Kakashi sped through the forest at an alarming rate. To all who saw him he would have just been a white blur of movement. He traveled like this for two days straight, not stopping for anything other then sleeping and eating. Even then he only stopped for about an hour or so. He had arrived at the border to Whirlpool Country a few hours ago and was now picking up his pace to arrive sooner then needed. "Minato-sensei... I'm sorry..." He thought as he jumped off a branch and began walking on the road below. "I wasn't there for Naruto..." He pulled out his book and put it in front of his face, lazily reading its contents with little interest. "I won't make the same mistake twice." he said aloud, throwing the book into a nearby bush and running.
Unknown to him, ever since he hit the border of Whirlpool, he was being followed. A ninja in the shadows matched every move the Konoha nin made, making sure not to let their eyes off of him. What he saw would suprise and confuse him to no end. Kakashi Hatake, Copy Cat Ninja of the Hidden Leaf, removed his head band. He untied it from his head, held it in front of him for a few seconds, then dropped it in front of him. He stepped on it with his next stride, leaving it to accumulate dust in his tracks. The Whirlpool ninja smiled approvingly and vanished, heading towards the direction of Uzugakure to inform the Uzukage of this rather strange turn of events.
-X-
Naruto and his uncle rode up to double metal gates, each identical with the Uzumaki clan's symbol in the middle. Naruto looked up at the giant building in front of them. No, it wasn't a building, it was more like a castle. The roof coiled at the top and formed into a majestic looking dragon. Dark red in color and its mouth was open, seeming to roar at the people below. The main building's walls were made up of the same kind of marble that the gates leading to Uzugakure were, only these were a little less worn and more maintained. Off of the main building branched to long hallway looking structures that stopped to connect to other buildings. These buildings were the dojo and kitchen by the looks of them from the outside.
A road led from the main gate and branched out in serveral directions, forming a miniture town-like area that resembled that of a compound (imagine the Uchiha compound only a little bigger and less gloomy). Each house was expertly built with wood and stone, a Uzumaki crest on each individual building. Naruto stared at the giant compound, completely taken by its size. He let out an involuntary whistle when the giant gates opened, revealing a brick path leading up to the big orangge doors of the main house. "Hey, uncle Hideo, can you tell me who my parents were now?" Naruto asked, jumping off of his horse and landing with a soft thump. "Right after you meet your teachers and we get something to eat, I'm starving!" Hideo said, holding his stomache and graoning. Naruto's stomache growled in agreement and he grinned sheepishly. "Heheh I guess I could go for something to eat." He said, scrathing the back of his head nervously.
Hideo chuckled and led him to the building on the right of the main house, which did prove to be the kitchen. Upon entering an average wooden door, Naruto's nose filled with the most wonderful smells in the world. He closed his eyes and savored the smell, taking deep longing breaths. His eyes opened again when he heard a pot clang to the ground and someone curse. "Damnit Jinko! Stop screwing around! We need to get the food ready for when Hideo-sama returns." Said a tall gruff looking man in a chef's hat. "Sorry boss, it just got away from me." the man named Jino said as he picked up the pot and began washing it in the sink. Naruto looked around in the kitchen and saw many people. They were chopping, cooking, steaming, cleaning, and everything in between. The kitchen was a bee hive of activity, every person having a purpose and something to do.
There were swears being thrown left and right about who cooked the food wrong, if it was even the slightest bit off, if the dishes wern't mirror-like and clean. Hideo's eyelid twitched everytime someone cursed, while Naruto tried his best not to sniker. "Hey! What did I tell you about yousing that kind of language in font of Naruto!?" Hideo yelled, stomping the ground and waving his arms comedicaly. Everyone stopped moving. Everyone stopped talking. They slowly and shakily turned their heads, meeting eyes (or eye in Hideo's case) with a pissed off Hideo. Their eyes visabley widened and they all gulped. The eyes in the room drifted down to a snickering blonde boy. The man name Jinko gasped and ran up to him, stopping short a few feet and dropping to the ground in a bow.
"I apoligise for our behavior Naruto-sama! Please forgive us!" Jinko said franticaly, his head still planted to the floor. The other people in the kitchen gasped loudly and dropped what they were holding, following in Jinko's footsteps and bowing low to the ground. "Please forgive us!" They all said in unison. Naruto was at a loss. All he could do was scratch the back of his head and look over to his uncle for help. Hideo chuckled and said, "All is forgiven everyone. Now, more importantly, is the food ready?" His eyes glazed over and her looked hopefully over to the man with the chef hat, most likely the head chef by the looks of him. "Not all of it is ready Hideo-sama. The ramen is though, so I guess you cou-" the man began but was cut off by a yellow blur running past him. The blur created a gust of wind that suprised everyone, either knocking them back or making them sit from their bowing position.
Everyone's heads turned to see Naruto, chopsticks in hand, eating a bowl of ramen that was prepared to be served. They blinked afew times before Hideo burst into laughter, clutching his sides and rolling on the floor. "Woah this is good! It's way better then grandpa Teuchi's ramen!" Naruto said as he began drinking the broth of his now finished ramen. "Ummm, Naruto-sama, that one was imperfect. It was still not ready yet." The head chef said ashe cheered in his head that Naruto liked it. "Huh? This one's not perfect? How's that possible! This is awesome!" Naruto said, holding out the bowl and grinning. "More please!" he said, his grin growing even wider at the thought of more of this delicious ramen.
Jinko nodded and ran over to him, taking the bowl and filling it with more ramen. He bowed to Naruto and held out the bowl to him respectfully. Naruto took the bowl, thanked the man with a bow, and ate his ramen with a renewed vigour. All the kitchen staff looked at the boy with a mix of respect, horror, and intrigue. "How is that even possible?" a woman asked, completely shocked at the speed he was eating. "Hahaha just like an Uzumaki should be. A true ramen lover!" Hideo said, clapping both his hands together. "Oh crap... we have to feed two Uzumaki now... I don't think we have that much food left in the kitchen!" the head chef thought as he continued to work on the main course. Jinko poured a glass of formal sake for Hideo and a cup of apple juice for Naruto. He placed the cups in front of them and bowed, leaving to help with the cooking.
"Uncle Hideo, why are these people working so hard?" Naruto asked, sipping his apple juice and looking up at his uncle. "They're the servents of the household. The kitchen staff to be more exact." Hideo said, taking a sip from his sake. Naruto's eyes widened and he said, "What? Servents? You mean like slaves!?" Hideo chuckled and shook his head. "No Naruto. These people all volunteered to serve the household. And don't worry, we refuse to let them work for free. They all make a very large sum of money for everything they do." He said, placing his drink down on the counter. Naruto smiled and drank the rest of his apple juice, going over to the sink and washing it out, then placing it in the dishwasher.
The staff looked at Naruto with clear shock in their eyes, while Hideo just smiled proudly at the blonde in front of him. "Naruto-sama, what are you doing? We can take care of everything for you." a woman standing near him said, obvously shocked by the boy's actions. Naruto shook his head vigourusly and said, "Nope. I don't work like that." He smiled at everyone there with one of his trademark grins. Everyone looked at him with a new found respect. "Very noble Naruto. Now, I believe it's time we meet your teachers." Hideo said, placing his hand on Naruto's shoulder. Naruto nodded and waved to the people in the kitchen. "Thanks for the food! See you guys later!" he called as he left the room, leaving a shocked kitchen staff. The head chef clapped his hands and yelled, "Alright! Back to work! It must be more then perfect for the Hideo-sama and Naruto-sama! Let's go magots!"
-X-
Kakashi approached the gates of Uzugakure. Having been traveling for days on end he was ready to collapse, but he had to do this. He approached the gaurd and said, "I am Kakashi Hatake, former ninja of the Hidden Leaf. I wish to speak with Hideo Uzumaki about the war."
A/N
Holy sh$# Kakashi's a traitor!? Who are Naruto's teachers? What will Kakashi do to appeal to the Uzukage, Hideo Uzumaki? So many questions, such little time. Ja!
