Heir Apparent
Trust me, if I knew how this came into being, I would tell you, myself. At any rate, I don't own Naruto, and I don't see that changing in the near to distant future. Interestingly enough, this shot connects Shot 13 to Shots 7, 8, and 19.
Tenten was breaking in a new set of shuriken as her teammates were sparring. Gai, ever the instructor, was of course cheering Lee on. As she made her ninety-ninth bulls-eye that day, a lawyer-nin walked up to her, carrying a pair of scrolls.
"Pardon me, is your name Tenten and are you a kunoichi of Konoha?" the mail nin asked, not seeming particularly interested.
"Yes, why?" she asked, making her hundredth bulls-eye from just as many throws. Now these shuriken would be ready to kill... train her teammates.
"I regret to inform you that your father is dead," the man said, opening a scroll, "I have his will right here."
"What are you talking about?" Tenten inquired, "I never had a father. I'm an orphan."
"Of course you had a father," the lawyer-nin said, "Otherwise, I would have been unable to locate you."
"What do you mean?" Tenten asked, confused by this entire situation.
"Using a jutsu that's activates upon the will's owner's death," the man explained, "I was able to locate his sole surviving heir, as per the requirements presented by the international laws."
"Who's my father, then?" Tenten asked, curious about her heritage.
"Perhaps it would be easier if I read the will," the man responded, "'The Last Will and Testament of Zabuza Momochi: I, Zabuza Momochi, being of sound body and filled with violent psychotic rage over the idea of dying before killing the Mizukage and the belief that it will probably be caused by some sort of idealist who convinces me to do some sort of sacrificial charge to avenge the death of someone I grow to care about or I'm purposely faking the aforementioned death and will explain why when we meet again, do hereby bequeath all my worldly possessions to my currently one year old daughter, wherever she is. I know I haven't been able to be there for you, but I actually have an excuse. I was busy trying to kill the Mizukage to save the world, and I think I'm the only father in the world to actually be able to use that excuse. Anyway, I don't think I have that many worldly possessions, but there is one thing I'd like to give you. In the event of my death, I'm giving you my sword, the one and only Kubikiri Houcho. If I'm not dead, consider it a loan. Use it to kill anything you feel needs killing. Or those who mildly annoy you. Really, just use it whenever you feel like it, because who would stop you with that giant blade in your hand? I'm starting to ramble now. Maybe I should have listened to Meizu when he said I was too drunk to do this... At any rate, use it well, kid.'"
Tenten's eyes were wide open. Someone had claimed her as his daughter. This might not end well. She had been working on the plan Naruto Uzumaki had been arranging, and such a deviation could possibly ruin the 'long lost sibling' part Naruto had added, which meant that she wouldn't need him in order to get the chance to fulfill her dream of becoming a member of the Anbu. She was going to have to talk to him soon.
Placing the sword into an empty scroll, she gathered up each shuriken and rushed to Apartment Nine. She had to talk to Naruto about this development.
Naruto the future Hokage was pacing in his living room, trying to figure out how to adjust his current plan. He had no leverage on the Uchiha. While the boy didn't care for political power, and would probably let him be the proxy for his vote if he asked, he knew that the Uchiha would be a wild card if he was left to his own devices. The boy only cared about vengeance, which, while it gave Naruto the unofficial genin leader of Team Seven a lever during training, was not a useful means to be able to use the boy later. He would love having debts to collect at a later time, but he had nothing on the Uchiha. He couldn't even blackmail him. The boy had no vices that were exploitable, no family to threaten, no problems blocking him that he needed someone to help him overcome...
Naruto the future Hokage paused. He had something. The Last Loyal Uchiha wanted to kill his brother, and to do that, he needed power. Orochimaru was one of the most powerful shinobi in the world, and a member of the Legendary Sannin, traitor to the village or not. Naruto Uzumaki did need to come up with a way to deal with him after the Invasion. If the Uchiha was in Oto, Naruto the spymaster would have more eyes and ears in that village than the ones he had been planting since he politely got Kabuto to tell him every last detail of Orochimaru's plan before he kindly relocated him to several places around the village and one outside for Orochimaru to find.
All Naruto the strategist would have to do was set the stage for what he needed. A few questions to Kakashi on the Sannin, some questions on Orochimaru, and some begging for shows of skills from Kakashi's girlfriend when the Uchiha was present, and he would have the Uchiha right where he wanted him. The Haruno could prove an inconvenience, as the Uchiha did seem to begin to hold her to some regard. While this could help him later on down the line, her interference could ruin this entire plan. He would have to push the training with the rogue Sannin idea very carefully. Perhaps a mentioning of how one should get stronger to defend those they care for was in order. Naruto the heroic could do that, especially since he only would need the Uchiha gone until he needed him or he completed training with Orochimaru. Either way, faking the Uchiha's death would profit him, especially if he kept said boy informed on the Haruno's progress as a kunoichi, something that would skyrocket at the idea of the loss of her beloved. She would want to defend others who were close to her, after all.
Then, once all of the problems were solved, Naruto the matchmaker could prod them into a marriage. After all, after the mental anguish they'd be going through, he couldn't in good conscience not let them get married. His musings were, however, forgotten when he heard his door slam open. That was not a good sound. Then, he heard his shutters shutting and felt the sealing matrix he installed to prevent any eavesdroppers outside hear his discussions in here. That meant it was either Tenten, Shino, or Sai.
Opening the door, he found his "sister" looking around the room in a panic, as if trying to detect any hidden Anbu in the room.
"Tenten, what's wrong?" Naruto Uzumaki asked, "You look like you've seen a ghost."
"Worse," Tenten responded, pulling out the scroll containing one of Mist's Seven Swords, "What I have in this scroll could jeopardize my entire part in your plan."
"And what could that be?" he asked, scrutinizing the scroll.
"It's the Kubikiri Houcho," Tenten responded, "It turns out that my genetic father is none other than Zabuza Momochi, who recently died in combat and willed me the sword."
"Oh, is that it?" Naruto asked, chuckling, "You don't have to worry, then. That problem has taken care of itself."
"What do you mean?" Tenten inquired, "couldn't this slipping out jeapordize my need to use your name, and therefore my motivation for helping?"
"First of all, obviously not, as you ran here to warn me rather than to one of the Anbu to inform on me, meaning that you don't particularly want me to be taken in. Thanks for that, by the way," the blond said with a broad grin on his face, "Secondly, he's not dead, so I'll just need to send him a letter saying that your mother is named Kushina Uzumaki, who he had you with illegitimately. You'll get two clans for the price of one."
"You know him?" Tenten asked in surprise, "He's alive?"
"If anyone asks the second question, no," Naruto responded, "Outside of that, he and his assistant Haku owe me a favor or two for helping them out of a tight spot during my team's mission to Wave. We needed to protect a bridge builder, he needed to kill him. I got him out of harm's way and proved beyond a reasonable shadow of a doubt that his employer planned on killing him and his assistant. All we have to do is keep going like we've been doing. Much like the name on mine, your father's name was marked redacted on your birth certificate, after all, so you could say that he's your father and Kushina Uzumaki is your mother. As a matter of fact, now that I think about it, you inheriting that sword, temporary or not, gives you leverage in Konoha. Do you have any idea how long this village has coveted those swords? If you stick to the plan, but use that sword to show your paternal heritage, imagine how much pull you'll have once the Uzumaki name is brought to high regard. You could become the Head of the Anbu with very little manipulation from the heirs of the other clans. This is perfect! Any other problems that will help us?"
"Nothing comes to mind," Tenten replied, surprised by how much planning he had done in this short amount of time, "How goes your negotiation with the Hyuuga?"
"I'll let you know when Sai tells me whether she accepted the invitation where we can talk about what I'm trying to set up."
Hinata was making tea for her father while Hanabi was still off at the Academy for the next three hours and Neji had gone out on a mission. Her poor father's health kept worsening, yet he somehow survived. Unsurprisingly, the Cat had just entered through the window in the kitchen as usual.
"What did he send you for?" she asked. Normally, her benefactor only sent the Cat when he wanted to send something important that Shino telling her would raise suspicions about their activities.
"Ms. Hyuuga, after all of the discussions that you have had for the past few months, both through courier and through face to face discussion," the Cat said, "I have been sent to inform you that He has agreed to permit you to do as you wish and train your sister to become head of the Hyuuga clan should your father's illness get the best of him. He also said to inform you that He wishes to discuss other parts of the plan that is currently in place. In the public location that you have both been regulars at. He says that it would be for the best if you kept it low-key. That is all, Ms. Hyuuga. What say you to the meeting?"
"That sounds sufficient," she replied, "Tell him that I will be there in two days at noon, and that he should not be late if he wants to to leave a good impression."
"Very well, Ms. Hyuuga. I will inform him of your response as soon as time permits," the Cat said as he perched on the window to leave, "Should any new information present itself before that time, Shino will inform you of such. Have a nice day."
The next day, Team Seven was greeted by Kakashi at three in the afternoon. Naruto the student smiled at his instructor and asked, "Kakashi-sensei, I heard about this group called the Legendary Sannin. Who are they?"