Authors note at the bottom this time… Syce! Probably just going to be a short transition chapter into my Second Last Uzumaki Arc, followed by the Rescuing the Jinchuriki Arc.. Could be a long AU… Also, sorry if there is a small, or large, drop in quality this chapter, recent additions to not only the Manga, but releases of character sketches of the new Naruto movie that spoil the shit out of the ending of the Manga have made me fairly un-interested in writing a story based solely in the Naruto-verse, but more on that later!
The sound of steel clashing against steel could be heard coming from the new Uzumaki Clan Compound in the early morning hours as Itachi and Naruto faced off against each other in a friendly (sort of) spar.
"You're getting better Naruto-kun, even with my advanced Sharingan I have issues tracking your movements. A little faster and I won't be able to keep up with you." Itachi said as he and Naruto broke apart from their deadlock. "Speed alone won't be enough to defeat someone with the Rinnegan though, you need to continue training if you wish to defeat Pein. Even if you defeat Pein you still have Tobi to worry about, I was never able to watch him fight but I am certain that his Sharingan is more advanced than mine, especially if he was able to control the Kyuubi before it was sealed into you."
Straightening up from his fighting stance, Naruto glanced towards the older Uchiha before nodding his head.
"Yea… According to the intel you gave, Akatsuki will be looking to capturing me last, that should give me more than enough time to become strong enough to fight Pein and the masked Uchiha." Naruto replied. "Even if they come after me a little earlier, I find it hard to believe that Pein or Tobi will be coming after me in person… not until I eliminate a few of their other members first."
Agreeing with the blond Uzumaki, Itachi also got out of his combat stance as slow clapping was heard from the side of the training ground. Looking towards the sound of the applause both Naruto and Itachi spotted Yugao making her way to the center of the clearing.
"Excellent spar Naruto-kun… even though I know how strong you are it is still surprising seeing someone able to keep up with Itachi… Itachi was my team leader when I first joined ANBU, I was always amazed at how strong he was even though he was still so young." Yugao said with a smile as she looked between the two ex ANBU members. "I suppose I shouldn't be too surprised though… you managed to earn a mask that neither Itachi or Kakashi could earn."
"Thanks Yugao-chan… Hey, isn't Kurenai-sensei supposed to be stopping by later this morning for training sessions?" Naruto asked, receiving a nod from Yugao he adopted a thoughtful look before glancing towards Itachi. "Hey… Itachi?"
"Yes Naruto-kun?" Itachi asked.
"Would you mind helping me train Kurenai-sensei? I'm not good at doing anything other than dispelling Genjutsu… so while I can train her to help her stamina, strength, Taijutsu, Ninjutsu, and possibly Kenjutsu… I wouldn't be able to help her train further in Genjutsu. While she is Konoha's resident Genjutsu expert, I'm sure you of all people would be able to help her become stronger in that area." Naruto asked, earning a thoughtful look from Itachi for a few moments before nodding his head.
"I'll help Naruto-kun… Call it a favor for when I fought her three years ago." Itachi replied, earning a nod from Naruto and Yugao.
"You two should go wash up before Kurenai-chan gets here, you both stink from this mornings training." Yugao said, earning a slight pout from Naruto and a blank look from Itachi. "I'll have breakfast ready for both of you when you are done, don't worry Naruto-kun."
Pouting for a few more moments, Naruto suddenly smiled before using a Shunshin to close the distance between himself and Yugao. Using her momentary shock to his advantage he wrapped his arms around her waist before picking her up in a hug and kissing her on the lips before dropping her back down and disappearing into his house, leaving a blushing Yugao and slightly smirking Itachi behind.
-Few hours later-
After cleaning himself off and eating breakfast with Yugao and Itachi, Naruto spent the next few hours going through some of his father's sealing notes. Already being an accomplished sealer, Naruto knew a lot about the basic and more advanced Namikaze and Uzumaki clan seals, and was starting to think about ways to infuse both of the clan's methods into one single set of seals. Letting out a frustrated sigh Naruto closed the scroll he was reading before feeling a hand land on his shoulder, looking up he saw Yugao looking at the notes he had spread across the table.
"What are you doing Naruto-kun?" Yugao asked, after having met Naruto in ANBU, Yugao took an intrust in learning methods beyond the basic sealing scroll and exploding tag.
"I'm trying to figure out a way to combine my father's clans sealing methods with my mother's. I do not want the Namikaze sealing methods to be lost or forgotten, but I would like to unite the sealing methods as I have the clans… that would make sealing easier to learn for future generations of the clan." Naruto explained, earning a nod from Yugao.
"It looks like you are having troubles with that though… maybe you should try asking Jiraiya-sama to help?" Yugao suggested.
"Yea… that old perv would probably help if I asked, as long as he doesn't try to peak on you like he did last time he helped me train." Naruto said, "I'll worry about that later though… Kurenai-sensei should be here pretty soon and I need to get a few things ready before she does."
"Yea… he should have learned after the last time he tried… but I wouldn't put it past him to do something like that again. From what you told me Tsunade almost killed him for peeking on her and he still tries." She said with a sigh, "but you are right, we can worry about that another time, I'll go show Kurenai-chan in so that she doesn't try to kill Itachi when she sees him."
"Good thinking." Naruto replied, before the two split off to get things ready for Kurenai's training session. "Even though Tsunade announced Itachi's return to the village, she might still be a little on edge around him, just stick around to help her keep her relax. You know her better than I do, so she would probably feel better with you around."
Thinking about Tsunade's announcement of Itachi's return and his status as a clan head brought an amused smile to Naruto's face. It had been less than pretty, the villagers had been in an uproar over the older Uchiha's return, calling for his execution and blaming him for Sasuke's defection, while the Shinobi side was a little less vocal in their opinions, you could tell they were a little weary about having the notorious S ranked criminal back in their ranks. Everyone seemed to settle down after Tsunade explained the seal Naruto had been forced to place on Itachi, but a few were still a little restless. Naruto figured that after Kurenai's defeat at the hands of Itachi three years prior, that there could still be a little bit of tension between the two; especially since he had arranged for Itachi to help train her. Asking Yugao to stay close for the first little bit had him feel confident that Kurenai wouldn't say or do anything stupid.
Finishing up his preparations for Kurenai's morning training, Naruto waited patiently for Yugao to finish showing Kurenai around, before bringing her to the training ground. Perched on top one of the branches above Naruto Itachi also waited, even a genius Uchiha would have to be wary of the unstoppable force known as feminine fury.
"Are you sure asking me to help Kurenai was the smartest thing to do Naruto-kun?" Itachi asked, glancing down at the young blonde.
"Honestly… I'm not sure. This could blow up in my face, but I'm not going to explain why you are back and what transpired all those years ago without your permission. Maybe in a few weeks when everyone is a little more accustomed to your return, we can discuss with a few of the Jounin sensei why everything happened the night of the massacre." Naruto explained, "she is close with Yugao-chan, so she is good in my books even though I may not know her very well yet."
"I see…" Itachi replied, before closing his eyes and resting his head against the trunk of the tree, leaving Naruto to his own thoughts.
A few minutes later Kurenai and Yugao made their way into the training ground, chatting idly about the estate and everything Kurenai had seen so far. Noticing their arrival, Naruto stood and gradually made his way over to them.
"Hello Kurenai-san, I'm happy that you actually considered doing this." Naruto said.
"Yugao-chan has told me a lot about the skills you have picked up over the years, after hearing everything she had to say I have to say I'm honored that you want to help me." Kurenai replied with a small smile.
"Don't mention it, Kurenai-san, any friend of Yugao-chan's is a friend of mine. Today is going to be more of a testing day, I will be testing your strength, stamina, and chakra levels for a third of the day. When we are done, Yugao-chan will take over and start teaching you about Kenjutsu…" Naruto paused, before Itachi appeared behind him, "And due to the fact that neither I, nor Yugao, have much experience in Genjutsu, I have gotten the best Genjutsu user I know to help you out in that department."
"Hello again, Kurenai-san." Itachi said with a slight bow, ignoring the glare Kurenai was aiming at the back of his head. "Think of this as an apology for that fight we had three years ago. As he stated, Naruto has asked me to help you with Genjutsu, I look forward to helping you."
"This is for the best, Kurenai-san. No one else I know has the same expertise in Genjutsu as Itachi does. And keep in mind, if it looks like Itachi means you or anyone else any harm, I can end his life without having to lift a finger." Naruto explained, somewhat calming Kurenai down, although she still looked a little weary around the older Uchiha. Naruto would have to change that, however he would not tell her anything without Itachi's consent.
"I came here for training… if Itachi-san can help improve my Genjutsu… Then I guess I have no choice." Kurenai said with a sigh, earning a smile from both Naruto and Yugao.
"Alright then." Naruto said, before gaining a serious expression, "Welcome to hell Kurenai-san, for the next two weeks you will do nothing aside from eat, sleep, and train. You will be here early in the morning, and will not leave until late at night, you are free to stop the training at any time if you feel you cannot handle it. If you do this however, I will not give you a second chance, neither will Yugao, or Itachi."
He knew it was harsh, but he had to get his point across. The next two weeks would be hell for anyone who was not accustomed to not only an ANBU level training regime, but also Naruto's personal training schedule, and so far only Yugao knew how much Naruto pushed himself.
Looking around, Kurenai noticed that both Itachi and Yugao had the same serious looks that Naruto held, letting her know that they were serious. If she fucked up, they wouldn't extend the invitation a second time.
"Alright… I'm ready."
-9 Hours Later, Private hot Springs of the Uzumaki Estate-
Pain. If one word could describe what Kurenai was feeling right now, that would be it. After her introduction earlier this morning, Naruto had put her through the wringer in a two hour physical workout, followed by a full hour of light sparring on one of the ponds located on his training field. She was then handed off to Yugao, who also put her through a light sparring session, trying to gauge her skills with Kenjutsu; but having never used a sword in actual combat before, her skills were next to none. After that, Yugao had gone into an explanation of the basic of wielding a sword, helping her through the motions, before giving her a few books on the basic styles of Kenjutsu and sending her off to Itachi. Most of her time spent with Itachi had been theory, having him explain the different types of Genjutsu he knew and the amount of Chakra required to cast each one.
"So, how was your first day?"
Kurenai was lost so deep in her thoughts that she hadn't even realised Yugao had made her way into the hot spring and was currently sitting beside her.
"It was good…"Kurenai started, "You and Naruto sure put me through the wringer this morning… I don't think I've ever had a workout that strenuous before in my life."
"I remember the first time Naruto ever helped me in stamina and strength training. At that time though, I was more advanced than you are, and the training he made me do was way worse." Yugao replied, laughing slightly at the look of horror that crossed her friends face. "Don't worry though, Naruto-kun is going to be taking your training at a slower pace, he will decide when you are ready for the next stage."
"What if I'm not ready by the time the two weeks is up?" Kurenai asked.
"If you last two weeks, Naruto-kun will probably ask you to keep training. Two weeks is not enough time for even him to pass on a lot of his knowledge. You are free to turn it down if you want, but the option for further training will remain, as long as you last this first two weeks." Yugao replied, earning a slight nod from her friend.
"Err… Yugao-chan." Kurenai stated
"What is it Kurenai-chan?"
"D-do you trust Itachi? I mean… he killed his whole clan aside from Sasuke… how could Tsunade-sama allow someone like that back into the village." Kurenai asked.
"There are… things… about that night that you don't know. Itachi came back on his own free will, and swore his loyalty to not only Naruto but Konoha as well. Please do not ask for more information, as it is not my place to tell… Give it time Kurenai, and you will eventually trust Itachi the same way Naruto-kun and I do." Yugao said.
"Alright."
"Kurenai." Yugao said, this time earning the ruby eyed beauty's attention. "Have you thought about what we talked about on our last mission?"
Gaining a slight red tinge to her cheeks, Kurenai nodded slightly.
"Not much… But I have given it thought."
"Good… I would advise using these next two weeks to get to know Naruto-kun better. This may be one of the best chances you will have to get to know him." Yugao said, before getting out of the water, leaving Kurenai to her own thoughts.
-With Naruto-
After leaving Kurenai with Yugao earlier in the afternoon, the young Uzumaki Clan Head had gone out in search of Jiraiya to see if the old Seal Master had any advice for Naruto's current dilemma of combining his parents sealing methods. Unfortunately for Naruto, Jiraiya had been a dead end, telling Naruto that after Minato had become Hokage, he too had tried to combine the two clans methods, but nothing ever came from it. Jiraiya had said that the Uzumaki clans seals had been based more primarily in the art of sealing things, like Biju, into other objects, whereas the Namikaze seals were primarily defensive seals, like the ones placed around the estate. He suggested just the seals that had already been created by both clans alone, and instead of focusing on seals that had already been created, to just take ideas and methods from each clan and try to create his own. To Jiraiya's knowledge, Naruto was the only person to have been born with both Uzumaki and Namikaze DNA, so why not just start his own method of sealing while taking ideas from both old ones.
Naruto had agreed with the old perverts reasoning at first, but still said he was going to try and find a way to merge the old seals together. After that, Naruto and Jiraiya sparred a bit before agreeing to meet up again later and discuss information on the Akatsuki.
And it currently… was later, so we find both the Ex-Anbu and Toad Sannin sitting in the back corner of one of the many Shinobi bars located around Konoha, as well as Itachi, who had come along at Jiraiya's request.
"So… Konan and Nagato are both part of the Akatsuki huh?" Jiraiya mused as he poured himself a cup of sake.
"It would look like it… although is Konan takes my advice she may not be a part of the Akatsuki for much longer. I want you to promise me something Jiraiya-sensei, do not go looking for Nagato in Ame, not without backup, and not without more intel on the Rinnegan." Naruto said, surprising the Sannin at his use of "Sensei", showing him that he was serious.
"I would have to agree with Naruto-kun, Jiraiya-sama." Itachi cut in, "perhaps talking to the toad sage's of Mount Myoboku will help. If not, than we could hope that Konan does take Naruto's advice, and seeks us out. All I know is that there are six different Peins, known as the Six Paths of Pein, and Nagato controls them from somewhere in Ame. I can assume that each path has a different power, what those are however, I do not know."
"I see… Alright brat, I promise I won't go looking for answers by myself." Jiraiya said, "what else can you tell me about the organization Itachi?"
From that point, Naruto blocked bits and pieces of the conversation out. Having already heard all of it during the de-briefing with Tsunade he knew what Itachi had to say.
"I see… With you out of the Akatsuki Kisame will be working by himself?" Jiraiya asked.
"Most likely… there only other option that I could see happening would be him working with Konan. She is usually with Pein, but he doesn't go out in search of Jinchuriki like the rest. Kisame is powerful enough to take most Jinchuriki by himself, especially since his sword Samehada eats chakra. But since Kisame and I worked together for a long time, I wouldn't put it past Pein or even Tobi to think Kisame knew of my true intentions, and would pair him with Konan to keep a close eye on him." Itachi replied, earning a nod from Jiraiya.
"From the sounds of it… Kisame, and the two you called "The Zombie Brothers" are the main pawns that we need to watch out for. Sasori and Diedara don't seem to be as much of a threat, and while Hidan doesn't seem to be a very strong fighter, the fact that he cannot die makes him a problem. Information from around my spy network, Kakuzu is known to have fought the First Hokage, leaving me to believe he is around one-hundred years old. He has the ability to steal a person's heart, and use it as his own, which would explain how he has managed to survive for this long. It is also believed that he has control over all the elements, which could be connected to the fact that he is able to steal someone else's heart." Jiraiya said, earning a nod from Itachi.
"That is what I've heard from others within the Akatsuki as well, Kakuzu is the only one in the Akatsuki to have been recruited by Pein personally. At first Kakuzu declined, and tried to fight Pein, but Pein defeated him easily, making him change his mind about joining. I'm not too sure of Hidan's abilities, I know he uses a large, three bladed scythe, and "Sacrifices" his enemies to his lord Jashin, but he was recruited by Orochimaru and Kakuzu. Deidara is a long range fighter, who relies on explosive clay he molds within his mouth, I was the one to recruit him and he should be one of the easiest members to defeat." Itachi replied.
"I see… a lot of this is new to me. I will make sure to let my spy network know to keep an eye out for any other Akatsuki movement. They should be done preparing to capture the Jinchuriki now." Jiraiya said, before bidding the two goodnight, and leaving to do his own thing.
-Two Weeks Later-
The last two weeks had gone by very slowly for one Genjutsu specialist named Kurenai, after the first few days she thought she had gotten used to the early hours, Naruto's insane physical training, the slight cuts and bruises left by Yugao, and the mental exhaustion at the end of her sessions with Itachi… but she had been wrong. Naruto had upped both the physical training, as well as chakra exercises, Yugao had started to drill teach her more advanced katas with a wide variety of different swords, from Ninjato to Katanas, and Itachi had started to teach her the Genjutsu, instead of just going over the theory for them. She couldn't complain though, her physical prowess had grown in leaps and bounds, and her chakra capacity had grown fairly well at the same time. She had the opportunity to learn about many different kinds of weapons, and figure out which one she felt most comfortable using, and it turned out that she was most comfortable while using a Katana. Itachi had also been able to teach her three new Genjutsu, and had promised to teach her more if she wanted more training.
Her opinion of Itachi had changed a fair amount over the past two weeks, after working closely with him, and seeing how he interacted with not only Naruto and Yugao, but with Kakashi who had stopped in randomly a few times, she had decided to give him the benefit of the doubt. That had not gone unnoticed by any of her three training partners, and they had agreed to talk to her about Itachi soon.
She also took Yugao's advice, and had spent whatever free time she could talking and getting to know Naruto better. Her heart fluttered slightly as she remembered how Naruto had pretty much forced her to allow him to take her shopping for a weapon after learning what she had taken a liking to. At first she had insisted on getting a cheap sword, but Naruto had told her to put it back, and told her that buying cheap combat gear would only get her killed. He took her to the shop where he had purchased his swords during his time in Anbu, and had her look around. She had eventually chosen a katana with a 17 inch blade, it has a beautiful white and blue handle with a silver start shaped guard, and a white sheath that had a blue dragon wrapped around it. After glancing at the price tag she had put it back, hoping Naruto hadn't seen her take a look at it… unfortunately for her he had, and had then insisted that he buy it for her. Although he had somewhat forced her, she had still never had any man buy her something so exquisite, let alone take her shopping.
She was currently on the last stretch of road leading to the Uzumaki estate when she saw a few Anbu enter Naruto's estate, then shortly after Naruto, Yugao, and Itachi all came out and started heading towards the Hokage tower.
"Naruto-kun!" She yelled, missing the honorific she had added to the end of his name.
Turning at the sound of his name, and filing the use of the honorific away for later reference, Naruto spotted Kurenai jogging towards them.
"Yes Kurenai-san?" Naruto asked.
"Where are you three going? Today is supposed to be my last training day isn't it?" Kurenai asked as she stopped in front of the trio.
"It was yes, but something important has come up and Tsunade has asked for my assistance. Your two week training session if complete Kurenai, I am impressed that you managed to complete it, and am proud of the amount that you have grown." Naruto said, earning a slight blush from the red eyed beauty.
"T-thank you." Kurenai said. "What now though?"
"What do you mean?" Naruto asked.
"There is so much more for me to improve on… Itachi has already agreed to helping me train more in Genjutsu, but what about you and Yugao? Will you still train me if you have the time?" Kurenai asked, making Naruto glance at Itachi quickly before shrugging his shoulders.
"You survived the two week training period that I set up for you. The training from this point will be harder. If you want to train you are free to come and go as you please, I have already made it so that you can enter my estate whenever you choose. We have made training scrolls for you and set them up in my library for you to take a look at whenever you please, I can oversee your training personally whenever I am not away on a mission, and I'm sure Yugao-chan would be happy to keep training you as well." Naruto said, earning a smile and a nod from Yugao as well.
"Thank you." Kurenai said with a slight bow, earning a sheepish grin from Naruto.
"Don't mention it, any friend of Yugao-chan is a friend of mine." He replied.
"We should go, Naruto-kun." Yugao said, earning the blondes attention. "From what the Anbu told us this mission is fairly important."
"Right." Naruto said, before turning back to Kurenai one last time. "Please come to my estate when we return from this mission, there is a lot that Itachi wants to talk to you about."
Nodding her head, Kurenai glanced at Itachi questioningly, but before she could ask, the trio disappeared, leaving Kurenai alone in the street. Sighing to herself, she figured she would go look for her old team and see what they had been up to over the past two weeks.
-In Tsunade's Office-
"You called for us Tsunade-sama?" Naruto said as he entered the room, followed by Itachi and Yugao.
"Yes I did, tell me… did you know that there is a surviving Uzumaki clan member?" Tsunade asked, watching as Naruto's eyes grew wide. "I'll take that as a no… Jiraiya's spy network has learned that you are not the last Uzumaki… there is one left… currently working for my old teammate Orochimaru."
And that's a wrap, sorry about the LONG LONG wait, and the few times I lied about getting this chapter up. It took me a long time to actually get back into writing this chapter. Now at the start I said there is shit being spoiled in the story, so for anyone who doesn't want spoilers skip to the next line. I've actually got to work in about 9 minutes so be happy I'm taking the time to write this. Also, I'm contemplating going back and changing Naruto's mask, while I do think the reaper one is badass, a lot of people arnt liking the fact that it's not animal based, so how about a Chimera? Goat on the left, lion on the right, and snake scales right down the middle.. I think that would be pretty cool, not as cool as the reaper one but yea, let me know!
Soooo… last Authors note I talked about my displeasure at how things have been being released in both the Manga and new Naruto movie information… while I'm back to say they fucked up again, and ruined it… yet again. How you may ask? By revealing a god damn older SASUKE! Like what the fuck! Why can't Naruto just kill him and be done with it, its bullshit. And it also spoils the end of the Manga because now we know Naruto doesn't kill him, but probably talks him down like he did to Pein. So now I've only got the possibility of a Naru/Hina ending to look forward to, and not the death of the stupid emo Douchebag who wants to start a "Emo Revolution" in the Elemental Nations… like honestly, the way they are releasing information is just killing the Manga…
And yea, skip that past shit. Onto some good stuff. My new favorite anime "The Irregular At Magic High" has come to a point that I've been waiting to happen for soooo long… the revelation that Shiba is actually a part of the military… and we see at the end of the newest episode his sister releasing his limiter, and his power flows out of him like crazy, its epic as fuck :D can't wait for tomorrow's new episode, although I wont be able to watch it till after my 30( atleast, according to my supervisor) hour work shift :/.
Onto other news, I've got a Naruto/Dark Souls crossover up, so you should all check that out. You don't have to be a fan of dark souls, but it would help, even though I'll try and explain the plotline of the game as best I can during the duration of the story. The new Naruto game also just came out, and its pretty fun, I'm doing a playthrough of it on my YouTube channel, so if that pleases any of you, feel free to check it out, just youtube "ConsoleCraft" or use the link in my profile. I also play a lot of other games, and try to cater to any type of gamer out there, and would appreciate any support you all may give me not only on Fanfiction but YouTube as well. I've got to get going though, need to pick up supper before heading to work, so I hope you all enjoyed the chapter and please review!
