A/N: Hello again! Here's the next chapter :)
They had finally arrived at the ruins of the once prestigious and powerful Uzumaki clan.
Naruto, Hinata and Sasuke stood there in wonder at what they were looking at. Ruins as far as the eye could see. The island was not terribly large but it would take several hours to go from one end to the other, and they had no idea what they were looking for.
Naruto heard some growling in his head. He retreated to his mind scape.
"What's up?" Naruto asked, arriving in front of Kurama's cage. "I'm assuming that growl came from you."
"I don't like this place kit. There's an ominous power here. It's strong, but dormant." Kurama said in reply.
"So?" Naruto replied.
"Just watch yourself, something is here, I'm just not sure what it's intent is." Kyuubi replied.
Naruto nodded, he was not going to take the Kyuubi's warning lightly. If it was enough to make the nine-tailed fox uneasy, then he should heed the advice. He returned back to the world.
"Naruto-kun?" Hinata asked, looking over to him. "Are you ok? You spaced out." She said concerned.
"I'm ok, I was just talking with the fox." He said with a grin.
"What did he say?" Sasuke asked, a slight tone to his voice.
Naruto paused a moment, "He says there's some kind of dormant power here."
"And why should we trust what he says?" Sasuke asked, venom in his voice. He didn't trust the fox, it was a demon after all. For all he knew, it could be trying to manipulate them into releasing him or something.
Naruto glared at Sasuke.
"He's been with me since I was born, he's watched over me and shared my hardships. I consider him my friend. If he says there's a power here, then there is and it's making even him uneasy." Naruto answered.
"I don't trust him." Sasuke said, "What if he's just manipulating you to be set free again?"
Naruto was about to answer when he heard Kurama's voice in his head.
"Switch with me kit, I'll talk to the damn Uchiha." He said. Naruto nodded.
"He wants to talk to you." Naruto said with a smirk, he looked over at Hinata, "Don't be afraid of what you see ok?" He said. She nodded at him. Naruto closed his eyes. His whisker marks became more pronounced, his claws became sharper. When he opened his eyes, the usual deep blue was replaced by a blood red with slits, the fox's eyes.
"Listen here, Uchiha brat." The voice that came out of Naruto's mouth was not his own, but a much deeper, powerful sound. Hinata and Sasuke both shivered at the sound.
"I have no intention of leaving this host. I made a promise to his father that I would protect him, and that is what I intend to do." He said.
Sasuke just stared for a moment, a little afraid of what he was seeing, before his gaze became a scowl.
"And why should I believe what you say?" Sasuke asked.
"You really are stubborn aren't you? Ok then, I'll tell you something interesting. Those eyes of yours, the ones you are so proud of, have some limited control over us beasts. If you truly suspect I'm going to do something to harm any of you, you can use those eyes to stop me. Understand?" Kyuubi said. He didn't particularly like giving him that information, but he didn't want the kid to be mistrusting of his host. If they didn't trust each other, they wouldn't make an effective team, putting Naruto in danger.
Sasuke continued to glare at the possessed Naruto.
"Tch" he said, "Fine." Sasuke relented.
Kyuubi smirked, and the possession ended. Naruto's whisker marks receded to normal and his eyes became blue again.
"Satisfied?" Naruto asked.
"Hnn." Sasuke answered, before looking back towards the ruins. "So where is this 'power' he spoke of?"
Naruto looked a bit sheepish, "Well I don't really know, we'll have to find it." He said, rubbing the back of his head.
Hinata walked up and grabbed his hand. "Let's get looking then." She said. He squeezed her hand back and they all started to move into the ruins.
Kakashi was jumping through the trees, following the scent. He had been severely delayed by the little stunt they had pulled over on him at the cave. He was determined not to allow that to happen again. He had been travelling without incident for a few hours, seems like they had given up trying to stall him, they were underestimating him, he was sure of it.
He knew that if he had to fight the three of them, it wouldn't be as easy for them this time. He knew what they were capable of now and he would not be taking it easy on them. During their training session, he had discounted their abilities, thinking of them as mere genin in a training session. Once they proved their teamwork, he had let them win, but now, this was going to be different, he wasn't going to go easy on them.
He noticed a small port town up ahead where the scent was leading. He jumped down from the trees and started to head in on foot. If they had come here, someone would have more information than him blindly looking.
He slung his headband over his sharingan, covering it up, he had briefly scanned the village with it earlier and determined there were no traps. He casually entered the village, dismissing his dogs. He had a fairly good nose, not as good as an Inuzuka but he could manage. He tracked their scent to a small restaurant, he went inside and took a seat at the bar.
The bartender, a bearded grizzly man, washing a cup, turned to him with a sour look on his face.
"What ya want?" He asked, cleaning a glass.
"Sake." Kakashi replied, it was clear, this man did not like his presence.
"Tch" he replied, grabbing a cylindrical container and handing it to kakashi.
"800 yen." He said. Kakashi looked at him for a moment before sighing and pulling the cash out of his pack.
Handing it to the man he says, "Don't care much for ninja?"
The man hesitantly took his money, "The ninja world hasn't been kind to this village." He said, "And I can tell by your headband there, that you are from Konoha. You guys are supposed to be protecting us, but instead, you just use this port however you see fit." He finished with a scowl on his face.
Kakashi pulled down his mask, taking a sip of the sake, "Sorry about that."
"Whatever." He said, "What brings you out here anyway?" He asks.
"Looking for some friends." Kakashi answered nonchalantly, "two boys and a girl, all about twelve years old. One boy is black haired with black eyes, carries a bit of arrogance about him. A shy girl, dark hair, lavender pupiless eyes." Although she's probably hiding that "The last boy is blonde, blue eyes and has whisker marks on his face." Kakashi said, "You seen them?"
The bartender thought for a moment, "I saw a girl with blonde hair and whisker marks, travelling with 2 companions but they didn't look anything like the other two you described." He said.
"How long ago?" Kakashi asked, replacing his mask on his face. 'They must be in disguise' he thought.
"Yesterday. Seen 'em talking to Uzu, hooded guy in the corner." He said, "HEY UZU!" The man shouted.
The hooded man looked up.
"THIS GUY HERE WANTS TO TALK TO YA." He yelled again, from across the bar.
The hooded man sighed, but got up and walked towards Kakashi, pulling down his hood.
"What." He said, "And make it quick, I have work to do."
Kakashi looked at him indifferently, the bartender spoke up. "Those three kids here yesterday are friends of his." He said.
Uzu looked at Kakashi, "That so?" he said.
Kakashi smiled at him from under his mask. "I'm worried about them, do you know where they went?" He said.
Uzu glared at him. "Funny, they didn't mention you." He said icily.
The two men stared at each other for a moment. Uzu glaring, Kakashi passive.
"We… had a bit of a falling out." Kakashi said, shrugging. "I'm sure they're a little mad at me right now. They left in a bit of a hurry, I just want to make sure they are safe." He said, crossing his arms.
"They're alive." Uzu said, "I've got work to do." He said, leaving the bar.
Kakashi watched the man leave the bar, he decided to follow him.
Kakashi trailed him to a small boat, tied to the pier.
"You're persistent." Uzu said, looking straight at Kakashi's hiding place.
Kakashi walked out, hands in his pockets.
"Not bad." He said, "You might be able to fool the villagers around here but not me. You're a ninja, aren't you?" He said.
Uzu glared at him, before looking away. "How did you know?"
Kakashi just shrugged, "A hunch." he said. "Please tell me where you took them. It's important."
"They aren't here." Uzu said.
Kakashi sighed, "I didn't want to do this..." In an instant he was behind Uzu, aiming a chop at the back of his head. Uzu ducked and aimed a kick at Kakashi, who backed away, only to be surprised when a small ball of fire came out of Uzu's foot and hit him in the stomach.
"Not bad." Kakashi said, before disappearing in a puff of smoke.
Uzu spun around, grabbing Kakashi's fist, aimed at his head. Kakashi looked surprised and backed up a bit, breaking away. Uzu punched the air in front of him, sending a hard gust of air straight at Kakashi, causing him to raise his arms to shield himself from the blast. Uzu jumped into the air, he pulled his hands to his mouth and blew a fireball at his ship, lighting in ablaze.
"You won't find them." Uzu said before landing in the water. Kakashi jumped onto the dock, pulling out his Sharingan, looking through the water.
"Dammit!" He said looking through the clear surface, no sign of Uzu underneath.
The ninja trio had been searching the ruins for a few hours, combing through buildings, looking for anything unusual. So far, they had little result. They had stumbled across what they suspected was an old library that had yielded a few jutsu scrolls as well as some history but not the power they had been warned about.
Sasuke had split up from the two, to do some searching on his own. He could see Naruto and Hinata holding hands constantly and it had started to irritate him. He wasn't entirely sure why, but he needed some space to just think.
Naruto and Hinata watched him break away, just as Hinata was about to call out to him she was pulled into a nearby building by Naruto. He spun her so that her back was against a wall and he was in front of her.
"Naru-" she started before she was silenced by Naruto kissing her. She was shocked for a moment before she returned the kiss happily. They broke apart a moment later.
"What was that for?" She asked with a small smile.
"You always smile after I kiss you, I wanted to see you smile." He said with a grin on his face. He had noticed she had not smiled much since that night after their mission.
A small blush crossed her face as she leaned into his chest.
"I love you." She said. She was glad that he was there for her right now, that he loved her.
"I love you too, Hime." He said, hugging her close. He broke the hug briefly, lifting her chin. Deep blue eyes staring into soft lavender ones. Hinata could see the love for her in his eyes, in that moment, she felt a warmth she had never felt before. She leaned up and closed the distance between them, in a passionate kiss.
"Oh for kami's sake." They heard a voice behind them. They both broke apart looking behind them to see a very angry Sasuke standing there. "Can you two seriously not hold back for a few days?!" He asked, almost yelling.
Naruto was about to retort when Hinata spoke up.
"Sorry Sasuke-kun. We'll take it easy... right, Naruto-kun?" She said, looking up at him. He wanted to argue, to tell Sasuke off, but the look she was giving him said it was not up for discussion.
"F-fine." He mumbled out.
"Ok?" Hinata said, turning to Sasuke. He looked at her with a raised eyebrow for a moment before nodding.
"Hnn." he said, "Can you check out something with your Byakugan, Hinata?" He asked.
She nodded and activated her Byakugan. She started looking around her, at first not seeing anything, but then, she could see it, a small speck, off in the distance.
"There's something about 10 km, North-West of here, just on the range of my vision." She said.
Sasuke nodded, "I thought so, something was drawing me in that direction, so I activated my Sharingan, I can't see as far as you but there is this weird chakra all around the place." He said.
Naruto just looked at both of them confused. He had no idea what they were talking about.
"What are you guys talking about?" He asked. They both looked at him for a moment, not believing what he just said.
"The power, dobe." Sasuke said.
Naruto's eyes lit up.
"Well what are we waiting for! Let's go!" He said, running out of the building before he stopped and looked back at them sheepishly.
"Which way is North-west?" He asked.
Sasuke sighed and Hinata let out a small giggle. They both joined up with Naruto and Hinata started to lead the way.
It didn't take them long to reach the power source as the closer they got the more Hinata could see it. The closer they got the more Kurama started to feel restless, the power was growing, it was several times more powerful than it was before, even while dormant.
The three ninja's found themselves standing in front of a temple. Large stone structure, towering above the rest, with great pillars in the front. A large archway, with a set of double doors, was in front, the Uzumaki Clan symbol carved into the stone above the doors. Not a single vine or out of place stone could be seen. Hinata had to deactivate her Byakugan, there was a strong chakra around this place, lighting up her vision, it was even too much for Sasuke to bear, he had to deactivate his Sharingan as well.
Naruto walked up and placed his hands on the doors and began to push, they started to open effortlessly. He began to walk into the temple, Hinata and Sasuke walking behind him. As they were about to breach the threshold they suddenly stopped. Naruto stopped and turned around.
"What's wrong guys?" He asked.
"I can't move!" Hinata said, almost panicked.
"Me neither." Sasuke said, much calmer, "Looks like you are on your own Naruto."
Naruto gulped, "What about you guys?" He asked.
Sasuke noticed he was able to take a step backwards, "Looks like only an Uzumaki is allowed in there." He said, "Don't worry about us, we'll be fine."
Naruto looked at Hinata with scared eyes.
"I believe in you, Naruto-kun." She said, looking straight at his eyes. Naruto felt confidence well up inside him. He nodded.
"Yosh! I'll be out quickly!" Naruto said, before turning his back towards them and heading deeper into the temple.
The torches along the pillars started to light as he walked past them. It was eerie, but strangely he felt calm, he was on alert but nothing felt hostile.
He approached a wall with the statue of a man, below him was a stone tablet with writing.
Those of whirlpool blood, present an offering of flesh and be granted sanctuary.
Naruto paused for a moment, 'Offering of flesh?' he thought. He was then reminded of the scroll and the cup, the bit his finger and let a drop fall onto the altar in front of the tablet.
There was a rumbling as the whole temple shook, Naruto looked around panicked until he noticed the statue was starting to move backwards. After a few moments the shaking stopped and underneath the statue was a staircase. Naruto slowly started to wander down.
"Naruto..." He heard Kurama in his head. "Be… careful… I'm….losing….consciousness…"
"Hey you ok?" Naruto thought out loud, but got silence in return. This made him shiver, he was truly alone in here.
He finished descending the stairs and arrived in a small room. On the opposite end was an altar with something sitting atop it. He approached and noticed it was a headband, black, with the Uzumaki symbol in white along the front.
He picked it up curiously, something compelled him to do so. He started to slowly place it on his head, tying it up. The Symbol shone brightly, forcing Naruto to shut his eyes. He began to open them as the light started to fade.
He could only gape at what he saw, standing before him, was an older man with long white hair and a white goatee. He wore a headband with the Uzumaki symbol on it, two swords strapped to his back. He wore grey armor similar to that of the first Hokage.
"W-Who are you?" Naruto asked bewildered.
"I am Ashina Uzumaki, leader of the Uzumaki clan." The man spoke.
"Wh-What's going on?" Naruto asked.
"I am here to test your resolve, to see if you are worthy of inheriting the advanced bloodline of the Uzumaki clan."
A/N: Hoo boy, what do we have here? Should be fun though :) See everyone Friday!