A/N: I want to thank everyone that added this story to their favorites and follows as well as everyone that reviewed the last couple of chapters.

"I am going to change things a bit…we are going to go to Hosu for patrol."

Naruto blinked her eyes and stared at her cousin, who had a small frown playing on his lips. Hosu? For patrol? Was something up? Eisuke made it very clear to her about his stance on going after Stain. What changed his mind? Should she even question him? She was finally going to go to a different city in Japan, which she never did since she was always working.

"Eisuke, are you sure about taking her with you? Are you sure you are going to go after him? He already injured quite a few good heroes." Kairi reminded; her brown eyes shining with worry while the other sidekicks stared at him with concern. The young man nodded. His green eyes flashed with confidence but the shakiness in his legs told Naruto that he wasn't really that confident.

"Guardian needs to have more experience with the criminals," Eisuke lied. "I have been making her do recon for the last day and a half but I think she is more than capable to deal with a couple of criminals."

I have more experience than you think, Naruto thought, folding her arms against her chest. She chewed on the inner corner of her cheek to stop herself from saying those words out loud. Kairi and the other interns did not know where she came from, only Eisuke did. They might have some difficult childhoods but they did not receive a headband that considered them an adult when they were twelve.

"And Stain? He has been targeting heroes," Kairi reminded him. "You always make it a point to tell everyone not to act recklessly when we have next to little information. We don't know who his next target is or what his quirk is. We just know where he likes to attack."

The other sidekicks nodded their heads but none of them looked as concerned as the sidekick beside her. The worry in those brown eyes really did show the amount of care she had for Eisuke. It showed Naruto that the hero was not just her boss to her but maybe something even more. Did her cousin know? Or was he blind about it?

"I am not going to act recklessly," Eisuke paused and corrected himself. "We are not going to act recklessly Kairi. Guardian and I are going to patrol the area of Hosu and see if there are anymore hints on how he attacked them…we might even visit Ingenium to see if he remembered how Stain attacked."

"Are you sure that it is a good idea?" Another sidekick asked; his blue eyebrows knitted together. "The guy is paralyzed. I don't think he wants to be reminded of the bastard that ruined his career."

Eisuke grimaced. "I don't want to remind him but as Guardian reminded me, the bastard is going to be attacking other heroes soon. Now no matter how much I dislike some of the heroes, they don't deserve to be attacked."

"But are you certain you want to bring Uzumaki?" Another sidekick asked and Naruto swore if sharkhead had eyebrows then the bastard would be knitting his eyebrows. "She is still a newbie."

The hero nodded. "Guardian might be new but she has a lot of potential in becoming one of the best heroes out there."

"She is going to be endangered!" Another sidekick yelled. "It doesn't matter how good she is at rescuing people, there is always a potential that she might get badly injured from the bastard. If you need backup then take someone else, don't bring the kid that is barely starting her career."

Kid. Did they really think her age was the damn problem? Naruto clenched her hands into a fist. She might not be as old as them and maybe she did not have enough experience when it came to this kind of job, but she knew how to fight. She fought a Hyuga and let her tell you that the gentle fist was not easy to stand up from. She had faced Zabuza and Haku, who were definitely stronger than the villains here.

She could handle this.

"Naruto is more than enough and that is it," Eisuke said; his green eyes hardened at the sidekick. The barely controlled anger almost frightened her; frightened her on how quick he was to anger. "Do you really think I don't know her capabilities? If I think she was going to slow me down then I would have left her here and let one of you supervise her. Don't let her age fool you, she has more experience than you think."

Naruto felt her heart swell at those words. He might be her cousin. He might have an idea about her past but it did not mean he should have so much faith in her skills. Why? Why did he have so much faith in her? She had not even shown him her true capabilities. What did she do to deserve this faith? It took her three years to get Iruka-sensei to acknowledge her and another two years for her to hear the words that she was one of his best students.

It felt good to be acknowledged from the very beginning.

"Eisuke, I think what Ken is trying to tell you that this battle might be too dangerous for her," Kairi explained; her eyes seemed almost calm. She fixed her eyes on her. "No one can deny that Naru-chan has a lot of fighting potential. Her showcase in the Sport Festival can tell everyone that she is no slouch but a Sport Festival battle is different from a potentially dangerous criminal. You can't make Stain her first real hero fight experience not when he could potentially cripple the two of you."

Her cousin kept his eyes locked on Kairi. "I wouldn't put Naruto in danger if I didn't think she has enough experience to deal with the bastard," Eisuke said; the loudness and firmness in his tone spoke volumes of his stubbornness. Naruto felt glad to know he was on her side. "I know very well that the Sport Festival battle is different from the real world but I am confident that she can help me handle him. Now my decision is final!"

For the first time in her life, Naruto did not know how to feel with the knowledge that someone was on her side from the very beginning.

No adult took her side before.

"Thank you for not changing your mind."

Eisuke tore his eyes away from the car in front of them and stared at his young cousin, who had a grateful smile on her face. The more time he spent with his cousin, the more he saw the damage that Konoha did on her. Behind those blue eyes was a girl who probably never felt accepted by the world. Why would Konoha do this to her, he would not know. It was definitely not because Naruto was an Uzumaki. She might have the last name of an Uzumaki but her appearance did not scream Uzumaki.

"Why would I change my mind? You have more experience than the newbies in my company," Eisuke replied. He cursed under his breath and honked when he realized that the driver in front of them might be sleeping in the car. He could understand the jam was long but it was no excuse to sleep.

"Aren't you worried that they might leave you? They weren't happy with your decision." His cousin asked; her blond eyebrows knitted together. She closed her sealing book and stared at him. "You need them don't you?"

Eisuke sighed. "I am not worried that they will leave me," he tapped his finger against the wheel. "We have our arguments but this argument was more for their concern for our safety. They don't know about you being a former kunoichi so they look at you and they see your age. They think Stain will be too risky for you since you don't have enough experience or training to deal with him but he is a deranged civilian, not a shinobi."

"So if he was a shinobi…"

"I would never let you even think of engaging him until I am certain that you can take him on," Eisuke answered firmly. He tightened his grip on the wheel as he recalled the numerous arguments that he had with his father about the strength of a hero and a shinobi. No matter how corrupted a hero is, they still have some form of moral or why else would they take the job instead of becoming a criminal. They would never really fight dirty but a shinobi…a shinobi will always fight dirty.

"Why do you care about my safety so much? You just met me so why do you give a shit about my safety?" Naruto asked; her tone was so soft that Eisuke had to stain his ears to hear her words. He frowned. Why would he not care about her safety? Naruto could take care of herself. She made it clear in these last two days that she was more than capable of beating up the villains, but she was still under his care. She was still a member of his clan. She was his cousin. It was only natural for him to care.

"Naruto, didn't your godfather tell you that you were worth caring for? Or was he too grief-stricken that he blame you for…"

His cousin shook her head. "Ero-Sennin didn't raise me and the Third could never take me in. He gave me money and scolded me whenever I made my pranks…he loved me like his granddaughter and I loved him too, but it was never brought up."

Never take her in? Why could he not take her in? He kept his eyes focused on the road and allowed his mind to wander with the new piece of information. Why was his cousin so close to the Third Hokage? She might be an Uzumaki but it was not enough for the man to take notice, not when she lacked the knowledge of her clan. What stopped the Third Hokage from taking her in? There was nothing about her that made it seem like an impossible task.

"Then who raised you? Who took care of you before you became a kunoichi?"

"I lived in the orphanage until I was five," Naruto admitted; her blue eyes stared at the buildings with sadness. "The matron was not the nicest lady but she was not the worst one either. She ignored me and never called me by my name but she never hit me or anything. As soon as I turned five, I just decided that running away was better…I have a habit of running away from my problems."

"What happened after that?"

"I was in the streets for a couple of months until I met the Third," she admitted. Eisuke tightened his grip on the wheel at her words. The streets. There was no way in hell that the streets of Konoha was safe for a five year old girl. Didn't her caretaker look for her? Didn't the villagers see the girl and send her back to the orphanage? There must be a law about this kind of thing…right?

There had to be one.

"You seemed shock." Naruto said; her lips was curled into a smile but Eisuke knew she was not really amused. The girl was masking her pain and he blamed the system that failed her. "Shinobi villages don't give a shit about orphans, not like this part of the world. Didn't your Dad tell you? Orphans are a natural occurrence in the shinobi world. Your family could be murdered in cold blood and they would not even put you in an orphanage, not if you were in a shinobi school."

"I knew the Elemental Countries were different but not to this level," Eisuke said. He really was naïve about the world that his father and cousin grew up in. Was it a good thing? You were a child born in luxury as his father would like to say whenever he used to weep for the stories in the news. If you had been born in the Elemental Countries then you would quickly learn to harden your heart because the world expected you too.

Now looking at Naruto, he cursed harder at the Elemental Countries for being cruel to the very people that they needed to protect.

Naruto's blood froze at the sight in front of her.

There was so much fire surrounding the city along with so much smoke. She felt her throat dried up at the sight of the destroyed buildings. Who could have done this? She flickered her eyes towards Eisuke and gulped at the undeniable fury radiating in his eyes. She had never seen her cousin looked like this, not once in the last three days had she ever seen this much fury in his green eyes.

"Those bastards," Eisuke swore; he pulled his katana out of its sheath. He narrowed his eyes and tightened his grip on the katana. "I don't give a fuck about their sad past now, because nothing in the world could make up for this. Naruto, I am going to give you a different job to do…"

"You want me to evacuate the civilians?" Naruto asked, slumping her shoulder.

Eisuke nodded his head. "It is too risky for you to fight the villains that destroyed this place. There are going to be a lot of heroes now and none of them are going to be pleased that I let you handle whoever did this."

"So you want to save your reputation?"

Her cousin chewed on his lip. "Yes and no. I will get into a huge trouble with the government since you don't have a license to act freely and if they think that it is too dangerous for a student then I might get suspended. Another reason is that I don't know who these villains are and I won't forgive myself if their quirks are dangerous enough to kill you…"

Kill? Is he thinking this far already? And why does he care? Naruto stared at her cousin's green eyes and wondered if this was what it meant to have family. A family that only wanted to see her safe even though they knew she could take care of herself.

"Thank you," Naruto said. She smiled at her cousin, who blinked his eyes, and then stared at the burning buildings. "But I will send my clones to evacuate but I am going to go with you…"

Eisuke narrowed his eyes. "Are you really going to argue with me? I am ordering you…"

"Do you think I can evacuate them knowing that there is also a potential that you might die," she snarled and her cousin blinked his eyes. He knitted his eyebrows at her. "You have got parents, don't you? And you have your siblings? I don't think they will forgive me if you die! If I can face Orochimaru and survive then this will be a piece of cake."

"Nothing I am going to say is going to convince you to do what I say!" Eisuke said; he rubbed his forehead. "Fine but the moment I see that it is too dangerous then you are out of there, Naruto. Do you understand me?"

Naruto grinned and vigorously nodded her head. He shook his head, ruffled her hair and stared distantly at the burning buildings. Was he concern about the civilians or was he more concern for his mother? She knew his mother was currently in the city with his father but the blonde doubt a former shinobi could not handle a couple of lunatics. The man survived the second shinobi war and survived.

Ding.

She knitted her eyebrows together and stared down at her phone. Who would send her message at this time? Naruto chewed on the inner corner of her cheek and checked the message. A quick look told her that it was a location sent on the group chat. Should she really check? She should focus more on helping Eisuke but Izuku would never send a location if it did not mean anything.

Hosu.

The main city of the map was in Hosu and judging from the coordinates, it probably was not that far away from her location. Why would he send them those coordinates in the group chat if he was not in trouble? She chewed on her lips even harder when she saw he sent the message over twenty minutes ago.

"Are you coming Naruto?"

She shook her head and her cousin raised his eyebrows. There was no denying she wanted so badly to defeat the people that caused this destruction but her classmate needed her. He needed help because there was just no way he would send a location if it did not mean he was not in trouble.

"My friend is in trouble."

Eisuke blinked but made no comment. Instead he gestured for her to give him the phone. Naruto frowned but gave him the phone like he requested. Was he going to change his mind and go with her to help her friend? Or maybe her cousin had a better idea of helping Izuku if he saw the location. Her cousin bobbed his head and began typing a message before handing her phone.

"What are you doing with my phone?"

"Your friend is in trouble right? You don't know the city all that well so it will take you a long time to save his ass," Eisuke said. He tossed her phone before fixing his eyes at the burning buildings, where several of the heroes were rescuing the people. "I don't know if the heroes would read my messages or if they will get to him on time but Dad is quick and he is more efficient than some of the heroes in this country when it comes to defeating villains."

"Wouldn't he get into trouble? He doesn't have a license, does he?"

Eisuke shrugged his shoulders. "It hadn't stopped him before. He doesn't really give a crap about the law unless it suits him and his needs which is a good thing in your case, since he would help your friend. Now let us get to work and leave my Dad to help your friend."

But would he get there on time?

Naruto really had doubts that her relative would be able to save her friends on time but if her cousin believed he could do it, then it probably would not hurt for her to trust in him. Family did that right? They trusted and relied on each other when they had problems.

Maybe just this once, she could rely on her mother's family.

"So you are the infamous Stain that has been attacking the heroes."

Izuku blinked his eyes and stared at the red-haired man standing in front of him, who seemed to have a tight grip on Stain's body. One minute he was about to get hurt by Stain and the next minute, a red whirlpool had smashed his fist against the man, sending him flying towards the wall. He glanced at Todoroki and then to Iida, hoping one of them knew who this man was.

The man looked like he was in his early thirties since there seemed to be very little wrinkles around his eyes, but there was something about him that made Izuku think he was probably older than his age. Those hazel eyes looked ancient, Izuku thought as the man nipped his thumb. Blood oozed out of his thumb and dropped at the strange mark on his right arm. Suddenly a bunch of weapons along with a couple of ropes as well as a tiny book dropped onto the ground.

"Who are you?" Todoroki asked; his bicoloured eyes stared at the man with suspicion. "And how do you know where we were?"

The man did not answer Todoroki's question immediately. Instead he picked up the rope and wrapped it around Stain, who was still knocked out from the man's punch. The speed in which the man tied up the criminal spoke volumes about his experience with fighting. Izuku frowned. A closer inspection on the man's face and he could make out a single scar running down his face.

"My son sent me a message from his intern's phone and told me that her classmate was in trouble," he answered. He twisted his head at them, where a large scar run from the top of his forehead down to his chin. His son? Izuku chewed on his bottom lip. So this guy was the father of one of the heroes? But his appearance made it seem like he was not old enough to have an adult son. "He sent me the coordinates and luckily for you, I was in the area."

"Who are you?"

"Does my name really matter? Uzumaki Kenji is my name," The man grumbled, slumping Stain over his shoulder. Uzumaki? Wasn't that Naruto's last name? Izuku stared at the man's bright red hair and his hazel eyes, noticing that the shape of his eyes did resemble his classmate's eyes. It was barely there but Izuku could see some resemblance between them.

"Are you related to Naruto?" Todoroki asked and Izuku could understand why his friend asked this question. His classmate admitted she never knew her family but there was a family member right there. If he was the father of a hero and his last name was Uzumaki then he had to be Uzushiokage's father. Uzushiokage had the last name Uzumaki. When he thought about it, it was stupid of him not to ask Naruto if she was certain that Uzushiokage was not her relative…not when they had the same last name.

The red-haired man stared at him for a good couple of seconds and nodded. "She is an Uzumaki, isn't she? She might not have inherited our signature red hair but she looks a lot like her mother. You just need to look at her to know she is an Uzumaki. Now that I answer your question, I have a question of my own. Who was the bright idiot that decided to charge here instead of following the other heroes? "

Iida flinched and admitted. "I did but sir, it is because he crippled my brother…"

The man rolled his eyes. "And you thought going after the criminal that crippled your brother, who is a professional in his job by the way, is a smart idea? Did you stop and think how your brother would feel if you had come back home in the same state or worse? Or how your parents would feel? Or were you so angry at the bastard that you forgot to think clearly. Do you honestly think being a cripple is the worst thing in the world? This isn't like the other part of the world, where there is a huge discrimination against cripples. He might not become a hero but he could find another job. At least he is alive! I know a good number of people who wish they could say the same for their family members! Now don't give me some sad sob story because I know stories a lot worse than yours."

The harshness in the man's voice made Izuku want to flinch. Most of the heroes and the people he knew would not use such harsh language but he was not doing that. How could he be the father of Uzushiokage? It was known to everyone in the hero's world that Uzushiokage was nice and kind. This man was acting cruel to their classmate.

"Sob story! I had to get revenge…"

"Revenge," The man let out a bitter laugh. "No matter where you are in the world, everything will lead back to that damn word. Tell me how would hurting this ass revenge your brother? Will it heal him? Or will it hurt your heroic brother to see that his brother is no better than the criminal who crippled him? And your parents. What the hell will they think when they learn you went after this madman instead of being a good student and doing your internship! You were supposed to be learning how to be a god damn hero and not to be some avenger!"

Iida flinched and Kenji just rubbed the sides of his head. Izuku waited for the man to scold them even more but instead he just looked at them with eyes that thought they were fools. Perhaps in his eyes they were. The scar on his face spoke volumes about his experiences in fights. Maybe they were reckless for fighting Stain but it was not wrong not to try and save their friend.

The man could scold them all he wanted but Izuku would never regret saving his friend.

A/N: Please review and tell me what you think.