Summary: Uzumaki Naruto took after his mother in most things, including personality. However, after being continuously ignored and berated he eventually gains more of his father's traits, and awakens his mother's Yin Chakra type. Shrewd, determined, and quite he watches the world around him and tries to determine the most advantages he can find for himself. All the while trying to fix his terrible chakra control, conceal his excitable need to shout, handle his sudden violent tendencies, calm down his unconscious obsession with ramen, control the odd glowing chains that try to protect him, understand his sentimentality to the color orange, and figure out his attraction to the color red...oh yeah, and the giant angsting furball he sees when he sleeps.

Mira: Alright! This chapter is mostly here to begin Naruto's descent into the secrets of Kohona, more specifically the Darkness. WARNING! There will be an OC. Don't worry, this OC will not be fighting, or showing superpowers, be a secret key to the plot or even saving the world, or even changing the timeline much at all. This OC will most likely die either during Orochimaru's invasion and if not then definitely by one of the Filler Invasions and if not when Pein attacks. This OC is here to not only help Naruto understand the lies and secrets of Kohona but be willing to tell him how fucked up the world is. This character will be helping him create the shrewd and calculating person that the Wars made character is bitter of the world and honestly won't mind to let it all burn around them. I mostly created this character to also answer a few unexplained or unasked questions about events that happened that weren't explored in the series.

This chapter takes place directly before and during Shisui's death, so before the previous chapter and if wanted can be skipped.

Chapter 9, Hunting Moriko. Everyone is mad here.

Seiko Moriko was someone Naruto couldn't quite figure out. She was the student of Iyashi and treated him...completely normal. She didn't glare like the civilians, she didn't look at him with eyes of pity like Shinobi, she didn't treat him with kindness like Inochi, Shikaku, Itachi, Shisui, Izumi, or Kakashi. Truthfully she was completely indifferent like her teacher, she didn't react to him in any other way than that of a doctor to a patient. She was polite, she was considerate, she was completely unbiased and yet...she absolutely did not care at all. It was something, Naruto found, that he craved in the rapidly changing life he had.

Sure he loved Kashi, and Sasuke, and Hinata, and all the others that had come into his life... people that cared about him. However, he had come to realize the expectations of wanting someone to be happy, of wanting to be better for them... Sometimes he just needed someone to look him in the eye and give him their opinion or advice and not actually care if they followed through or what happened next. Moriko and Iyashi became those people in his life. He knew he could trust them because they were not invested in his life, only in his survival like they were for all people of Kohona.

As such he had an odd friendship with her. Moriko wasn't a Shinobi, but she had obviously been trained and had probably even gone to the Academy when she was younger. Not only that but she always seemed to know what everyone was doing and where they were.

She had snow white hair that was always pulled back tightly into a bun at the back of her head and pale skin just slightly darker than her hair. Her eyes were a pupil-less red-purple that reminded Naruto of a bruise. She was tall and held herself stoically and with a careless grace, one that honestly reminded him of Kashi and Itachi at times. It was one of the things that told him she had once trained as a Ninja, she moved the same way he had seen Kakashi and Itachi when they were together. As if they were completely sure of themselves and their surroundings.

However, just as Naruto was thankful she didn't treat him differently, he had come to realize that Moriko was the one others treated differently. It hadn't taken long to notice the whispers in the hospital, the looks she gained when she was in the hallways or entrance. There was a combination of looks she received, pity or sympathy was normal but there was also regret, annoyance, or at times even disgust. Naruto didn't understand...Moriko treated everyone the same. She wasn't mean and she wasn't kind...she just was... So why did it seem so many people were angry with her...disgusted by her actions? At first, he had thought it was because of him, but she gained those looks no matter what. What could she have done that was so bad?

He had mentioned it to Kakashi once and gained an odd expression. It was obviously Kakashi was aware of why she would be getting weird looks, but he also didn't seem to understand why people were angry with her either. Kakashi had waved it off saying it wasn't his story to tell, he said he didn't understand why she gained such negative attention but that he was aware she was different. It hadn't made much sense to Naruto and it still didn't, much like when Naruto asked about why the Civilians hated him. Kakashi was good at deflecting and distracting him and honestly, it just made him more curious.

Izumi had smiled at him in confusion and said that Moriko was a great Medic and it was sad that she wasn't a Ninja. Shisui had given him a confused look before glancing away in a hurry after he realized who he was asking about. Itachi merely gained a thoughtful expression and explained that he more than anyone should know that not everyone was accepted and some had problems with others. While he didn't react like Shisui he obviously knew something...

Inochi had patted him on the head with a bag of seeds and a few sweets, while Shikaku had groaned that it was tiring and he shouldn't worry about it. Sasuke had tilted his head with a frown when he realized that another person was being treated unfairly in the village, while Hinata had said that Moriko knew a lot about healing and even offered new herbs for the healing ointment that Hinata was working on.

No one knew anything, and if they did they refused to say anything. Iyashi had looked at him with such a scornful expression when he had asked that he knew better than to try again. The Hokage... well the Hokage had gained a sorrowful expression and sighed sadly looking out to the Hokage Mountain. Naruto knew that when he did that it was best to leave, Kakashi said he was lost in his memories. He had even spoken to his mother about it, but she had been just as confused although there was something familiar about the girl... He wondered if it was because it was merely a fraction of his mother's soul and didn't hold all of her memories, or perhaps she had forgotten things she had thought were unimportant since they didn't concern him?

Either way...it became a puzzle for him. One that he wanted to figure out and was kind of like a mission. Which is exactly how he treated it. Hinata and Sasuke, of course, were his teammates and helped him investigate. Shisui hadn't been too happy with them saying they didn't want to draw bad attention. Kakashi had seemed resigned and thoughtful all the same and had taken to speaking with a member of ANBU a lot. Itachi surprisingly encouraged him, much to Shisui's annoyance, but also suggested just asking Moriko. As it would reveal things without trouble.

Despite everything, it became a fun game for the three to play in between training and the Academy.

But sometimes...when you go looking for secrets you find darkness instead...


"Orange here, target spotted leaving the Hospital."

"Lilac here...I'm in the marketplace...Izumi is already here..."

"Grey here, Black and Blue have not been seen. I think they are on a mission."

"Alright. I'll track the target and join with Lilac at the marketplace."

"Right, I'll keep an eye on possible interference. If it stays clear I'll join you at the meeting point."

Moriko's eye twitched as she sighed lowly. She would never admit that the brats were getting better, but they still spoke far too loudly on the ear comms they had stolen. Not only that but they had also not realized that they were on an open channel. It would seem that they hadn't found out how to use the private systems yet...

Regardless she continued to ignore her stalker as she headed toward the Tea House she met Izumi at when she was off missions. It wasn't very often she had the free time to hang out with anyone and she would take what she could get. Being trapped in a Hospital all the time can break a persons spirit...if not their sanity...

"Moriko!" Izumi said with a wave from her seat in the Tea House. A confused expression crossed her face before she chuckled lightly. "I see your being followed again." She said in amusement.

Moriko sighed in annoyance as she took her seat. "So it would seem..." She muttered in annoyance. "Peppermint..." She called out to the Hostess that had been heading towards the table.

"Aww..." Izumi pouted at Moriko's bored expression. "I think it's cute. You have such a devoted fan club..." She teased with a laugh.

Moriko looked at her with an empty expression, before looking past her down the street. "Hello, Itachi-San." She greeted calmly.

Izumi's eyes widened as her smile softened and she turned to greet the boy. "I thought you couldn't make it!" She called out happily, standing to hug the boy. However, Izumi froze in place seeing no one was there. Half standing she continued to stare in confusion at the empty space, before realizing she had gained the attention of the Tea House with her actions. Blushing horribly she dropped back into her seat glaring harshly at Moriko in mortification. "How could you?" She demanded, with tears in her eyes.

Moriko merely sipped on her tea as she continued to watch the people pass by. "Oh...I'm sorry. I must have been mistaken..."

Izumi dropped her head in defeat at the uncaring reaction of her friend. "You're so cruel..." She muttered. "No wonder you and Shisui don't get along anymore..." She muttered with a huff.

Moriko's fingers twitched at the girl's words as her gaze became sharper on the people around them. "No...I suppose we don't..." She stated quietly.


Naruto growled as he leaned back in the tree he was in. "That was so annoying! We didn't learn anything at all. All they did was talk about Izumi's mission's." He sighed in annoyance reaching up to rub at his hair.

"Ca-calm down Naruto-Kun... I'm sure we'll...we'll find something..." Hinata soothed calmly from below the tree with Sasuke. "I...I don't think they would talk about anything important in public anyway..." She muttered pressing her fingers together in worry. She still wasn't used to having friends, let alone people that seemed to believe she wasn't a waste of space. She couldn't help but be worried that she would ruin things.

"We did learn something." Sasuke suddenly said as a smirk came to his face. Naruto and Hinata turned to look at Sasuke in confusion. "Didn't you hear? Moriko and Shisui used to get along..."

Naruto blinked as realization sparked through his mind. "That means they knew each other. I knew he was lying..." He said with a scowl on his face from being lied to.

Hinata frowned lightly as she looked between the boys. "S-should we ask him again?" She asked hesitantly.

Sasuke huffed and crossed his arms. "He's on a mission, I think Itachi went with him or something...we'll just have to wait until they get back to ask..." He said in an annoyed tone.

Naruto sighed and dropped out of the tree. "Well, I guess there is nothing we can do about it tonight..." He said with a shrug as he looked to his friends with a small smile. "I guess we head home..."

Hinata looked up seeing that the sun would be setting soon and nodded. "I have to get back...or I'll be scolded..." She spoke sadly, gaining protective looks from the boys with her.

"We don't want that..." Sasuke said with an angry tone to his voice. Hinata didn't speak much about her family, but it was obvious something was wrong.

Naruto nodded sharply with a serious expression on his face. "We'll meet up tomorrow then." He said holding out his hand to the other two. Hinata looked at it shyly before placing hers over his, while Sasuke copied her with a smile. "Kohona's Detective's out!" They cheered lightly, laughter in their voice as they finished their little chant.


Moriko stood frozen in her kitchen as she stared at the bloody hand Itachi held out towards her. "Itachi..." She stared blankly, although a spark of panic was felt in her chakra.

"Moriko...he..." Itachi cast a pained expression to the eye held within his grasp. "I don't know...I don't know what to do...he gave it to me and... Shisui he..."

Moriko stared at the panicking ANBU member, she watched as he paused to gasp for breath seeming to choke on his words. It was a part that the Uchiha didn't let many see. The pacifist who hated violence and was broken by the things he had done. She supposed she felt honoured to see this side of him...if she cared enough, or if she didn't already know she was most likely his only choice for help. After all, if it wasn't for Shisui...

Stepping forward she was slow to approach him. Her hand making a very slow trek until it covered his own, hiding the sight from him if only for a moment. "Shisui..." She spoke hesitantly, taking a breath of her own before her voice would crack. "I see..." Moriko closed her eyes for a moment, before looking at him with a serious expression. "What do you need to know?" She questioned.

Itachi had never been good at Medical Ninjutsu and probably had no idea what to do with a Sharingan eye, other than transplanting it somehow. And it wouldn't be a good idea to leave the prodigy alone, it was obvious that he was finally cracking.


Sasuke panted as he ran as fast as he could. His mind was filled with fear and anger, and he wasn't sure which was stronger or rather who it was stronger towards. 'Shisui...Shisui is!' Sasuke clenched his eyes at the mere thought of what had happened. What his Clan had accused his brother of! This was wrong...this was all wrong!

"Sasuke!"

Sasuke opened his eyes seeing Naruto and Hinata waiting for him with smiles on their faces. Smiles that were quick to fade when they saw the panic and tears that covered his face. When Sasuke finally reached his friends he didn't even stop himself from latching onto Naruto at full speed.

"Sasuke, what's wrong?" Naruto questioned sternly as he wrapped his friend in a tight hug, Hinata hovering beside them shifting in place as worry consumed her. "Sasuke..." She spoke quietly, not wanting to anger him.

Taking a few gasping breaths and calming down Sasuke looked up at his two friends. "Shisui...Shisui's dead!" He exclaimed in horrified shock, realizing it was the first time he had spoken the words aloud and recoiling from them.

"What?" Hinata gasped, paling rapidly at the words. She had liked Shisui, he had been kind to her...he had taken her under his wing... He had tried to help her feel good about herself, telling her she had an importance in this life even if it didn't feel like it. He had been...like she dreamed an older brother had been and he was...was...

Naruto's eyes narrowed as he grasped Sasuke's shoulders tightly. The Uchiha boy had frozen once he spoke, eyes wide and skin pale in shock it seemed. "Sasuke..." Naruto spoke calmly, sternly. "Tell us what happened." He declared giving his friend a slight shake. Sasuke took in a shuddering breath, as Naruto seemed to shock something back into action.

Hinata and Naruto were silent as Sasuke spoke. As he explained what had happened at the Compound where he had been visiting with his mother. Of how Itachi was accused of killing Shisui. Of Shisui committing suicide. Of Itachi's words and then his eyes...they changed and it had been terrifying because they...they had been so empty and full of loathing even as they stared at Sasuke.

When the story was done the group was silent. Hinata's hand over her mouth to keep her cries silent. She had lost the only person she had started to think of as family since Neji and Hanabi seemed to start hating her... The only one that had seen how little she thought of herself, how much she questioned...wondered if she even mattered. And...he was gone... Clenching her eyes shut, she clenched her hand tighter as tears fell down her face.

Sasuke had sniffled and wiped his face, moving towards Hinata and placing a hand on her shoulder. Shisui had been like another more annoying brother at times, but he had been family and he cared for him. He knew how Hinata felt, but he and Shisui had only been getting close since Naruto and he became friends.

Naruto remained silent as he stared at the ground thoughtfully. His mind was going over the facts, what Sasuke had told him. Naruto knew he probably had a...skewed version of reality. Death wasn't anything new to him...not since those nightmares of death and destruction had started, not since a mob of Kohona civilians and Ninja had tried to kill him. Death was life and Life was death... But, suicide... that didn't seem like Shisui, and... "Moriko wasn't at the hospital today..." He suddenly spoke quietly.


Moriko couldn't say she was surprised when three chakra signatures appeared at her door. She had been expecting them since Itachi had finally left after she had forcefully gotten a promise of rest from him. That boy...then again, it wasn't any worse than the rest of this nonsense, was it? This world of constant bloodshed and innocence lost? Where wars were started over something stupid like blood and people could attack and blame a child for something they were unaware they were involved in. This world...to her it was like a cancer...one that she hoped a cure could be found for but was logical enough to accept the end result that it would only become worse.

And now there were children stalking her...

She closed her eyes taking a deep breath as the knock finally came. Her hands were still harshly clasped around a tea mug, her thumb running over the edge as she had been staring into the reddish-brown liquid for...apparently hours...

When the knock came again, she finally allowed herself to curse and grasp her hair harshly in her hands before standing and moving her way towards the door and opening it.

Naruto, Sasuke, and Hinata stared at the person in front of them with wide eyes. The purple had red-purple eyes the colour of bruises and pure white hair. However, this person's hair was loose and a spiky crazy mess that trailed down their back in bunches until it reached somewhere below their back. The girl wore a blue kimono top, lined in a lighter blue with a matching sash, and loose shinobi pants. Instead of the bored expression, they had been expecting was a blank one with sharp narrowed eyes.

Said eyes narrowed even more as a sharp jerk motioned them inside. "Let's get this over with..." Moriko spoke harshly as she stared down at the children before her. She didn't owe them any answers, but she couldn't afford to deal with their stalking now...not now... And if that meant she answered a few of their ridiculous questions then she could handle that. What she couldn't handle was being followed by a bunch of naive wannabe killers...

Moriko was polite though and made sure to offer the children green tea and some snacks, as she sat down with them at her coffee table in the living room. She stared blankly at the Uzumaki while he winced sticking his tongue out at the tea, as the Hyuuga girl held her own cup to keep from shaking, and as the Uchiha stared moodily back at her. "Maybe this time you might want to ask me what you want to know. I do not have the patience for childish nonsense tonight." She stated stoically as she picked up her own tea, watching the Hyuuga flinch, the Uzumaki wince, and the Uchiha's eyes narrow more.

"How did you know Shisui!" Sasuke started with demanding the teen.

"I take it you know he has died?" She questioned before taking a drink, their reactions were telling enough that she didn't wait for their slow response. "Shisui was my teammate." She said blankly.

Sasuke blinked in confusion. "You're not a member of the Police Force..." He muttered in confusion gaining a long drawn out sigh from the teenager.

"I am not a member of his team. I was his teammate, when he was a Genin, although it wasn't very long for either of us." She explained slowly towards the children.

"You...you were friends...with Shisui?" Hinata asked hesitantly.

Moriko paused seeming to stare ahead thoughtfully. "I suppose you can say I was friends with him...whatever that amounts to..." She said finishing with a snort.

"What do you mean? Were you not friends? And why aren't you still teammates?" Naruto asked with a frown on his face.

Moriko glanced off to the side as she thought for a moment. "I'm sure you know I have...mixed reactions from the village...it's why you started following me after all." She said looking at them with a quickly annoyed expression that became blank. Hinata seemed to curl in on herself, as Sasuke coughed in embarrassment while Naruto continued to stare at her blankly. "Shisui and I...are not something I want to discuss..." She spoke haltingly. "Not yet, however...if you will leave that for another time, I will tell you why I am treated so nonsensically." She stated, offering to give them the answer to their original question.

Naruto, Hinata, and Sasuke all looked at one another seeming to have a conversation with their eyes. Finally, they all nodded, turning back to Moriko. "Why do people look at you weirdly?" Naruto asked.

Moriko took a breath sitting her tea aside and leaning onto her elbows on the table. "In truth, it's because I am an experiment." She said bluntly gaining confused expression from the children in front of her causing her to sigh deeply.

"Years ago there was a race to recreate the greatest bloodline in this village. The bloodline of the Shodai Hokage, Senju Hashirama. The Mokuton. During these trials...people were injected with cells of Hashirama in the hopes that they would be able to awaken it... However, this led to almost instant deaths in all subjects..." She said blankly.

Hinata's expression was horrified, while Sasuke's was angrily thoughtful, and Naruto seemed to be studying every word she said. It was moments like the that reminded her the difference between children that trained to be Ninja and civilian children. Civilian kids wouldn't even understand what she was talking about, let alone understand the horror...

Ninja children however matured mentally faster than their civilian counterparts. They were able to kill, spy, track, hunt, and fight at young ages some even being toddlers when they did so. More so that the Hyuuga and Uchiha had some idea of bloodline theft by now, and how horribly wrong it could go if the new body didn't accept it. She always wondered if it was a consequence of children actively using and moulding chakra so early.

"Don't worry, It was shut down pretty quickly for something that was sooo vital to the Village..." Moriko snapped, bitterness seeping into her voice. "However, some...complete moron had the stupid idea to start experimenting on children, as they could handle more and were more durable." She suddenly spoke losing her normal bored monotone for an annoyed snap in her words. "Needless to say that too was a complete failure. Except for ...well as I said I am an experiment...as a failure and a success..." She finished with a snort, as she suddenly glared down into her tea.

"How are you both?" Naruto asked after a moment of silence. Moriko seemed to scowl down into her tea before a bitter laugh escaped her. The three children couldn't help but shudder at the sound, noise created from self-hatred and loathing, as well a self-pity.

"My...brilliant...intelligent..." Here Moriko choked before spitting out the next word. "Mother was an assistant to the moron that experimented on children and had the...ingenious idea of injecting a child while still in the womb... Hoping that the foreign DNA would take while the child was still forming. This...smart woman decided to use herself as the incubator...and carried the child herself to inject..." Moriko spoke harshly an age-old hurt in her tone.

Suddenly Moriko burst out laughing, a low-toned cackle that echoed around the room, frightening Hinata and shocking Naruto and Sasuke. They watched as Moriko laughed at the ceiling, leaning back in her seat before slowly falling forward to rest on the table as it slowly died down. They watched as she lifted her head to rub at tears that had gathered in her eyes.

"The Genius that was my mother...was too stupid to check the DNA she injected herself with. And instead of using Senju Hashirama's DNA she had chosen Senju Tobirama's DNA instead, the Nidaime Hokage." She finished with another cackle. "So while she was successful in her attempt of manipulating a person's DNA before they were born...she used the wrong strand and couldn't give the village the precious bloodline they wanted." She finished with an amused expression on her face.

"And then, she died in childbirth, taking all her research along with her since she hadn't wanted anyone to steal her idea..." A twisted grin crossed Moriko's face as she stared down at her reflection in her tea. Slowly it faded away, once again showinga bored reflection with blank eyes.

"Since it was a secret in a Hidden Village...naturally everyone knew. The only thing they didn't know was her process and how she succeeded. It took another few years before everything was finally shut down, and it was forbidden to try any longer." Moriko stated with a shrug. "Needless to say, having the DNA of the Nidaime Hokage, wasn't what people wanted...but they would accept it either way. After all Senju Tobirama was only out beaten by his brother...or so they say, and was a Legend himself. Having one of them was better than nothing, and I more or less was, in turn, thought of as his second coming. His reincarnation. So...I was entered into the Academy and trained from the time I could move...only to drop out of the Ninja career and decide to become a Medic, refusing to fight a single battle since." Moriko finished looking up to the children before her.

"That is what I am... I am a recreation of Senju Tobirama's DNA. I carry the Senju blood in my veins. I show care to the village and want to protect others by saving anyone and everyone I can by being a Medic, no matter who or even what they are. However, I am also a disgrace for running from the battlefield. I am a coward for refusing to fight, to kill. I bring shame to the Senju Clan for being such a disappointment. I took their hope of having the Senju Clan return to the frontlines and become a Legend once again, and I smashed it to pieces and laughed in their faces. And lastly..." Moriko leaned forward allowing a small true smile to cross her face as she stared at the shocked children before her.

"I refused to call myself a Senju and denounced the name, choosing Seiko myself. Further mocking them by naming myself Moriko after the bloodline my mother lost by making such a stupid mistake. That...is the truth of Seiko Moriko."