Well. A new part of the story begins, with an important note…
Note: from now own, the narrator has changed to an outside POV, so there will be no more –I said- or –I did-. That's because the scenery and the characters have changed
BTW: I still don't own Naruto or any other anime
Chapter 7: The Uzumaki of the Cloud
**************mean while, in the lighting country*************.
Bold means Reilla's lines.
Reilla was always a top shinobi of the cloud, she was a chunin by the time she ht 11 years old, she became a jounin at 14, for the past 15 years she was completing A Ranked missions on her own. She never met her real parents, but the whole village took care of her, especially the reikage, he was like a father to her, he knew her true parents, but never talked about them, he has been avoiding every question she asked him since she was a small girl. Even though it seemed she had it all, she lacked the one thing she believed made the world worth living in "I need a challenge, someone that can compete with me, someone that can push my abilities to the edge" she always said, she searched many places to find someone like that, she knew that the Akatuski organization used to have a handful of strong warriors, but now it was reduced to 3 people at all, and they were always on the run from something, "or somebody" Reilla secretly hoped, her practices were perfect most and she never made the same mistake twice, her life were just,,, too easy.
She went to meet the Reikage, he said he has something for her, she checked her reflection at the mirror, tall, charming and neatly packed blonde hair, also some thin whisker like birthmarks, at first, one might think they made her face look ugly, but after a few days it was obvious that they were part of her beauty. Not a blonde gorgeous babe beauty, but a much more tuned down beauty, which came not only from her body, but from her smile and heart. "so, Reikage-sama, I have been told you wish to talk with me" she said, even though the Reikage was like a father to her, she insisted on total formality when she met him to get missions or discuss about the shinobi business, that was another part of her charm. "sit down child, this is something a gathered especially for you, the cloud doesn't tend to involve in other villages missing-nin business, but I think there are a few that would interest you" he responded. It was a personal favor he did for Reilla, it had nothing to do with the hidden cloud, he handed her a bunch of papers, she read them all quickly "what do you think?" he asked. "nice list reikage-sama, all of them are top shinobies, most of them escaped capture at least 5 times, I think I can enjoy hunting them down, but wouldn't it harm our relationship with the other villages?" even though she was never hurt seriously, she always remember the golden rule of the reikage 'think about the consensuses before any thing else, they might be worse than the situation now', that was the way of the current reikage, most of the events passed by through the cloud, he was never involved enough to get affected.
"Well, the list is outdated, so you'll have to meet up with some hunter-nins in order to get information, so that's not a problem. I looked at this list a few times before I called to you, there is one particular interesting name their, Uzumaki Naruto" he started to sweat, he wasn't the type to get stressed over nothing, she didn't like that look "what about him? I read about that guy, he's my age, his major crime involved sealing a summoning jutsu, the toad one, I was supposed to learn it but my master disappeared to catch that guy. But other than that, what's so special about that leaf jounin?" the reikage cleared his throat, it would be the first time he ever talked about it to somebody, let alone Reilla. "It's time I showed you it, I kept that scroll a secret until now, I was instructed to give it to you when that name comes to surface" instructed? By who? Why her? What did it have to do with that Naruto? She wanted to know, but he was already rambling through an old box, he gave her a scroll, she opened it and started reading.
"I don't know what year it is now, you night be 16, you may be 28 and its possible that you are over your 40's, it doesn't really matter, because I know you've become a daughter I can be proud of. If you're reading this letter I guess that Naruto's name came to surface, maybe he become hokage or even something greater by now, the important thing is that you must help him.
But I got ahead of myself, I'd better start from the beginning, your real name is Reilla Uzumaki, you are Naruto's cousin, my sister is his mom. You must be mad about the reason I left you alone, no surprise about that, you'll soon learn that the Uzumaki clan isn't that fit to raise kids, most of us were kept at foster homes until we were old enough to join a hidden village, half of the clan has also read scrolls such as this to find out who they really were, I have met my sister only when I became 19. our clan was never a part of any village, but it's safe to say that the Uzumakis were around long before any of today's or the previous villages were created, we never had a clan council or property, we lived inside the other villages until the urge to search for something took over us, it might have already happened to you, you might be feeling it now, it never skipped any of us, that's the reason we are scattered all around the countries. But enough with the history lessons, I've mentioned Naruto for a reason, as an Uzumaki he probably is an expert shinobi such as yourself, but my sister and mother have chosen him as something else as well, have you heard about the nine tails demon? My sister had big plans for him; she made sure that the 4th hokage will seal the Kyubi in a newborn, her own child, Naruto. You might be feeling some disgust about her actions, to seal one of the greatest demons inside a baby, not a very motherly thing to do, but remember, no Uzumaki has even known his parents directly, so he grew all alone at the leaf village, the people there must hate him the same way they hated the Kyubi, don't think that boy got any attention as a kid, he didn't even know why.
Naruto has a great path to follow, but he'll need your help, that's why the scroll was written, you must be there for him, to help him create the Uzumaki's legacy, he probably knows what his path is, and if he doesn't, it's your duty to inform him that there is a scroll for him as well.
With love & apologies, your father."
Reilla put down the scroll, her voice trembled as she asked the reikage "what do you think?", he kept his face shut, he met her father once, he wouldn't danger himself in another meeting ever again "you have to decide by yourself. I don't have a say in it, but I think you should meet that Naruto, you can decide what to do afterwards" , she sighted, her voice was better now, "you are right, no matter what happens with him, it's still an opportunity to fight someone as strong as me" she said. As she left the cloud, she realized what her father was meaning, even if she was out of the village many times, this was the first time she left it without knowing when she'll be back, or even *if* she'll be back. The sorrow has vanished from her mind, leaving it clear for the excitement about the upcoming trip.
She parted with her old life, she was still a cloud shinobi, but now she had a personal goal, as she stepped away from the hidden cloud, she felt that this trip was the most meaningful thing she has ever done, as if only now her life begin. She crossed many places at her travel; she made her living by doing part time jobs or by getting lower rank missions from the many informers of the cloud. She knew where the hidden leaf was supposed to be, but information regarding other villages was inaccurate at best, and deadly at most cases, she could have gone to the offices of the hidden leaf in the big cities of the fire country, but it would be months until her request is answered, those places were too crowded with paying customers to listen to a foreign shinobi. Visiting a hidden village wasn't against the law, it just meant that she'll have to be careful not to scare them too much, the leaf probably had the most accurate information about that Naruto, so their help will be vital for her.
She stopped near the sound village, it was a weak village most of the times, the first leader has left to pursue his own ambitions and the second leader was killed when they attacked the leaf, that day it wasn't just weak, it was struggling to survive, the lack of missions caused a lack of funds, so the village was in a very bad shape, she wasn't spotted until she was 150 meters from the village, the cloud scouts could see her coming from 700 meters, and that's even when she tried to sneak in, "the sound will fall soon, either by the sand and the leaf or either by itself, a village can't survive if he's so weak, it stands against the very essence of being a shinobi" she mumbled to herself.
The leaf was much better, she didn't try to hide herself but it was still impressive, before she was a mile from the village she met 2 runners from the leaf, they were asked to accompany her to the village and look after her, she wasn't surprised, the leaf was a rather peaceful place, they wanted to trust as much as they could. On the way the asked her about her motives at the leaf, she told them the truth "I'm here to look for a missing nin from this village, I assume I need to go to the ninja administration for that?" they nodded, they led her through the leaf, the people of the village were moving fast but not in a hurry, she saw a woman and a baby crossing their path, the both had clear blank eyes "byakougan" she thought to herself, she quickly realized that those two weren't mother and daughter, the woman had a expression of loss when ever she looked at the baby, mothers had a different expression towards their babies, but it was no mistake she was related to the baby and the Hyuga clan, Reilla heard about it from the reikage, there was a failed plan to kidnap one of the members years ago, but it failed miserably. The woman turned to them "you're a cloud, aren't ya? What are doing here?" she asked them "she might be the kid we tried to kidnap" Reilla said to her self, "yes, I am a cloud shinobi, and I looking for a missing nin from this village, Uzumaki Naruto is his name, if you must know" the woman's face turned pale, but the baby laughed and smiled, Reilla looked at the baby, the baby was an Hyuga, she was sure of it because of the eyes, but her hair color was drastically different from the woman's hair, she heard that most of the Hyuga's had black hair, blonde hair wasn't part of their normal genetic material, Reilla looked at the baby's face, she took out a cloth and cleaned the girl's face, the baby continued to laugh as Reilla kept trying to get those strings of dirt of her face, she finally decided to give up on that task, "it'll be impossible without a good bath and soap" she said to herself, something about that baby kept hunting her mind, but she couldn't put her finger on it, but there was something wrong with that girl's face.
They passed a ramen restaurant, she could here two guys playing go inside, one was winning easily, the other was losing but didn't mind it, some said that those games were indicators about one's strategic ability, Reilla never believed that, she too, was a loser in those games, no matter how hard she tried, the reikage always defeated her in minutes, she wondered to herself who is worse at go, she or the losing guy at the ramen place. After a few minutes they got to the offices, as the rumors stated, there was no acting hokage even now, the previous hokage hasn't made her choice and the council wasn't capable of agreeing on someone, it wasn't a very effective way to run a village, but the people of the leaf knew their duties and followed them, the lack of leadership could be tolerated for now. "I came her for your guidance about a missing nin, his name is Uzumaki Naruto, he used to be a part of this village" Reilla stated in front of them, an old woman talked first and silenced the others "and why would you be looking for him? I don't remember you from the toad summoners group, has that missing nin done something new?" she asked, the council wasn't as organized as Reilla thought before, the didn't have any talking order, they just barged in the talk, like little kids, it was either that or that the subject has driven them out of order "I wish to catch him for his status alone, I have no personal business with him, I'm expected to defeat a missing nin of high rank so I could compete for my clan leadership" it was a good excuse, clans had lots of rules and traditions, most of them were secret, it was one of the oldest tricks in the book. Even if no one believed her, it was impossible to prove she's lying; some clans had enough influence to cause a war between villages, especially if the leader of the village has shown his disbelief.
"Very well, we will honor your request, come back in a few hours, we'll tell you what we know about his whereabouts. Konhamaru" they turned to one of the chunins who escorted Reilla "we trust that you show her around the village", the chunin has been sweating already "yes, I will" he answered "how did he get to be a chunin? He has no control over his facial expressions, even non shinobi can hide their mental state better than that kid" Reilla thought to herself, it only reinforced what she first thought, the village relationship with her cousin hasn't ended. She told him she hasn't eaten yet and asked for the directions for the ramen place they passed before, as the ninja in charge of her, it was his duty to bring her anywhere, so they left, when they entered the ramen shop, the shopkeeper already started to make some dish, he turned to her again "what would it be for you? Do you wish to hear today's special?", "no thanks, I'll take a double ramen, clean from vegetables, extra spicy" she answered, he went to make it, he took a peek in the dish he just started, it was exactly what she ordered, his eyes almost popped out, but he was in the village long enough time to know not to ask questions.
Reilla turned to the guy at her left, he was holding a go board and did nothing but acting lazy, he was clearly the winner of the previous games, "what do you say about a quick game?" she asked him, the people at the restaurant have been staring at her with cold eyes, it was a new thing for her. The guy turned to her and said "whatever,,," he started organizing the board, but he acted as if he thought "didn't I do it an hour ago?" when the waitress brought her the food she looked at board, Reilla followed the waitress eyes, she was acting as if she saw the exact same game before, but she was also smart enough to know when to keep her mouth shut. "I think the council is ready to see you again" Konhamaru said, Reilla already lost seven times, even Shikamaru felt these games were a waste of time, and his plan for this day included counting the cracks in the wooden table. "well, we should do this again sometime" Reilla said, Shikamaru was ready to stick his head inside the ramen machine, he would have done that, but he had no clue about ramen making and the type of machines involved...
**********Chapter 7 – Uzumaki of the Cloud – End*********
shout outs!
Event: thanks, I know the paragraphs lengh is annoying, the problem is that in word I use a line space setting, so it's readable, but it doesn't show on FF.net…
Silver Dragonfly: yes, Naruto is a leaf shinobi again, more or less… but it doesn't mean his adventures are over yet
Hattuteline: I'm really glad to see you think my story has improved, it means a lot to see that someone thinks the story has improved since the beginning, about the other two subjects, I know my descriptions are lacking, I blame it on the fact I only read manga and not books,,, besides, it drives me crazy to see a fic with "X was wearing a blue T-shirt with red sleeves that had a writing on it which said: Be cool!, his pants were black 3\4 type that ended 5 inch above his black Nike shoes…" we all know how the chars look like, and we all have are own imaginary future of them, no need to force some description which means nothing into the text. I agree that I should have used a bit more dialogues, and I think this chapter had more of them, but when writing a 1st person POV, it's much more important to show how Naruto feels and thinks than just go with pointless talks. Anyway, plz keep on reviewing like this!
Vash the Stampede: awesome nick, and thanks that you reviewed my IY crossover story!
Neo angel of the night: thanks for the suggestion, it's in my list of names, but just one question? Isn't death Shino or something like that? How did Takai get there?
Chibi0Dragon: well, thanks, you're one of the reviewers who deserve many shout outs, so THX for reviewing, 10q for the review, I appreciate your reviews, your reviews mean a lot to me, I highly appreciate your reviews and I would like to thank you for them!
Synaptix: yes, Hinata and Naruto are 2gether 4ever, aren't they? Actually, it's quite hard to write them, since you got almost nothing to base their relationship on, Kishomonto needs to have more Chapters involving the two of them, right? And the Ibiki being hokage came since I'm pretty sure he's also Jiraya's student, but even if he isn't, he's still a special jounin and probably the oldest one we've seen that's really a part of the village.
Eikou: I know that lazyness is the main cuase for the lack of reviews, after all, I'm too lazy to review as well… but don't worry, most writers know wheter the story is good or not, but reviews is still a great thing to get.
Zsych: Now this is a review I most enjoy
getting, so I'm going to use the 'enter' key to answer you!
Anyway, I'm looking forward for more reviews from you!
BTW: If you are thinking "what's so fucking great about the sequeal he keeps on talking about?" I just want to say I started it as a Naruto\Berserk Crossover, but then I decided it didn't work out so I changed the ending of this story and rewrote it in a way that it's still Naruto but still dark and bloody