Guardians of the Maelstrom
By
DISCLAIMER
I neither own or make any money from the following
Naruto: this awesome manga/anime belongs to Masashi Kishimoto, Viz Media etch.
Harry Potter is owned by J.K. Rowling, Warner Bro etch.
PROLOUGE
A shadow flitted over a tall, seal covered wall common to noble residences and ninja villages, more specifically Konohagakure no Sato of Hi no Kuni (the village hidden in the leaves of the Land of Fire). The dark figure slipped past an impressive but outdated sensory net and vicious traps just as a loud school bell sounded across the village, calling young minds to be moulded.
The shozoku clad figure stilled unnaturally, searching for his target. Gem like eyes narrowed as he finally located where his target should be: multiple, undeveloped energy signatures with adult signatures in a ratio of 20:1. In other words, a ninja academy of Konoha. Racing off into the village, he honed in on his objective, a building adjacent to a large, red tower with the kanji for 'fire' on the side. The intruder paused in slight guilt, remembering what he was supposed to have done, which included entering the village through legal avenues. He scraped the feeling and continued on his own, self imposed mission. The pervert would just have to deal.
He stopped in the coverage of the trees and once again stilled, seeming to become a natural part of the environment with skill rarely seen, even in ninja. Even the white-masked ninja that guarded both the school and the tower didn't notice him.
Emerald and jade eyes gazed sightlessly at the building, searching for a particular energy signature. Not in the basement, no-one was there so it was probably only used for storage. Not the first floor either, that was most likely put away for meeting with parents and assemblies. The second floor had classes of students with two teachers each. These students had stronger energy readings, close to Gennin level, so they weren't what he was looking for. He noticed a lack of decent chakra control that worried him. What were they teaching these kids?
The third floor was what he was looking for: young, immature chakra signatures that were barely unlocked. He ignored the civilian born chakra signatures, he wasn't looking for a civilian but a shinobi. He identified a branch Hyuuga by the neutral chakra and the green glow of what he knew to be the 'caged bird' seal on his forehead. There was also an Inuzuka, though it was a young one judging from the absence of a canine partner and the orange chakra signature of an Uchiha, given the red taint around his eyes. The warm brown that ebbed and flowed was most likely an Akimichi and there was another Uchiha. There was also a water nature shinobi that guessed was a refugee from Kiri given the tint of something he couldn't identify, some sort of Kekkei Genkai. Members from a few minor clans that he didn't really know with elemental Kekkei Genkai. He checked the teacher, noting that there was only one unlike the older classes. A low Chuunin in strength, civilian born with a fire nature and a Taijutsu specialist giving the flow of his chakra. Not a threat to him but more than enough to deal with children.
His attention was captured by the signature he was looking for approaching the room. He swiftly moved so he could see into the room with his physical eyes. The door crashed open loudly as a boy with sunflower yellow hair in messy spikes and cerulean blue eyes dressed in an orange hoodie and green pants. Six whisker marks adorned his tan face, telling all that he had been born of a Jinchuuriki.
"Sorry I'm late!" the blonde yelled in defiance of the cold gaze of the only adult in the room. He withered slightly under the dislike in the adults eyes. The watcher observed with narrow eyes as the teachers energy contaminated the blonde's own aura.
Actually, all the chakra in the room was sinking into the boy's clear, Uzumaki aura. Judging by the way the kid's eyes were jumping around the room, he had no training in how to deal with the sudden influx of information and no idea how to purge and purify his own aura. Anger began to as the watcher observed how the civilian born students blatantly snubbed the boy and even the clan born children ignored his existence. Catching sight of the demonic, twisted chakra sealed away after looking deeper, he concluded that the boy was not only the son of the previous Jinchuuriki but also the current Jinchuuriki of the Kyuubi no Kitsune. But why did it appear to be common knowledge? That was definitely against the treaty.
The longer he observed, the less the 'diplomatic' option became possible. It seemed Konoha was going to become another Kusa, albeit slower and with more warnings. His family had to live here after all.
Given that the kid had been treated badly by the people here, he made a decision: when his family got here, they were going to unleash the Marauder spirit on this place without mercy. They should be fine, you could even say they were training the Hokage's ninja for free, how generous were they? Yes, he would have retribution on the village without killing anyone: they would only wish they were dead.
Mischief rose and he thought that he might as well give the ninja a taste of what was to come. He gathered energy and disappeared with a sharp crack!
…and reappeared next to the blonde, who had moved outside over the past hour for Taijutsu practice, though none of the students seemed very skilled. Is this how one of the Five Great Ninja Villages teaches its ninja? Pathetic, I don't think he will be returning here.
He had appeared in the middle of a match between the male Uchiha and his target. Laying a hand on the blonde's shoulder, he gave a mocking wave to the masked ninja in the trees and disappeared with another sharp crack. No point in leaving a chakra trail for them to follow. While he doubted they had anyone skilled enough to follow him, a careless ninja was a dead ninja. His aunt had beaten that into his skull enough times over the past 11 years. She was especially vindictive about it once he started going to schools: he almost dreaded the holidays. Funnily enough, he didn't recall his sister getting the same treatment. I should ask nee-chan what Mika-oba made her do if she was careless. I'll ask when she gets to Konoha.
A kunai sliced through the air where his head had been milliseconds after he disappeared with his passenger.
Two figures appeared under a tree on an open hilltop. The smaller male stumbled away and retched violently.
The taller figure was enveloped in smoke as a henge was released, replacing the adult ninja with a teenager. "Suimasen, I forgot what happens to first time porters. Congratulations on not actually throwing up. Don't worry, after a few hundred trips, you won't even notice it."
The boy looked at his kidnapper in enthusiastic awe that was out of place given that he had been kidnapped. "Wha-but you looked way taller before! Was it a henge? You must be a shinobi then. How'd you do that jutsu? Will you teach me please?" the dreaded puppy dog eyes were unleashed then. "Why'd you spring me from class, anyway?"a glint of steel appeared in his eyes then but it was so fleeting that he wouldn't have noticed if he hadn't been experienced in how Uzumaki brains work.
His rapid fire questions caused a sigh of exasperation to leave his kidnappers lips, who only looked to be a young teen, not the adult henge he had been wearing since he entered Hi no Kuni to avoid questions. "I just kidnapped you! What does that school of your teach? You aren't a civilian, are you?" uncertainty coloured his voice. The blonde shook his head. "Then what are you doing without kunai and shuriken at least? Do you even know what any clan child, much less the heir is supposed to do when a stranger abducts you? It's stab first and ask questions later! Please tell me you at least have an emergency seal?" a single head shake was his answer once again. "I thought that school was pathetic, but it's plain useless! Why you bother attending is beyond me, you obviously haven't learnt anything useful!"
"Hey!" the kid exploded. "I only started a week ago! We haven't really had time to learn anything yet!"
The blonde paused, taking in the flabbergast expression on what he could see of his abductor. "How old are you?"
"I'm five! I started the academy a year early," the kid puffed up with pride.
"You're five and you only just started your ninja training?" his kidnapper asked, incredulous.
"Yeah," the blonde said slowly, like he was speaking to someone with a hearing impairment.
"Incredible! How are you even functioning? It should be impossible for any Uzumaki to interact on such a level without being trained! No-one ever taught you how to focus on linear time?" the older male asked.
"Linear what? No, no-one ever trained me. Ninja training doesn't start till the academy and I'm an orphan. Besides, I think you snatched the wrong kid. I don't have a clan," the blonde answered.
Taking in the sad expression on the kids face, the kidnapper stopped his questioning, though he filed it away under things to investigate. Given the way Uzumaki brains function, the kid shouldn't be able to interact with people who seemed to react so much slower, though from what he observed earlier the brat had a severe attention deficiency that was caused by this lack of training. His thoughts were interrupted when the brat waved his hand in front of his face.
"You aren't very good at this, are you kidnapper-san? Aren't you supposed to demand a ransom or something? I'll warn you, I have no parents and I live on my own."
"No, I'm not after a ransom. You have no idea what I'm talking about with this clan stuff, do you?" the blonde shook his head, puzzlement showing on his face. "I'm certain that you are who I'm looking for. I can literally see your Kekkei Genkai active, so there's no way I grabbed the wrong kid." He sat back, waiting for the brats answer.
The blonde looked sceptical. "The old man would have told me if I had a, whachamacallit, mekki senka?" a range of emotions flickered across his face at light speed before his face set on mulish distrust. It appeared that he had finally dropped the idiot mask at last. "Do you think you are the first to kidnap me? Wild stories or not, it won't take the ANBU long to find us. I suggest you don't do anything stupid, if I am unharmed, the Hokage might not execute you." The brat sat back after giving his ultimatum/warning.
The other laughed. Worry and surprise crossed the blonde's face. "Now that's what an Uzumaki heir should act like!" delight was obvious in his voice. The boy's analysis of current events just took a hard hit. His kidnapper reached up and unwrapped the black cloths wrapped around his head and face, revealing messy black hair with orange tips that could rival the blonde's own and giving a closer look at the mis-matched green eyes. The left was jade while the right was emerald. The teenager's skin was also among the palest the blonde had ever seen. Does this guy ever go outside without the face mask?
"In all honestly, I was under the impression that you had been taught about your own clan. I actually expected you to recognise the clothes," he gestured to his black outfit. "Anyway, it is a pleasure to meet you, Uzumaki-sama. This one was given the name is Uzumaki Hayate by Uzumaki Mika and is the humble son of your aunt, Uzumaki Yuri and the grandchild of Uzumaki Arata and Senju Sakyo. This one is at the service of the Uzumaki heir, cousin," he grinned rakishly and bowed low with his right hand over his heart and his left arm folded behind his back.
The Uzumaki heir floundered, unsure of what he should do. His kidnapper was apparently his cousin but he didn't recognise the names that should apparently mean something to him. Then again, the old man had never told even the names of his parents, though he was sure he knew. Add the fact that his cousin had just sworn himself into his service, like a samurai, that they were apparently related to the Senju clan and the poor kid was stumped.
"My name is Uzumaki Naruto, it's nice to meet you?" he offered shyly.
"It's a pleasure. How do you like your ninja?" Naruto gave him a confused look. "I'm about to rain down chaos on this village. I don't appreciate how they treated my cousin," darkly serious was replaced with sunny humour as he continued. "Would you like your ninja painted, soaked, tarred, braised or feathered?"
The switch from formal to informal and serious to pranking (of all things) appeared to have given Naruto a bad case of whiplash. Hayate laughed at the confused look on Naruto's face. "You really don't know anything about the Uzumaki Ichizoku, do you?" at Naruto's sheepish nod, Hayate continued. "We do formal only in introductions and business, except for that we're a really informal clan. We're really close-knit, we originally came from Uzushiogakure no Sato, the whirling tide village, but the village was invaded during the Second Ninja War and a majority of the clan died. The rest were scattered throughout the nations. We stayed out of the Third War mostly, and the Uzumaki name died out as a lot of the kids were left orphans."
Hayate paused to collect his thoughts. "The clan was known for its crimson hair, seal masters and deadly battle ninja. No-one wanted to go up against an Uzumaki in a one on one fight. We have close ties with the Senju, your grandmother was a Senju and the Shodaime Hokage married an Uzumaki. There's a lot of bad blood between the Uchiha and Uzumaki, so try and stay away from adult Uchiha, they are like the definition of anti-fun. Oh and Uzumaki females are known for their long hair and deadly tempers," he leaned in close to whisper to Naruto. "Always knock on the bedroom and bathroom doors, nothing pisses an Uzumaki women off like being peeped on and being related doesn't give you immunity to the punishment. My nee-chan will arrive here in somewhere between a week and a month, you really need to be careful. The guide to nee-chan is easy. If her hair is red with streaks, limited danger unless you aren't using your table manners, Uzumaki red hair means run, pain is coming but black hair means find either her dad or the Hokage and hide behind them." Naruto gulped at the deadly serious tone Hayate used and nodded furiously.
"That said, Uzumaki are fiercely protective of those we consider family, no matter how close the blood ties, so when my sister gets here, be prepared for female mothering and over protectiveness," he paused here, thoughtful. "And a lot of training. I don't know what these Konoha ninja were thinking, not training you until now, but nee-chan is going to make sure you are up to speed, by the Uzumaki scale. Anyway, are you up for getting some non-lethal revenge, Marauder/Uzumaki style, chibi-dono?"
A shiver ran down Naruto's spine as he agreed. Whether it was from dread at the demon he unleashed onto the poor people of Konoha or excitement, only he could answer. Hayate began pulling out scrolls from nowhere. He actually crackled.
"One must always have the correct pranking att- I mean clothing appropriate to the situation at hand. I never thought I would be glad that nee-chan made me carry everything from Uzushio that she recovered. Here we are," he selected a silver scroll. "Clothing a daimyo wouldn't be shamed to wear. Next we need to find training colour morphs to change your hair to Uzumaki red. Ooh, here's the jewellery of the main family. There's some expensive pieces here. If we plan this out and you play your part, they might never realise that Uzumaki Naruto and the Uzumaki Heir are the same person. We need some time to go over how you need to act. Where are those fans?" he dissolved into muttering to himself.
Naruto sat back and wondered what he had gotten himself into.
GLOSSARY
Konoha: leaf
Konohagakure no Sato: village hidden in the leaves
Kusa: grass
Suimenasai: sorry
Chibi-dono: little lord
Sama: a person of higher standing. Nobles, clan heads, clan heirs. The clan head would normally be called 'dono'.
Nee-chan: affectionate term for sister
Uzushiogakure no Sato: the village hidden in the Whirling Tides
Uzushio: Whirling Tides/Whirlpool
Ichizoku: family/clan
Mika-Oba: aunt Mika. Informal
Gennin: a trainee ninja. Normally messengers and demolitionists in war time.
Chunnin: a mid ranking ninja. The bulk of a fighting forces.
Jounin: an elite ninja. The commanders and human weapons during war. Each one is able to take on entire armies and obliterate them
Kekkei Genkai: translates as Bloodline limit or close to. An inherited ability specific to families
Sennin: means sage not to be confused with Sannin which is the title given to Jaraiya, Tsunade and Orochimaru by Hanzo in the Second Ninja War. The full term is Densetsu no Sannin, the legendary three ninja but they are referred to as the Sannin
Shozoku: the traditional ninja clothes you see in movies
this is rewrite after i noticed some typos
Yubi, Out