. I open the closet, that has regular Uzumaki children clothes that I found in one of the smaller rooms, and take a simple kimono that is dark blue in color and loose. I then grab a pair of black shorts. I enter the bathroom. It has a long sink countertop with a medium sized mirror. The toilet is simple but has all the necessary functions. There is a cabinet with all toiletry needs. The shower itself is both a bath and a shower and is about average in size. I put my clothes on a hook and get out an orange towel. I then proceed to strip and take my shower.
After a twenty minute shower, I brush my teeth and get dressed. The kimono fits better than I expected. Its arms are a little long, but that is usual for Uzumaki clothing. The bottom of the kimono ghosts my ankles, and the sash keeps the kimono tight against my body. Since I don't have an undershirt a little of my chest shows, but that is okay. I like this outfit. The dark blue contrasts with my neck length red hair, and compliments my azure eyes. I smile and leave the bathroom. It is a quick five minutes to the front of the gate. It was around eight in the morning, so like yesterday there were not many people around. I have a feeling that I am going to be waking up every day. With a brisk walk, I make it to the Hokage's office.
I knock on the door, and open it when I hear, "come in." Jiji looks up from the paper he is reading. "Ah Naruto my boy, you are here a little earlier than I expected."
"Um, I can come back if you want?"
"Nonsense. This paperwork never ends, I think I deserve a nice break." He says standing up from his desk. He hands me a scroll. "This contains your clothes and all your plants. Although from your current attire I can only guess you found clothes and took a liking to them." He smiles when I give him a little twirl after I put the small scroll in my
"Yep, these are the clothes my clan wore so that I will wear them with pride."
"That is good Naruto. Now, what would you like for breakfast?"
"RAMEN!" I yelled. Ramen is delicious, but not very healthy. Saiken makes sure that I eat nutritious food as well.
Jiji laughs and says, "I guess I should have seen that coming." We make our way to a local ramen bar called Ichiraku. I have been there many times. The man that runs the shop along with his daughter is charming, and they are always willing to feed me if I run out of money, food, or both. I practically skip all the way to the booths.
"Ah, Naruto look at you. I love your new sense of style." Ayame teased. I blushed.
"It-it's the traditional clothing of the Uzumaki clan," I tell her.
"Well, it looks good." She then turns to Jiji. "Hokage-same, it is a pleasure to see you."
"Nice to see you as well, where is your father?"
"He is at the doctor's getting a checkup, at his age you cannot be too careful." Jiji nods.
"Well make sure to tell him hello from the both of us."
"I will." She grabs a notepad. "Now what will it be?"
"I would like one miso ramen, please. Naruto what would you like?" Jiji asks.
I scour the menu for ramen that has a little bit of nutritional value. The only real item is vegetable ramen. Oh well, at least it is ramen. "Can I get six bowls of vegetable ramen?"
Ayame gives me a bright smile. "Og course you can. I see that you are going to turn over a new leaf. The meals will be ready in five minutes." She bows and moves behind the blinds to make the ramen.
"So Jiji I have some questions?" He responded with an hmm. "Since I am the only member of the Uzumaki clan in Konoha, does that make me clan head or heir?"
"Well, the answer to that is a little complicated. To be an official clan in Konoha, you need about twenty-five members. While you can say that you are apart of the Uzumaki clan, you won't hold any status on the council. However, since the Uzumaki clan does exist you can be considered the heir. Do you understand?"
"I think so. So I am the heir of the Uzumaki clan, but I don't get any of the benefits from being in an actual clan."
"Exactly. Was there anything else that you wanted to ask?"
"Yes in the Uzumaki manor there are portraits of every Uzumaki including ones that are still living. There are currently four Uzumakis still alive today. I was wondering that if we happen upon them if you could allow them to live with me."
"Well, I don't see why not. If we run across the remaining Uzumaki clan members after some interviews, we will ask them if they want to join Konoha."
"Yatta!" I yell. Just then Ayame came out with our food.
"Order up, enjoy." Before digging in, we say our thanks. At first, I attacked the ramen with enthusiasm, but after a brief scolding from Saiken, I slowed down to a respectable level. Jiji and Ayame were impressed with my restraint. Throughout the meal, we talked about little things like how so and so was doing. It was nice. When I topped off my last bowl, Jiji laid money on the counter before saying goodbye and heading back to his tower.
With one thing crossed off my to-do list, I return to the Uzumaki manor. I place my scroll on the counter before I start my search for the perfect gifts for my neighbors. Thankfully the library was stocked with thousands of scrolls, but that also means that it will take a while to find what I want. I decide to start at the beginning and then work my way across. Each shelf has a slot with one scroll, unless we have a duplicate, in it, with the name of the scroll inscribed in the slot, so I will not get too confused.
It is about an hour later when I find something that might interest the Nara clan. It is a scroll on a light seal. It is relatively simple because all it does is produce a big light. It would be helpful for them to use so that they can increase the size of their shadow. I place it on a table and take the time to put all the other scrolls. Now I just need to find something useful for the Aburame clan.
Before that, I make a nice lunch consisting of beef and rice. Now that my energy is renewed I can put all my attention on finding a great gift. It is quite the process to find the best gift. Although the Uzumaki's are close to slugs, that does not mean we are neutral to bugs. A lot of the scrolls could be considered harmful to insects. But finally, I happened upon a seal that would attract insects to it. It is used as a trap, but this would be great for the Aburame. With the gifts finally selected it is time to introduce myself to the neighbors. Just as I arrive at the front door, suddenly the there is a ring in the house.
I look around for the source of the noise, but when I cannot find it, I consult Saiken. 'I believe that someone is at your front gate. From what I can remember that noise means that there are people at the front gate, but they have no malicious intent. If they wanted to harm the noise would be more alarming.'
'Ah okay, well I wonder who that could be.' It is a five minutes before I arrive at the front gate. When I peer through the slot in the gate, I see two families. One is entirely covered in hoods and wore dark sunglasses. There was a father, mother, and a little boy. The other family was lightly clothed, and the boys had pineapple shaped hair. The mother had long straight black hair. I touched the gate, and it opened. "Hello, who might you be?" I ask them.
"Ah hello my name is Yoshino Nara, and the clan noticed that you moved into the Uzumaki manor yesterday, and wanted to introduce ourselves." The woman with the long black hair says.
"The Aburame clan is here for the same reason. I am Shibi Aburame head of the Aburame clan."
"Oh well this is great, I was actually on my way to go see you guys. I guess since you are already here, why don't you come to my home."
"Oh, how sweet. At least someone has manners." Yoshino said. The man next to her mumbled something along the lines of 'troublesome women.'
"The Aburame clan will accept your offer," The female Aburame says.
"Okay it is a bit of a walk, so why don't we get to know one another," I say as I close the gate. "I'll go first. My name is Naruto Uzumaki. I am the heir of the Uzumaki clan."
"Troublesome. I am Shikaku Nara; I am the head of the Nara clan. You already know my wife, Yoshino. Shikamaru is our son." He points to a boy that looks like he would rather be in his bed rather than here. Shikamaru for his greeting gives a lackadaisical wave.
"As for me I am Shibi's wife, my name is Shina. Shino is our son." Shina introduces. Their introduction is very straightforward.
"Okay are Shina and Shikamaru around my age?"
"If you are five then yes." Yoshino answers. The conversation dies out as we reach the house. "Your home looks lovely," Yoshino says examining the interior design.
"It is nice, but I had nothing to do with it. Can I get you guys anything to drink maybe some snacks."
"Oh let me help." The two females say at the same time.
"No you guys are guests. I am the host so that I will get the refreshments."
"It is no problem child," Shina informs. After another minute of debate, I finally let them help me, while the males all get comfortable in the living area. It takes us ten minutes to prepare tea and lemonade along with assorted meats and sandwiches. When the food is put down each person grabbed something to eat and drink. "So Naruto do you live in this manner by yourself?"
"Ah yes, the Hokage gave me the keys to the manner after I discovered my heritage."
"Won't it get lonely, and how do you sustain yourself?"
"Hmm well I just moved in, so I have not had any time to interact with anyone other than you guys. As for sustenance, the Uzumaki clan put preservation seals in the kitchen, so it is stocked with enough food to last a month, and I am the only one access to the family money, so if I need something, I can just buy it."
"Well, I extend an invitation to come over to the Nara clan anytime you want. I'm sure that Shikamaru would love to have someone to play with." I look over at Shikamaru, who is admiring the family portraits.
"I would love to come see you guys sometime in the future."
"The Aburame clan would like to extend the same offer, while our children don't tend to play, we offer our companionship."
"It is much appreciated. I would love to see all the different types of bugs you have." I receive a glimpse of a smile from the Aburame clan.
"Naruto you said that you were on your way to see us, why?" Shikaku asks. I nod and pull out the two scrolls.
"You see the Uzumaki clan is ancient and can be traced back to before the warring clan era. We were a strong clan with a bright future until we were eradicated." At this point, I walk along the portrait. "As of today, there are only four alive members of the Uzumaki clan, me and three other members." I gesture to the portraits of myself and three other people. "Now according to Konoha charter, a clan is described as a family of thirty members that have a quality that distinguishes them from another ninja."
"Since there are only four active members, only one of which is active in Konoha, you cannot be considered a clan." Shibi interrupts.
"Correct."
"But you said that you were the clan heir when you introduced yourself," Shikamaru says.
"Yes, it is because the Uzumaki clan is an established clan. The Hokage decided that I can claim to be the heir, but I won't be able to reap the benefits of being a clan, such as a seat on the council or even protection by law. If I bolster my numbers, then they will be given to me automatically."
"And this connects to us because you need allies?" Shina asked.
"Yes and no. While it is nice to call you all allies, I just wanted to open up a friendly relationship because I do not know what is expected of me as clan heir. Plus you guys are my neighbors, and I wanted to meet you all."
"I see, well we can help in those aspects. But what about the scrolls?" Shikaku questioned."
"These are for you, as an extension of my gratitude and wanting to be friends." I hand each head their respective clan. "Shikaku, your scroll is a simple fuinjutsu tag that creates a blinding light. It is straightforward to learn and use. I thought it would be great for the Nara clan considering that you use shadows as your ninjutsu. It is also more reliable than a flashbang because you can set it up beforehand."
"This will be most useful. Thank you, Naruto." Shikaku says as he pockets the scroll, which makes me smile.
"Now for yours Shibi, it is a fuinjutsu tag that when activated releases pheromones to attract bugs. It is also easy to learn to use and is quite versatile. There is a universal setting, which will attract all bugs in a certain radius, but there are also instructions on how to change the seal so that it attracts certain bugs. I thought it would be useful for your clan to study bugs, gather more, or even set a trap."
"It is a very thoughtful gift, and one that we appreciate."
"I am glad that you like your gifts." The conversation turned more casual as we talked about all matters of things. We were even able to bring Shikamaru and Shino into the discussion. Eventually, both families left around two.
When I got back to the house after escorting my neighbors out, Saiken says, 'ready for your training?'
'Bring it.' And with that, I began the training. I don't know why but these past two days will change my life forever.