Chapter 10
That evening the entire Uzumaki clan was together for the first time in over a decade. Akiba's presence was missed, but Zare made Minatsu understand their daughter's need for space. She had lived her entire life up till now without her father and now that he was suddenly in her life, she need time to come to terms with it.
There was much merry making after dinner was over and a prepared plate of food was left behind in case the missing Uzumaki got hungry sometime in the night. As the evening drew to a close, Obito and Sasuke got to leave saying they were going to find a hotel to stay in. That was until Zare and Naruto grabbed onto their respective best friends and dragged them out of the large kitchen/dining room with the rest of the family following them while Kushina said that there was no way in hell they were going to let them do that.
When they reached the door to the room Naruto was going to be staying in, Naruto slid the door open and tossed a rather surprised Sasuke in before turning to his mother and beckoning her close. As Kushina knelt in front of the boy, Naruto wrapped his arms around her in a hug and kissed her on the cheek and bid her 'Good Night' before disappearing into his room, closing the door roughly.
Kushina sniffed and wiped away a single tear before turning to Zare and said, "You have raised him well" causing Zare to smile, "He even helped me do the dished after we cleared up" the smile died immediately.
"I have never been able to get him to do the dishes, let alone any chores back in Konoha" Zare said as they began moving.
"Maybe he's making up for lost time. I think it would be a good idea to let him shadow you for a few days. Do some good and proper mother-son bonding" Obito said.
"I think that's a good idea" Kushina said with a smile.
"Good. Now that's sorted, will you please put me down, I am capable of walking you know" Obito said to Zare.
"NO" Zare said as he stopped in front of the door to the room next to Naruto's and Sasuke and tossed the man in, "If it weren't for amazing best friends like us willing to beat proper sense into you, you Uchihas would have sticks shoved so far up you asses, you'd be coughing up apples. Now get changed, shut up and go to sleep. From this day forward you are the official guests of the Uzumaki Clan; I'll come join you in a moment"
"Oh hell no!" Minatsu said as she stepped forward, "I see my husband for the first time in almost thirteen years and I'm not letting him slip out of my grasp that easily. You, mister, are coming with me" before grabbing onto the man's collar and dragging him to her, correction, their room while Zare waved at the rest of them with a humorous smile on his face.
Obito stuck his head out of the room and simply called out, "Don't wear him out too much. Out of the four of us, he's the most worn out"
Minatsu stopped and looked over her shoulder and said, "I'm not an animal you know. I do plan to give him time to rest" before a very naughty and very mischievous smirk crept across her face then continued dragging her husband who currently felt like a piece of meat.
Obito and Kushina laughed until a loud wolf whistle was heard from Naruto's and Sasuke's room.
"NARUTO" Kushina called out, much to her horror.
"Sorry" came a muffled reply.
When Zare woke up, he felt slightly disoriented and cursed the sun for spraying its rays across his eyes. As he sat up in bed he noticed the room was not his own and looked around. He noticed his clothes neatly folded on the dresser with his cloak and Shinobi Vest draped neatly over hangers and his scrolls stacked neatly in a tray with one of them opened and a woman with Venetian Red hair removing clothes from the scrolls and hanging them up in the closet.
"Morning, Mina-chan" Zare said groggily as he yawned and rubbed an eye.
"Good Afternoon" Minatsu said in an amused tone as she turned and gave Zare a loving smile.
"What time is it?" Zare said as he yawned and got out of bed.
"Friday" Minatsu said nonchalantly as she continued to hang up clothes.
"...What!?" Zare said as his brain registered what was said.
"You've been out for almost three days" Minatsu said as she unsealed another storage set.
"Wow" Zare said as he scratched his head, "Guess I must have been more tired than I let on" then made his way to his wife and wrapped his arms around her waist and held her from behind.
Minatsu smiled as she placed her hands over Zare's and fell back into the embrace. The couple held each other for several minutes, basking in each other's warmth until they were interrupted by a knock on the door causing them to separate and growl at the intrusion.
Come in!" Minatsu called out as Zare grabbed a towel and made his way into the bathroom.
"Minatsu! Hurry up; we need to go pick up our Yukata from the tailor. You know how fussy he gets when we're not on time and with the festival tomorrow, we need to get everything ready now" Kushina said as she entered the room.
"Festival?" Zare said as he popped his head out of the bathroom.
"Yes festival" Kushina said as she pointed to the calendar on the wall.
Zare studied the calendar intently for a few seconds before his eyes widened and said, "It's time for the Uzu-Matsuri already!?"
"Yes I mean it's only the anniversary celebration for the rebirth of Whirlpool Country after all" Kushina said sarcastically.
"Ha ha very funny" Zare said through half open eyes, "but what am I going to do I don't have anything to wear"
"I already ordered one for you and in your favourite colour scheme too" Minatsu said.
Zare hung his head low before looking up at his wife and said, "You are far too good for me"
"Yes, yes and yet I was the one who confessed first. Now stop faffing and get in that shower. You can go meet up with Obito, Naru-kun and Sasuke in the training grounds out back"
"Yes dear" Zare said as he playfully smirked and ducked back into the bathroom before a pair of trousers hit the door.
Half an hour later, Zare met up with Obito and the boys and began training them how to deflect thrown projectiles especially ones that were infused with elemental chakra.
"Now for wind chakra, the blade is sharpened by two opposing air currents flowing over each other. If you have either a wind affinity or fire affinity then deflection becomes much easier, but if you have the other affinities then no cigar. You might as well settle for strengthening your weapon with regular chakra and using pure skill and finesse to stop your weapon from breaking and getting skewered. Today I'll just explain the basics, on Monday I'll get you working on deflection using regular chakra. Once you got that down on an instinctual level we'll get to work on deflection on an elemental scale" Zare explained, "Now I want you to line up and take three shots at me with elemental charka and I'll show you how the deflection techniques differ from element to element"
As they began to throw elementally charged kunai and shuriken, Zare showed them how to deflect using the same element, the dominating element and regular chakra. It was during Naruto's turn that Sasuke noticed Akiba come into view and called out to her, "Aki-chan! Over here!"
Akiba smiled when she saw the boys but turned conflicted when she saw her father which didn't go unnoticed by Zare.
"Watch out!" Naruto yelled, causing Zare to look just in time to see a wind charged kunai flying right towards him. Zare had been so preoccupied by his daughter's expression, that he had dropped his guard and reacted sloppily when the weapon drew near. Deflecting it on pure reflex, Zare cringed when his own kunai shattered in his hand, cutting it up, while the charged one flew off at an awkward angle.
Then Zare heard three words from Obito that made his world come to a standstill, "AKI-CHAN! WATCH OUT!"
Akiba looked in horror at the speeding projectile and closed her eyes while raising her arms to block the possibly fatal impact. Darkness fell over her, but strangely there was no pain, no wetness from the blood, not even the feeling that something was sticking out of her. Akiba opened her eyes and lowered her arms to see a figure shadowing her. Looking up, her expression turned to one of horror as she saw none other than her own father looking down at her with a smile, with a trickle of blood seeping from the side of his mouth.
"You alright Aki-chan?" Zare said through rapid, laboured breaths.
Akiba lowered her gaze and took on a look of even more horror as she saw the tip of a kunai sticking out just under his left pectoral with blood rapidly staining the fabric of his shirt; the kunai had gone right through his back and was now sticking out his front. Zare clenched his eyes before turning his head to one side and coughed out a large glob of blood then fell to one knee. Akiba's expressed more and more horror at the next series of events Zare performed.
Placing both hands around the protrusion, Zare pressed against his body while gritting his teeth and stifling a cry of pain as the kunai poked further and further out of his ribs before grabbing hold of it and yanking the whole thing out. Zare let out a gasp before falling onto his side, rolling onto his back and began struggling for breath while blood bubbled out of his wound.
Obito, Sasuke and Naruto skidded next to Zare's side and began giving him a once over, none of them knew any medical Jutsus so they began to panic. Zare, on the other hand, simply tilted his head until he was looking right into Akiba's eyes and smiled then in a raspy voice said, "You- you ok Aki-chan?"
Akiba simply fell backwards onto her behind before she tilted her to the sky and screamed out, "OKAA-!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
A few moments later Minatsu appeared in a swirl of venetian red mist and began asking what had happened. Akiba began explaining what had happened to her mother, but it came out as complete gibberish due to the state her mind was in and the heavy sobs escaping her lips.
Minatsu simply nodded before making her way to Zare's side and cutting his shirt open with a kunai.
"You understood that!?" Naruto asked as he watched his aunt get to work.
"Honey, I'm a medical professional, of course I understand Hysteria. We have courses on the subject" Minatsu said before shifting into medic-nin mode and said, "Ok, which one of you has a water affinity?"
Obito and Naruto raised their hands.
"Perfect. Charge your hand with water chakra and place them over his left lung, get a feel for the blood flooding it and move it out while I seal the wound and for God's sake don't send it into his other lung, it'll just make my job twice as hard" Minatsu said.
"How can you move blood?" Sasuke said, "It's BLOOD!"
"Precisely" Minatsu said with a smirk as she shifted slightly into sensei mode, "Blood is about 82% water, just think of it as a slightly more advanced version of the water training exercise, but this time you have to be even more precise. Too little charka and the blood won't move, too much and your hold slips causing the blood to either flow back or go somewhere you don't want it to, far too much and you risk separating the water from his blood which won't be a good thing even for him"
"You know, as lovely as it is seeing you pass on knowledge, could you please hurry up. I can feel the blood sloshing around and it is very uncomfortable" Zare said between sharp intakes of air.
All the while, Akiba looked on in a mixture of morbid fascination and pure distress. She gasped when Zare began coughing up large amounts of blood coating everything from his cheeks to just above his neck as Naruto and Obito finally got the hang of moving the blood. The procedure took time as after each coughing fit, Minatsu would have to break contact in order to prevent incorrect tissue connections while Obito and Naruto lost their hold on the blood. After each fit, Akiba's mind would flood with more and more worry and confusion because after each round of violent hacking and gush of blood, Zare would look at her with kind loving eyes and a warm smile.
After half an hour the wound was finally sealed and the blood removed as Obito and Naruto sat back panting heavily while Zare remained on his back taking deep breaths. After a few moments, Zare groaned as he sat up and hissed at the pain in his side before wiping the blood of his face with the back of his arm and spitting out any remaining blood in his mouth. Once he was comfortable, Zare suddenly felt an immense force hit him as he fell onto his back again and winced in pain before looking down to see a crying long haired raven head hugging him tightly. Zare pushed himself into a sitting position using one arm for balance as he placed his other hand on Akiba's head and caressed it soothingly.
"I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry" Akiba said as she wept into her father's chest.
"Aki-chan, it's alright" Zare said soothingly, "A scratch like that will never be able to bring me down"
"But... but... you could have died" Akiba said in a whimper.
"Aki-chan. Your mother did tell you everything about me right?" Zare said.
Akiba simply nodded.
"Then you should know that I really am immortal. A punctured lung is nothing to get worked up over. Chop off my arm and I won't even blink, I see a stab to the heart as a mild irritation and even then I'm blowing it out of proportion. Sure it hurts, but it's nothing for me to get worked up over. So please stop crying, I'm fine really" Zare said as he lifted Akiba's chin and wiped the tears with the back of his fingers before placing his hand on the back of her head and pressing his forehead to hers then broke contact and kissed her forehead gently.
Akiba sniffed then buried her face into her father's chest and uttered a soft whimper before getting off of him while Obito helped him to his feet.
As they walked back to the Uzumaki Manor, Naruto and Sasuke began asking Akiba if she was alright while Minatsu gave Zare a dangerous glare and in a lowered voice said, "You suppressed you healing ability didn't you?"
"No, I swear to God I didn't" Zare replied quickly as he raised hands in a defensive position and shook his head violently, "I'm just as confused as you are"
"Then what happened?" Obito said as they continued walking.
"I did" came a voice as a black hole opened on Zare's chest and Umbrea popped her head out.
"Why?" Zare said in a troubled whisper.
"Because the child needed to understand how lucky she is to have a father, especially one as kind and gentle as you are" Umbrea said before disappearing.
Obito and Minatsu looked at Zare questioningly causing him to sigh and simply say, "Bad memories" leaving it at that.
The next morning saw the entire village bursting with life. The harbour plaza saw the most activity as vendors set up their stalls and various activities for the public. Several barges were brought in from the various outpost villages surrounding Whirlpool's borders and anchored in the bay while several fireworks were set up on the barges for the festival. The Uzumaki Manor was not any better off. Since breakfast, the entire household was in a state of panic; well the women were with the younger males being dragged along with it. In the kitchen sat Zare, Obito and Takashi calming drinking tea or coffee in Takashi's case while the sounds of, what could be assumed to be, wild animals rang through the halls.
"A lovely morning isn't it?" Zare said as he took a sip of his tea.
"Very" Obito said after he took a sip of his own.
"DOES ANYONE KNOW WHERE MY-" Minatsu yelled out before Zare cut her off and said, "IN THE BATHROOM ABOVE THE SINK"
"OBI-OJI I CAN'T FIND MY-" Sasuke called out before Obito said, "SCROLL NUMBER FOUR SEALING SET FIVE"
"TA-" Hikaru started.
"YOU LEFT IT IN THE ONSEN" Takashi said before pausing for a moment and said, "BEDSIDE TABLE, SECOND DRAW, TOWARDS THE BACK"
"I DIDN'T EVEN SAY ANYTHING" Kaoru called out.
"HE DOESN'T NEED YOU TO" Zare called out before a very annoyed and stressed Minatsu stormed into the kitchen.
"Morning Mina-chan" Zare said sweetly.
"Don't you 'Morning Mina-chan' me" Minatsu said fiercely, "I can't believe the three of you are sitting here drinking tea while the rest of us are trying to get ready"
"Coffee" Takashi said as he raised his mug.
"I don't give a shit" Minatsu said before giving Zare a 'what do you have to say for yourself' glare.
"We have nine hours until the festival, I'm pretty sure the three of us will be ready by then" Zare said before returning to his tea.
"Exactly we only have nine hours. Can't you be a little more considerate" Minatsu said.
Zare then turned his attention to Obito and said, "It's amazing how the concept of time differs from men to women" before feeling a sharp pain on the side of his head as Minatsu dragged him out the room by his ear.
"I find it awe inspiring how my uncle is the most powerful man in this country yet gets dragged around by a woman such as my aunt" Takashi said.
"Well you know what they say 'Behind every great man is a great woman' that and your uncle suffers from a very serious illness called 'Love'" Obito said causing the older blond to burst out laughing, "Now just make sure that neither your mother nor your aunt hear that. Otherwise they'll tear both of us a new one"
Takashi chuckled once again as he washed his coffee mug then proceeded to go and calm the family madness.
By five in the evening everyone was ready and waiting to depart. Kushina was wearing a scarlet red Yukata with gold embroidery depicting a grand bird on her back with its long elegant tail feathers curling around the base of the festive wear. Minatsu wore an emerald green Yukata with purple embroidery creating an elegant floral pattern that worked very well with her hair and eyes. Obito wore a black Yukata with red, orange and yellow flame embroidered along the edge of the sleeves and the bottom. When asked why he chose such a design, he said, "My family were a bunch of arrogant pricks. Anything short of the colour 'Bland' was deemed 'unbefitting' an Uchiha. After all that has happened to us, I feel it's time I live my life how I want to"
"Fair enough" Chizuru said as she adjusted her black and white floral Yukata.
"I still don't understand why I have to wear 'Kill me' orange. I haven't worn that colour since the academy and why did I have to get a fox print? I really don't want people to make the connection" Naruto said as he fidgeted uncomfortably.
"Well for one, I think you look very cute" Kushina said, eliciting a blush from the blond, "and two, as ironic as it seems, the image of a fox suites you. Besides I told you we were going to introduce you to the village. It's been a pain trying to control the various rumours flying about without them mutating into something stupid"
"Ok" Naruto said in defeat.
"Don't worry about it, you are an Uzumaki. The village will celebrate the fact that you are alive" Takashi said as he ruffled his brother's hair.
Naruto smiled at his brother and noticed he had a simple dark brown Yukata with no embroidery what so ever.
"Hey, how come Taka-nii gets to go mono chrome?" Naruto said.
"Cause he's the black sheep of the family" Hikaru said resulting in a swift whack across his head from his older brother.
"Yeah well the two of you aren't any better" Akiba said, "Though I have to say good going with the whole opposite colour scheme thing. Hikaru with red and Kaoru wearing yellow, very smart"
"Naturally" Kaoru said, "And Aki-chan looks lovely as usual. Black with red roses, very nice"
"Awww, aren't you sweet" Akiba said, "Now get other women to actually believe your one liners then come and compliment me"
This caused Naruto and Sasuke to burst out in laughter.
"Well Sasuke-kun looks nice" Minatsu said.
"Thanks" Sasuke replied with a slight blush. He had done something similar to Takashi and wore a simple midnight blue but with two glowing cat's eyes on the back.
Everyone began to laugh until Minatsu's face expressed annoyance and said, "Now where is that damn husband of mine. All of us are ready to leave and he's still not here yet"
"I'm right here" Zare said as he entered the room wearing an obsidian black Yukata.
"It's about time" Kushina said, "What took you?"
"I was admiring the craftsmanship. The night time scene was a nice touch" he replied as he turned around to show light grey embroidery in the form of a large full moon on his right shoulder and the outline of grass lining the bottom of his clothes, "I've said it before and I'll say it again. Mina-chan you are far too good for me"
"Yes, yes. Now enough lolly gagging, we have to be there to perform the opening ceremony" Minatsu said as she began ushering everyone out the door.
As they traversed the streets towards the harbour plaza, Naruto noticed that every member of the public would either greet them bow or wave happily at his family and his family would reciprocate. It was unusual none the less to see respect given to him freely. People would ask who he was, but his family would simply say it was as surprise and to be patient.
When they reached the harbour plaza, Naruto and Sasuke were shocked to see so many people gathered in one place. When the group was spotted, the public parted allowing them through and watched intently as they ascended the steps onto the main stage.
"People of Uzugakure!" Kushina said as she stepped forward, "Today is an auspicious day. The day that marks the twentieth year of our great countries revival. Today is the day we celebrate all we have accomplished and remember those who gave themselves to keep us safe. It is also the day we mourn the loss of someone we never got to know. Never got to see smile and never got to hear laugh, but no more. From this day forth we will never mourn the loss of Uzumaki Naruto at the hands of the Kyuubi"
Naruto was shocked at what he heard but it didn't show since both Zare and himself were wearing masks.
"They mourned me?" Naruto thought, "The entire village mourned me?"
"But Uzukage-sama, how could you ask such a thing of us?" someone from the crowd shouted, "He was your son. You showed us a picture of him and we fell in love with him. Then you told us he died and we couldn't help but mourn and now you tell us to stop. We can't help but ask why?"
"The answer to that is simple" Zare stepped forward and removed his mask.
The crowd went into a frenzy of whispers as people began asking questions amongst themselves.
"Makizaki-sama, you have returned!" another member of the crowd called out.
"Indeed I have and I have come bearing the reason why you should stop mourning" Zare said as he gestured with his hand and Naruto stepped forward.
"The reason you should stop mourning is simple. Uzumaki Naruto is alive" Zare said as he removed Naruto's mask.
Naruto stood transfixed on the spot as he observed the crowd that was completely silent until Naruto gave a nervous smile and waved causing the entire crowd to roar out with cheers and applause, but all the celebration died instantly when Naruto did something no one expected, he cowered.
The crowd went silent as Naruto crouched into the foetal position, his hands covering his ears. Zare knelt next to him and heard him muttering incoherently. Zare realised instantly why his nephew was acting like this and embraced him in a comforting hug.
Kushina stepped forward and addressed her confused people, "People of Uzugakure, please calm yourselves. I feel some amount of explanation is in order. I should have realised this and for that I apologise. It appears the treatment my son has endured at the hands of the Konoha citizenry has had a far greater impact than I could have ever thought possible"
"Are you saying that Konoha did this to Naruto-sama?" another member of the public asked.
No one answered.
"Then I say we declare war and show them what happens when they hurt one of our own" a woman called out causing the entire crowd to go into an uproar in agreement.
"ENOUGH!" Kushina yelled causing the entire crowd to go silent almost instantly, "I HAVE ALREADY PROMISED NOT TO TAKE ANY ACTION ON THIS MATTER AND THAT IS FINAL"
"Uzukage-sama, how could you!? They hurt your son. Give us one good reason why we shouldn't incinerate the entire country" several people called out.
"Because if you so much as take one step into Konoha with the intent to harm, Naruto will never forgive you" Zare said as he stood up, "As much as he has suffered at the hands of the Leaf Villagers, he still loves them with all his heart. He has never wished harm upon them and would probably do anything to keep them safe. His heart holds more compassion and mercy than anyone could possibly dream of, such is Uzumaki Naruto"
"Very well" a villager said, "If that is how Naruto-sama feels then we shall yield" and with that every member of the public bowed deeply and in unison said, "PLEASE FORGIVE US NARUTO-SAMA, WE MEANT NO DISRESPECT!"
Naruto, Sasuke and Obito freaked out at the display while Zare burst out in hearty laughter.
"They really do love you Naruto, they always have and always will" Chizuru said as she placed a hand on her little brother's shoulder.
"Thanks, it's just so new to me, being respected let alone not looked upon with hatred" Naruto said solemnly, "and I'm sorry for reacting like that, it's just that every time I hear loud voices it usually means they want to hurt me. I guess I'm not completely over it"
"Don't worry Naru" Hikaru said as he wrapped an arm around Naruto.
"Yeah, we'll help you get through it" Kaoru said as he wrapped his arm from the other side.
"Or die trying" they both said in unison.
"That was kinda creepy" Sasuke said.
"You get used to it" Takashi said, "So Naruto, what do you want to do first"
The festival was utterly spectacular and the Uzumaki Siblings plus Akiba and Sasuke had a blast. Everywhere there was something to do or something new to eat. Naruto was especially thrilled when there was a ramen stand and rushed inside much to his siblings', cousin's and best friend's amusement.
"Oh, Uzumaki-samas it's good to see all of you again and a special welcome to you, Naruto-sama. Since it is your first visit, everything's on the house" the proprietor, a young man with short brown hair and brown eyes said as he smiled warmly.
"Thank you Tenchi-san, but I should warn you, our little brother has a bigger appetite for ramen than we do" Takashi said.
"I'm willing to take on a challenge" Tenchi said with a look of anticipation and eagerness.
"Don't say we didn't warn you" Chizuru said as she and the group sat down.
"So what'll it be" Tenchi said as he leaned on the counter.
"You choose first, Naru" Hikaru said.
"Ok" Naruto said and looked over the menu, "Hey what's this Uzu-Ramen? I've never hear of that before"
Tenchi's eyes lit up at the question and said, "That is a specialty of Uzugakure. If you are anything like your siblings, you will love this"
"Ok let's give it a try" Naruto said with anticipation.
"Haiyo~" Tenchi said as he began to prepare the food.
A few minutes later Tenchi placed a bowl of noodles in broth in front of Naruto while everyone else watched. Naruto placed his hands around the bowl but quickly withdrew them and said, "Hey, what the hell it's cold!"
"Precisely" Tenchi said with an amused smirk.
"Just try it. It's not an Uzugakure Specialty for nothing you know" Akiba said.
Naruto scowled slightly but yielded. Taking hold of his chopsticks, the blond took a less than decent helping and noodles and placed them in his mouth, savouring the taste and swallowing. Naruto went wide eyed as the chopsticks fell from his hands and his siblings and cousin smirked.
"H-how?" Naruto said causing Tenchi to beam like it was going out of style.
"Heh, heh family secret. The Nakamura Family are masters of the Culinary Arts and being the eldest son I specialised in ramen like my father and grandfather did" Tenchi said.
"Seconds" Naruto said as he thrust an empty bowl at Tenchi.
"Haiyo~" Tenchi said with a smirk as he began preparing another bowl for his newest loyal customer.
When the group left the ramen stand, they decided to hunt down their respective parents/uncles/aunts.
"Where are they?" Chizuru said as she scanned the immense crowd.
"Why don't you just search them out? We do have a Kekkei Genkai that lets us search out family members" Takashi said.
"I tried but there are too many chakra signatures around us, it's causing a kind of interference. I can't get a proper fix on Minatsu-Ba-chan let alone Kaa-san" Chizuru said.
"What we have a Kekkei Genkai!?" Naruto almost yelled.
"Yeah, I thought Zare-ji-san told you about this" Chizuru said.
"No he didn't" Naruto replied.
"Yes he did" Sasuke said.
"When?" Naruto asked.
"The day after your brothers and sister left, weren't you paying attention?" Sasuke asked.
"Umm not really, when Zare-oji-san said Kekkei Genkai, I assumed he was gonna review what he told us before and kinda tuned it out" Naruto said sheepishly.
"Dobe" Sasuke said.
"HEY!" Naruto replied.
"No, Naru he's right" Hikaru said.
"Yeah, you really are a dobe for tuning something like that out" Kaoru said.
Naruto hung his head in dismay.
"Ok enough name calling, we don't need our little brother having self esteem issues" Chizuru said, "But really Naruto, you should pay attention when you are told something, you might learn something useful and in our line of work, knowledge is invaluable"
"Oh there she goes off into Sensei-mode, come on Naru lets go fine our mother" Kaoru said as he took hold of Naruto's wrist and began dragging him away.
"WAIT!" Naruto yelled, "I'm not going anywhere until you tell me what our Kekkei Genkai is"
"Well it's called the Uzumaki Dairokkan and it essentially gives us an advanced Chakra sense along with very large chakra coils and reserves. It lets us lock on anyone we deem a target as long as we have encountered them before hand, but it really shines when it involves blood relations. We can automatically lock onto members of our own family and search them out by simply thinking about them" Chizuru said.
"That's... kinda lame" Naruto said.
"Not when you really think about it. We make excellent trackers. All we need is one encounter with a target and their chakra signature is locked into memory. As long as we don't lag too far behind, it is impossible for them to lose us" Takashi said, "And let us not forget our ability to search out our family members. We may be well known for our greater than normal tracking range but when it comes to finding members of our own family, we are unparalleled"
"Then how come you didn't find me earlier?" Naruto said.
"That's because, for one, your Kekkei Genkai hasn't activated yet and two we thought you were dead so we really didn't like to dwell on that fact" Hikaru said.
"Oh" Naruto said.
"But don't worry, now that you're with us, we'll never lose sight of you again" Kaoru said.
"Thanks" Naruto said, "Now let's go find Kaa-chan"
When they finally found them, it was quite late and it was time for the fireworks ceremony.
"Where were you guys?" Chizuru asked.
"What, we're not allowed to have our own fun?" Zare asked.
"Enough! All that matters, is that we're together again and the fireworks are going to start" Minatsu said just as the first flares went up and exploded into loud bursts of colour.
"It's started!" Akiba called out.
As the fireworks continued everyone looked on in awe, Naruto and Sasuke were captivated. Konoha rarely had celebrations that required fireworks so this was especially exciting to them.
Suddenly Naruto heard a muffled 'eep' and looked to see his cousin looking toward her right with her eyes widened in horror, a furious blush gracing her cheeks and a slack jaw.
Naruto followed her gaze and he too was forced to yelp in surprise as his eyes took in the sight in front of him, a sight that involved his uncle and aunt locked in a kiss so deep, so passionate that the only thing that could best it would be if they were having hot, nasty, animalistic sex right there on the spot.
Naruto absent mindedly tugged on Sasuke's sleeve causing the raven head to look at his friend in annoyance before looking in the same direction Naruto was facing and froze. Obito and Kushina noticed the lack of attention the three youngsters were paying to the fireworks and looked toward the target of their undivided attention before their eyes took in the sight before them.
"Hey, stop staring!" Obito said as he whacked Naruto and Sasuke over the heads.
"But, But!" Naruto stuttered.
"Oh come off it! The two of them haven't seen each other in almost one and a half decades, I'm surprised she didn't ravage him while he was unconscious the last few days" Kushina said eliciting an 'eep' from her niece, "Now stop gawking and start cooing at the sky. I want to see eyes filled with awe and wonder"
The three youngsters tore their eyes away from the couple and continued to gaze upon the colourful night sky.
The next morning Naruto entered the dining to see his entire family minus two.
"Where are Zare-oji-san and Mina-Ba-chan?" Naruto asked.
"Still sleeping, I think" Sasuke said, "Their room has several privacy Jutsus in place, so I don't know. Maybe they're talking about something important"
"We know what they are doing" Hikaru and Kaoru said in unison with mischievous grins on their faces.
Kushina simple cleared her throat before taking a sip of her tea and giving the twins a 'Don't you dare' look laced with palpable amounts of killing intent. The twins began sweating profusely before finishing off their breakfast, saying their goodbyes and rushing out the front door to get started on their latest mission.
"So what are they doing?" Naruto asked.
"That is none of your concern" Kushina said.
"But" Sasuke started before Kushina cut him off and in a clam yet deadly voice said, "Boys, I said it was none of your concern"
Both boys squealed in fear and continued eating.
It was another two days before the couple emerged from their room. Obito and Kushina entered the dining room to find Minatsu cooking breakfast while Zare sat at the table, head resting on folded arms.
"Oh!" Obito said as he entered the room, "Glad to see the beast with two backs has been slain. How was it?"
"Zip it" Zare said, "I'm not the kind to kiss and tell and you know it"
"... So how was it?" Kushina said as both she and Obito turned to face Minatsu.
Minatsu smirked wickedly and said two words, "Thirty-two"
Zare stared at her horrified as Obito and Kushina tried to unravel that very cryptic statement.
"What the hell does thirty-two mean?" Kushina said.
Suddenly Obito's eyes widened and blushed furiously causing Kushina to look at him and say, "What is it?"
Obito, unable to say it loudly, leaned in to Kushina and whispered in her ear causing her to take on a look of horror and loudly said, "YOU MEAN THE TWO OF YOU DID IT THIRTY-TWO TIMES!"
"Oh say it louder why don't you, Kushina, I don't think the people in Iwa heard you" Zare said clearly miffed.
"Why are you so pissed? I'm surprised your wife can still stand after the way you probably wore her out" Obito said.
"Actually I'm fine" Minatsu said, "We stopped because he was tired" while gesturing towards Zare.
Obito and Kushina stared at Zare incredulously so simply grumbled and buried his head into his arms.
"What the hell did you do to him!?" Obito said to Minatsu.
Minatsu smirked mischievously and returned to making breakfast.
"Obito" Zare said deadly causing the Uchiha to flinch slightly and slowly face his best friend, "Remind me never to leave my wife for over a decade ever again" before disappearing in a puff of black smoke. Obito and Kushina burst into laughter just as the remaining family members entered the room.
Two weeks later Zare was with Kushina in her office reading over a letter they had received earlier that day.
"Hmmm, I think it is a good idea" Zare said.
"You sure?" Kushina asked.
"Yes I am. This letter is clearly telling us that things have settled down and I think it is the perfect way to end this madness once and for all and if things work out the way we hope then we can show those ignorant pricks just how valuable an asset they lost" Zare said.
"Ok then, I'll have a response drafted and send it off right away confirming our attendance" Kushina said.
"Hold it! At least let us ask them if they want to do it or not" Zare said before he closed his eyes for a few seconds and said, "They're on their way"
A few minutes later, there was a knock on the door and three raven heads and a blond entered.
"Obito! What are you doing here?" Zare asked, "I only wanted the kids to come"
"I was on my way here anyway. I was going to ask you guys something and I decided to tag along" Obito said.
"You called?" Naruto said as he closed the door behind him.
"Yes I did" Zare said as his face took on a grin, "I want the three of you to tell me what your views are on the prospect of becoming Chunin"
Author's Notes
Hey everyone in back at long last. Sorry for the late posting, was stuck in Paris this past week and the internet there was ridiculously slow. Which doesn't matter since i only finished the chapters yesterday.
Anyway, chapter 10 and 11 are up so please Read and Review. I only have twelve reviews so far and would love some more (if you would be so kind).
Umm I really cant think of anything else so I guess that's it from me.
Jutsu-Jutsu no Jutsu
Uzumaki Dairokkan - Uzumaki Sixth Sense, I don't need to explain this now do I? It's already been done in the chapter.
Enjoy