Farmer-Nin
Chapter One: Arrival
By
Hibiki
All rights to characters and some of the plot to Masashi Kishimoto, the rest to me.
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Sarutobi Hiruzen held his aching old head in his wrinkled old hands. At 56 years old, the once retired and then reactivated Kage, was only matched in age for Kage by Onoki, Sandaime Kage of Iwa.
And Iwa was partially the reason for his troubles.
The other, was the devastation that he could see numerous lanterns dancing about, looking for survivors in the rubble and burning chunks that had made up nearly a third of his village.
He was still at a loss by the result of the birth of the boy before him, Uzumaki Naruto.
His mother, Uzumaki Kushina, Niban Jinchuriki to the Kyuubi no Yoko, had been attacked, and her demon set loose upon the city she and her lover, Namikaze Minato, his successor to Hokage had protected up until the beast had threatened the one thing more precious to them.
Uzumaki Naruto.
The now Sanban Jinchuriki of the Kyuubi no Yoko.
The reason those with strength to yell were doing so, and for a child no greater than three nights old's blood. It was the reason, that no matter the suffering he and his dear student felt, they had to push on with this plan. For the sake of the boy sleeping soundly in the crib beside the elder man's desk.
A soft knock at the window seal brought his attention to a younger but no less old looking man, the stress of their profession often made tots into old haggard folk quickly, if they lived that long that is, and the two men that stood before the sleeping babe had far surpassed the normal life span for ninja.
"Report, Jiraiya." Jiraiya the toad sage, one of the legendary Densetsu no Sannin, nodded and began.
"Sensei… I've found them. Kushina's last living relatives in Hi no Kuni." He put a few photos down of an elder couple sitting on a porch looking over at a field of grain. Given the look of the grain, ready to harvest, and the time of year, October, it was probably only a few days old at the most. The woman was well weathered, her vibrant red hair was only just beginning to gray, but held in her purple almost gray eyes was a look of wisdom he had seen all to well in Mito-sama, and was beginning to see in Kushina. The man, though his hair was almost non existent, from what the old Hokage could make out, was just the same barely gray. The man's stern look and firmly frowned face made him wonder of the demeanor of the man but ever still it was easy to see the firm will of all Uzumaki's in their eyes. "They are Uzumaki Hitori and Makoto farmers from Uzu city. 91 and 87 respectively." Sarutobi's stunned look said it all. They barely looked over 50.
"So it's true what they say about the Uzumaki's and their lifespan."
"You knew Mito-sama more than me, Sensei. I have a feeling Kushina would have outlived us all, except this little guy here if not for the…" Jiraiya trailed off from the painful subject as he looked warmly to his godson, but made no effort to pick him up. He couldn't afford to break down right there, too much was at stake. "I have not contacted them, but observed them for a day. They are… Uzumaki for certain. Brash, strong willed, stubborn. I wasn't certain how they would respond to me asking… They work hard, and faster than one would expect from civilian farmers their age but I couldn't catch them using anything more than a simple anti-cramp jutsu and a few fuin that might show more ninja training. People around the town hold them as a good source for wisdom about the land and anything farm related, but when they saw my headband they gave me a stiff shoulder."
"Farmers always are cautious of new things and people poking around, especially Shinobi."
"It's a tight lip community, that's for sure, very loyal to one another, I have no doubt the Uzumaki know I have been snooping around and what I look like." That had Sarutobi smiling for the first time in almost three days.
"Even if they do not follow a shinobi code, everyone in our border share that will of fire, never forget, Jiraiya." The toad sage merely grunted an acknowledgment. Sarutobi began writing up a rather long winded letter when he was done he rolled up the scroll, placed his personal seal upon the wax holding it shut and handed it to his perverted student. "If they didn't I would not dare do what we are planning."
"Are you sure he will be safe?"
"No, but to be honest, is he safe here?" The two tuned the yells of a fresh crowd in for a moment. "Everyone, everywhere will assume I have him here, under my nose. No one would expect me to send him off…" He paused… "Well, you know." Jiraiya nodded, knowing they were being listened to.
"Of course. I have no doubt my old teacher would not have planned this out." He readied himself then picked up the slumbering child and the few items they had scoured from the his family's household before the fire had swept through the block. Sarutobi walked over and gently ran his old wrinkled hand over the soft down of blond hair the whiskered baby had. Naruto shuffled against the warmth but did not wake.
"Goodbye Naruto. I hope, that when we see each other next, it will be on better circumstances."
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It took Jiraiya many hours to finally loose the shadow that stayed firmly rooted to his person once he and child left the walls of Konohagakure. Once assured of his lost pursuer he finally turned south and heading for the flat, fertile, lands south of the humid clear climate of the shinobi village he had grown up in. The child mad little fuss, and Jiraiya was thankful, as they traveled. It had been a long time since he had changed and fed an infant, before his civilian sister and her infant daughter passed away in the opening salvos of the second shinobi war, but he did alright.
It was dusk when the old sage finally made it to the Uzumaki Homestead. The house and barn had lanterns ablaze giving the buildings a warmer look that the imposing field where he could see one lone person tending a section of oats.
"So you gonna come over t'where I can see ya or you just gonna stand in the field lookin more like a retard then ya already do?" Jiraiya made no visual reaction but his 'mental' eyebrow was raised before he walked before the man. "Huh… so there WAS somebody." Okay THAT had him reacting.
"You really didn't know I was there?" The old man pulled off an old tattered and floppy hat before scratching at the red line it had produced on his brow.
"Nope. But I had a feelin."
"Some say that would be paranoia…"
"Only paranoia if yer wrong then iddn't it?" The man gave a few missing tooth grin and laughed. Okay now he seemed more like a 91 year old geezer. The laughing stopped when Naruto gave a few whimpers, something Jiraiya knew to be a precursor to a rather large windup. "Whatcha got there, yer forbidden love fruit?" The toad sage gaped. "HAHA! Sorry been a spell since last I seen one that young!"
"Uzumaki-san, allow me to introduce to you your grand nephew, Uzumaki Naruto." The laughing abruptly stopped. The old man took a look at the boy in the man's arms again.
"Huh."
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They talked over dinner, a hearty meal of simple food that was warm, heavy and filling, perfect on a chilly night that was forming outside of the gentle interior of the farmhouse. Jiraiya had taken back the child, from Matoko whose maternal instincts kicked in, to allow the husband and wife a chance to read the scroll Sarutobi had spent close to two hours writing. When they reached the end they sat back murmuring to one another before they turned back.
"We don't accept he has to be kept in the dark about things. No reason to be ashamed of his parentage just because they pissed off them rock folk." Hitori said finally setting the scroll down.
"It's not just the Iwa nation, there are threats in Konoha too. Ones that want him dead for the Fox and the death of his father."
"He's an Uzumaki, which means he's one of ours, and we keep ours safe, no matter what's in him. You get me?" Hitori growled out.
"It's a lot to ask of you, you both are merely civilian farmers. You could end up with enemies everywhere. Your lives could be forfeit. I just want you to be clear upon this. I can always take him back."
"We would never turn away anyone, let alone our kin. I think you Jiraiya-chan know that we Uzumaki don't simply roll over and die. In time, when he gets strong enough, Naruto-chan will know it too. Dattebikou!" Matoko announced, reminding him of Kushina more and more as they had talked.
As far as the two elder Uzumaki were concerned the issue was closed, but as Jiraiya handed off the newest member of the Uzumaki Homestead he gave them one final warning.
"Be careful. If someone comes looking for him other than myself contact us in Konohagakure. I think you're both capable people but someone took down his mother and father who were the best of their generation. We have to be careful and that is the real reason I brought him here."
"Sonny boy, when you say capable you don't have half of it right. Now then it's late, I got a field to start gettin' ready to harvest and Toko here is gonna be busy with this little runt, so scram. Be seein you around gaki." With a final goodbye, Jiraiya of the Sannin left. And Uzumaki Naruto's life was changed indefinitely.
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Welcome to Farmer-Nin. A story of Naruto whose life will be changed by this chapter and the one after it. The summary will have spoilers until chapter 3 or later. Big whoop as most of my stories have to have tragedy in them to make the other stuff better. No worse than Kishimoto's gag me depress me Suppose to be about Naruto not every big wig in the whole underworld woe is me slash Uchiha fest manga. I'm seriously going through Naruto withdrawals here. If it wasn't for Ino popping up I'd be waiting a few months for the story to build up so I could cut right through the mostly useless crap. Why did I need to know one of the seven swordsman was a seamstress in a previous life? (joking of course but honestly, who really cares?)
New characters:
Uzumaki Hitori: Think of Malcolm Reynolds on a good day. Then age him forty years. Make him bald, and add that little twitch he's got then I reckon you might get him.
Uzumaki Matoko: more to be talked about later.
Read Review tell me what you think:
Next Chapter: An Average Day in the Average Life of an Average Jinchuriki Farmboy.
Till next time: See ya.