Chapter 2
Uzu had observed, learned and been disgusted. It turned out this chain of islands was called Nami no Kuni. The location was fortunate for the locals, yet she couldn't help but pity them. They seemed to be in an economic depression. People were starving left and right, and she had been forced to leave an eidolon behind to bury many a person, most of them children.
She forcibly detached herself from the situation for the most part, having seen worse on her many travels, but when she poked, prodded and listened, she soon lost hold of her emotions. One man had destroyed this country. Destroyed it's economy, destroyed it's people. For what? Greed? He was either a sadist or short-sighted fool.
But there was little she could do right now, safe for telling the other's to sail on towards the mainland.
Without her that is.
Which was exactly what she did. She summoned Bahadur and frankly told him,
"The situation, it's bad. Very Bad. Capitalized. I'm staying here to run damage control, and maybe get to the root of the problem over time. Tell them to sail on to the mainland."
It might not quite be time to cut off the head of the dragon yet, in fear of it's rampant claws, but she could slowly but steadily clip them first.
A few days later Uzu made a short trip by teleportation to the mainland, to exchange money. Gold was gold after all, even if the coins were foreign, and she sold a small part of the fortune on her at a hefty price.
The man at the counter stared at her, "Where the hell did you pull that money from?"
She merely stared blankly, and gestured at the small bags she had just pulled the gold coins from. The man across the counter had initially wanted to call bullshit, but then seemed to remember something, and with a final mutter of 'ninjas and their wacky jutsu' under his breath, he finished the transaction.
Two weeks later Uzu was beginning to regret her hasty decision to send the others ahead. She had learned more about the politics of this continent, and the image created was not pretty.
Something told her the expedition would be lost to the bowels of the beast, spirited away and possibly tortured for their information. A new continent, it was big news, big news reached spies, and spies reached the larger countries and there hidden villages. They would want to deny their rivals the information at al costs.
She hoped the Daimyous would get to them first, but wouldn't put her money on it.
Uzu felt incredibly guilty. If only she hadn't send them away... She could have used the ship as a base, and the men and women she had grown to know over the past decade would be safe.
The two nukenin had set up camp in what had been the shade of a giant tree during the last hours of daytime. They had made there preparations, and were ready to eat something, all the while discussing their plans. Or rather, Zabuza told Haku what they were going to do.
The latter stared at the former with doe-eyes. The nukenin sighed. "I don't like it either, but we NEED the money. The man is filthy rich and can pay well."
They sprang up as they heard a few notes of a harp plucked from above them.
"Show yourself", Zabuza demanded, and after a few seconds the sound of rustling branches and leaves could be heard, as someone jumped down.
She sat on the branch of a large tree, hidden from view, and decided this must have been a gift from Gaia. As she heard the discussion of the nukenin below her. She decided to pluck a few notes. She deliberated for a second, and decided to chance it.
"Good evening", she said cheerfully, as she dusted the leaves from her clothes. A sword stopped mere inches from her neck She admired the fact that he could pull back at the last moment, leaving her alive.
Zabuza's eyes narrowed and he moved the sword closer to her neck. "Who are you?", he asked, "And how the hell were you able to approach us?"
She shrugged, "I was here the entire time, waiting. This is one of the few places to set up camp in this region, and er heard you were passing through. My friends are keeping an eye on the other locations. As for who I am? A potential employer that goes by the name of Uzu. I heard your discussion and wanted to give an alternate offer.", with a small smile at their bewildered expressions she added, "I promise high pay?"
After tense negotiations the two nukenin agreed reluctantly.
Uzu eyed them. "Great", she said, clapping her hands and with a slightly creepy grin she said, "That's one more thing to cross off."
Zabuza and Haku gave each other a look.
Was this really worth it?
Uzu grew to to like Zabuza and Haku, the latter more than the former. The same happened in reverse. She grew on Zabuza, possibly like mould, And she and Haku bonded over herbal medicine. It wasn't until the topic hit his bloodline and training he had with it that Uzu's blood ran could.
"What do you mean, you've had no formal training!", she asked in what was very nearly a shriek.
Dear God, The boy might be decent for a self-trained ice mage, seeing how the element was literally written in his genetics, but it was still a disaster waiting to happen.
She tried to calm herself and continued, "How the hell did you manage that? Ice, as you undoubtedly learned during your experimentation, is a very volatile element. HOW are you still in one piece?"
Haku's answer was a startled stare and slightly sheepish look.
"That's it", Uzu said firmly, and flexed her will, summoning Shirayuki. The temperature immediately dropped as the Lady of Evening Snow came into being at this plane of existense. The eidolon gave her a slightly reproving look at being summoned in the middle of nowhere.
"I'm sorry to disturb you milady", she said humbly, "But this Boy here is a wielder of your element. I had not known this before, but while he relies heavily on it to survive he has no formal training. Undoubtedly, you can grasp why I am worried. I humbly implore you to enlighten him with your teachings."
Shirayuki looked at Haku, and her eyes softened.
"Summon me again tomorrow morning", she merely said. Uzu winced, Refined as she might be, the Lady was a harsh taskmaster.
This freely given help marked a change in the working relationship of the three humans.
She had ofcourse heard of Tazuna, and his attempt to get help from a ninja village. It was a small country after all. She had written the news off as useful, but with little immediate effect.
When she saw the team in the distance though, she stilled.
It worried her two human companions, and she was called out on it immediately.
"Those boys", she breathed, her eyes wide, "The blonde and blackhaired ones... The other two too, through association with them, I've never seen Nexi of Fate of such magnitude... The Fate of this continent, no, this world even, lies in their hands."
She stood there, even as they disappeared out of sight.
Haku gently led the shocked woman away to the house they had found.
It wasn't long until she had another encounter with one of the team. It was the teacher, a man by the name of Hatake Kakashi, who was, apparently, legendary for his knowledge of a thousand jutsu and something called the 'Sharingan'. He had sensed them - they had made little effort to hide themselves after all-, and came to scout them out.
The man clearly hadn't expected to be welcomed warmly by one of the three ninja, while the other two grudgingly stood aside.
"Welcome to our humble abode", the red-haired woman said with a wide smile, and offered him some tea. Kakashi didn't let his guard down. 'Poison?', he thought to himself. As he eyed the girl in front of him. That hair, her bone structure... It reminded him a bit of... Well, maybe she had Uzumaki parentage.
"Mah... How forward, you haven't even introduced yourself...", he said, trying to distract the girl, causing the woman to roll her eyes. "I'm Uzu. No last name that I know of. You undoubtedly recognize one of my companions, and I'm pretty sure he would kill me, consequences be damned, if I just blabbed the identity of the other one."
She clasped her hands together as she leaned forward.
"Long story short, I have hired them to help my cause. Which, for the moment, is the freedom and restoration of Nami no Kuni. We mean no harm, and will ignore you if you extend the same courtesy."
She paused, crossed her arms, and tilted her head for a bit, "Unless the parameters of your mission coincide with my goal. If you are willing we could form a temporarily alliance."
Kakashi send the other two nin a questioning look. Was this woman for real?
Zabuza merely shrugged, having gotten used to Uzu's direct personality. It was strangely refreshing after all the cloak and dagger stuff of the ninja world, but definitely uncommon enough to raise a few alarms to those who just met her.
"So far she's been both truthful and reliable...", he said bluntly. "False cheerful personality aside, she's genuine."
A pained look flashed across Uzu's face at that evaluation. But it disappeared behind a smile again in a mere moment. "If there's one thing I learned in my life", she acknowledged, "Is that brooding gets you nowhere. Besides, laughter is healthy, and with these looks I can hardly act my age..."
Kakashi raised his visible eyebrow at the last part of that statement.
Uzu smirked, "62 and still going strong..."
Make that maybe a likely. She seemed to have the lifespan of an Uzumaki at least.
In the end, he agreed to work with them, albeit in separate units. They may have convinced him in the end -well, slightly-, but that didn't mean he was going to let them near his cute little genin.