This isn't much. I even hesitated to delete it instead of publishing it, but that's the purpose of this collection so, here you go: an Uzumaki!OC, meant to become OC/Shikaku...

It was a remote village in the Land of Hot Water. A perfect place to lay low, far from the borders and the popular roads.

Team 10 soon discovered that the local population was closely knit. Their arrival brought stares and whispers, but the Head of the village didn't bat an eyelash at their sensei's explanation. The sixty years old woman hadn't even introduced herself before refusing to give them the information they were looking for. They only knew she was called Akari because a little girl had pointed at her and named her when they asked for the one in charge.

"We knew you'd come," Akari said. "It was inevitable. It doesn't mean you'll get whatever you want."

"We don't mean the Uzumaki any harm," Sarutobi Akio repeated.

"The will to harm doesn't always precede harm itself. You're shinobi. You bring harm wherever you go."

"We only wish to protect them. Others are willing to destroy all traces of Uzushiogakure."

Akari snorted. "Protect. Mh? For all the good it did to their family."

Akio, always calm under pressure and criticism, kept his cool. "It's true that we were too far to help then, and it's exactly why we want to bring them back to Konoha: so they wouldn't be too far to be protected. In Konoha, they'd be safe."

"So you say." The old woman made a dismissive hand gesture. "Prove it."

Akio paused and raised an eyebrow. "Certainly. How?"

Sitting on a stool in front of her house, Akari banged on a pan. The gawkers —who had been watching the scene more or less obviously— came forward. The young chuunin tensed, contrary to their sensei, but the villagers simply sat down in a circle. More and more people came and joined the improvised gathering until all the village seemed to be present to watch the shinobi expectantly.

"You pretend that the Uzumaki are part of Konoha, mh?" Akari said. "Well, go on, find the Uzumaki. Find them, and they'll come with you."

"Will they, really?" Inoichi asked, suspicious.

"You were expected. This is their test. Pass it and get what you want. Fail and leave. You have five minutes. Only one tentative. No jutsu, no questions. Use your eyes and your brain. Rumor has it Konoha is supposed to have good ones."

Team 10 shared wary glances. That was a tricky test. The Uzumaki didn't have a specific physical trait to distinguish them. Red hair was common but not a good enough factor.

"That's impossible," Inoichi complained. "There are more than a hundred people here!"

Akari sent him an unimpressed glance. She shrugged and replied: "Then leave."

"Fifteen minutes," Shikaku demanded. He held Akari's stare, impassive. "Or are you so eager to go back to your crops?"

She chuckled, her expression relaxing with humor. "Point taken, kid. You're a good distraction. Alright then, fifteen minutes."

Team 10 gathered around Shikaku.

"You have a plan?" Chouza asked.

"Elimination," Shikaku replied.

"Alright," Akio agreed, looking at the people gathered around them thoughtfully. "What do we know?"

"The informant said they were young," Inoichi immediately volunteered.

"But the paper we saw with their calligraphy is damn good. They can't be a kid," Chouza pointed out.

"Let's say around ten to twenty," Akio concluded. "That leaves around fifteen of them."

"That's still fourteen more than we want," Inoichi grumbled.

"We were expected," Shikaku murmured to himself. "That's what she repeated. And, the Uzumaki doesn't seem eager to come with us."

"So?" Chouza asked, encouraging him to continue.

"So… they'd try to make it as hard as possible. Anyone too obvious wouldn't be them."

"No red hair you mean?" Akio asked, nodding slowly. "They could have dyed their hair to avoid detection. It makes sense."

Shikaku lingered on the rest of their options. His eyes stopped on one of them before moving on. "No ink on the hands either."

"I still count nine options," Inoichi commented after a moment of observation.

Shikaku sat down, and his team followed, respecting his need for silence as he contemplated the issue. As time passed without them talking to each other, the villagers kept whispering among them. Akari asked:

"Did you give up, shinobi?"

"Not at all," Akio replied peacefully. He had complete trust in his student to figure this out.

Akari grunted, suspicious. After a moment, she warned them: "Only one minute left."

Then, Shikaku stood up and walked toward a young teenager. The villagers had quieted down and watched him with avid eyes, but when Shikaku reached the boy, he walked to the side, along the circle. He paused briefly two times, in front of an older girl and then a younger one.

"Ten seconds," Akari called.

Shikaku stopped. He stared at a twenty years old girl with jet black hair, fair skin, and chocolate eyes. He bowed. "Uzumaki-san."

Silence met his greeting, and then a long sigh.

"How did you guess?" She was watching him with a displeased pout.

"People tensed when I reached you," Shikaku explained calmly with a hand on his hip.

"... That's it? No Uzumaki special trait?"

Shikaku shrugged. "Nope."

The girl watched him, taken aback, before chuckling. "Alright. Fair enough." She stood up. "I'm Uzumaki Manami."