Author's Note: First up, I decided not to rewrite Shield Ninja and continue. After struggling with the rewrite and other issues, I managed to get myself back on track with this story. I might make a fanfic where I post ideas and such as others might be able to use them like the pilot chapter snippets... However, I am only focusing now on this story and something my brother-in-law got me back into. I can't promise consistent posting right now as dealing with a lot of things, but I will try my best to post at least more often than not. Now, time to bring back the Shield Hero Naruto!
Though I won the Old Man over… Well, my jaw ached to keep my business smile up. I pondered on turning the headband I tied around my forehead into a mask at this rate.
"As if I will let you anywhere near our plants," A Chunin medic-nin crossed his arm as he glared me. Aburame-san quickly squashed the protests with a scroll from Old Man Hokage. Yet, it has been slow progress just for me to get into the greenhouses of the Medic Corps. Thankfully, I chose to go alone with just Aburame-san. There probably would have been property damage from the amount of hate thrown at me.
"You better not destroy-"
"I'm not here to prank anyone." I laughed off the scowls. "I'm just seeing if I can reproduce medicines I learned with herbs here in Konoha."
"Medicines?" Ah, I caught a little interest from someone before the rest laughed. "You, the drop out from the academy? How can you even do first aid, let alone make medicine and poisons."
"Jeez." I looked over the plants in the rows. See, I learned how to tell what plant was what from their magic power… And with finding the herbs closest to what was needed, I finally found my click.
Mint was Tinm.
Lavender was Venedral
Aleo Vera was Aelo.
A big grin formed on my face as I quickly collected up the herbs I needed. Yet, when I tried to table in the nearby lab, I was blocked by more Chunin.
"Are you-"
"No. I'm fine." I stopped Aburame-san and pulled out a scroll. Setting up my workstation had become second nature. I even managed to bargain a carpenter for a work desk I kept sealed away for times like this. The anger in the medic-nin's eyes was raw, but I focused on the recipes I flipped to in my field journal I had been slowly filling up to better my compounding.
"What are you-"
I took the mint and held it in my hands. "I am the Shield Hero and I order thee. Decipher the law of nature and remove the water. Dehydrate." My hands and the leaves glowed, drops of liquid dripping from my hands into a bowl I prepared ahead of time. Once the mint was dry. "Pulverize." A sphere of translucent light encased the mint leaves and small blades of wind shredded the leaves. Once a fine powder, I carefully poured the powder into a flask and went to work preparing the other ingredients.
"How did you learn to use your chakra like that?" Finally, the hook caught a fish. "I've never seen jutsu that activate just with words." A silver-haired teenager walked up to me. He almost reminded me of Kakashi, but had his hair tamed into a ponytail and just the glare of his glasses hid his eyes before he adjusted them.
"Kabuto, that's Uzumaki." A Chunin warned the silver-haired teenager. "There's no telling what taboos he learned from the-"
"They are cantrips or lifestyle magic as some call it." I huffed in frustration. "I learned them from an herbalist who can use magic as well as compound medicines. These spells actually should be so easy, a child can do it… But I still get stuck with chants for dehydration and a few others." And well worth the barter of learning such magic in exchange for herbs the herbalist needed. Being able to dehydrate herbs in an instant has become a game changer with controlling the quality of my medicine.
"As if!" Another teenager grabbed a branch of lavender. "Hear me, decipher the bah bah dry!" The teenager mocked before Kabuto cut the teen's hand and the branch with just his hand? It was too fast a movement for me to catch. "Ouch! Kabuto-sempai, why you-"
"I am the Shield Hero and I order thee. Decipher the law of nature and heal them. Faust Heal." I bluntly chanted and the teenager glowed. He looked at the cut as it knitted back together and moved his fingers in surprise. "Chill. This is a place where we find what heals our comrades. Also, magic is more than just a chant. You use only the spiritual part of your chakra instead of both physical and spiritual energies."
"Spiritual, huh?" Kabuto adjusted his glasses before picking up the cut branch. "So, the spiritual side…" Kabuto furrowed his brows. "I am the medic who understands thee. Decipher the law of nature and remove the moisture. Dehydrate."
"Oh?" Some droplets of moisture came onto the branch… But only soaked the branch instead of wept away as Kabuto broke his consideration and breathed hard from shock.
"So that's what happens if a chakra user tries to use magic for the first time, but has enough sense of their chakra to pull on their magic power." As well as an easy answer for me to know if I can pass on magic to medic-nin.
"You… never-" I pulled out a hair pin from my pocket.
"Here. See if this helps you get a better feel." Kabuto touched the crystal hair pin and his brows shot up. "We use magic power all the time with physical energy to make chakra, but are terrible at feeling it by itself. Took Iruka-sensei and me touching something similar to finally get the feel down for magic to work. Though, you must have affinities to Healing and Support to get instinct magic right off the bat for compounding cantrips." I pulled my long strands of hair back and pinned them in a bun with the hair pin. The headband kept my bangs back, but I needed a haircut.
Instinct magic was how Filo and Lial could use magic without learning it from grimoires. It was actually something Aunty was researching. It seemed to also tie into what magic you would learn from grimoires as the spell for one person would be different for another. It made me wonder if there were jutsu and chakra related things akin to instinct magic that I could use.
Hence why I reeled in a fish. Kabuto took a deep breath and- "Dehydrate." The liquid spilled from the branch, leaving a perfectly dried branch of lavender.
"Show off." I snorted as Kabuto pulverized the branch into powder with the pulverize cantrip. "How do you all use chakra for field medicine? I have healing magic, but even I am wary of abusing it. I know all too well infections and such from leaving in foreign materials in the wound." That made us all shutter, even Aburame-san.
"You haven't learned the Mystical Palm Jutsu?" Kabuto asked with a bit of shock and horror.
"I only just became a medic-nin. All my techniques come from another country that focuses on magic power usage." Kabuto nodded, "Could you show me?"
"Sure." Even with complaints from the ninja around us, Kabuto gathered chakra in his hand… And… Wait, I saw a slight blade of what had to be chakra nip his arm. He then did the Ox hand seal then Tiger to put his now glowing hands to the wound. It knitted the skin back together, but I could tell it was different. It was more like… Making the body heal itself rather than reforming the cells with magic.
"So odd," I blinked as Kabuto smiled at me. "Ah, what?"
"Your turn. Try a chakra scalpel first." Crap, it seemed I was the one hooked this time. Still, a blade of chakra on the hand… I closed my eyes and I felt my chakra and focused it into my hand. I heard gasps of shock and opened my eyes to see a good side blade on the side of my palm.
Uh… I looked at everyone else. Their eyes were glued to my hand. Wasn't chakra invisible to most people!? And with thinking about…
"Nope." I barely whimpered out as Tate-chan didn't even need to zap me. The images of me slashing people to pieces with just my hands made me ill. I quickly made the blade disappear and quickly did two hand signs and…
"Ow…" Bright. If I hadn't been squinting, I would be rolling on the floor like the poor few I heard nearby. Thankfully, with feeling my chakra out, I turned down the light my hands were producing and noted how it felt to avoid blinding myself next time.
"Amazing… Try sealing this." Kabuto nipped his hand with a chakra blade and held it up to me. I held my hands out to his and used my magic power to push the chakra towards the wound.
I didn't dare to touch Kabuto directly due to the amount of chakra, but the little bit with magic power was enough as I willed the cut to seal itself up quite easily.
Too easy.
I released my chakra and checked my hands.
No signs of a seal or outside interference. Nor did I sense any hidden seals or people in the room…
Well, outside the hidden ANBU or two lounging on the job. My glare at them quickly straightened them up even though I made sure to look like I was furrowing my brows at myself.
"What's wrong, Uzumaki-sempai?" Kabuto asked and jumped when I popped my wrist out of place. "Sempai! What are you-"
I didn't even need hand signs. Chakra came to my hands and… My senses expanded? Changed?
Like I could see something differently than before… And I easily shifted my wrist back into place without much movement through my chakra and magic power alone.
Was… Was this normal for a hero? The other three I knew from experience only had knowledge on their side.
But… Could we each have an underlying talent? Could I grow from just being a healer?
A loud bing hit my head and a screen popped up before me.
Growth Book has been added to Weapon Book.
Action Points now visible.
"..." I quickly looked into my weapon book and found a new section. Opening it showed me various items I had made and some blacked out… But I saw a number next to an AP.
Let's see… Ah! There's the medicine I made for the first time. It had two red orbs and a purple orb around it and I expanded it to see the options.
Medicine: A general medication good against common ailments like colds.
+20 SP : Required AP 200
+10 Defense: Required AP 100
Fairy King's Blessing a : Required AP 1000
I choose to spend AP on all three. To my shock and checking stats, I did get two boosts to my stats…
But what was "Fairy King's Blessing a"? I saw no stat change for that.
"You there, Uzumaki-senpai?" I snapped back to reality with Kabuto snapping his fingers in my face.
"Sorry. Just lost in thought." Though I'm going to be using this AP as I have plenty of it… But, some spots made me curious about what the item was. "I just can't wrap my head around it. I just picked up two jutsu in an instant."
Which was the truth. The Shadow Clone Jutsu took some major crunch time of practice to get it down. Magic I get came easy as I already put most of the leg work in before getting the feeling of magic power to get it going.
"I think you and I are similar. I failed the Genin Exam a few times as well." Kabuto sheepishly laughed while scratching the back of his head. "The academy is great for generalized studies, but it isn't good towards those who actually excel in focused abilities. I only know I am good at medical jutsu thanks to my mother teaching me before..."
"Sorry for your lost." We bowed our heads for a slight period of silence. "So… You're saying… This whole time I could've had it easier if I figured out my specialties sooner?" I felt ready to cry. All these years, I thought I just had a hard time with various subjects… Yet, here in the Medic Corps, it seems I am no longer stunted by my shortcomings.
"Yeah, but it's something we only learn over time." Kabuto shrugged with a somber smile. "But, may we see the medicines you are making?"
"Sure." And I went straight into compounding. Kabuto helped me with the process, but I lost him when it came to imbuing. That or I was horrible at explaining it since the trader I learned from learned by doing like me.
Yet, right as I finished making Healing Beverage…
Fairy King's Blessing a activated.
Ancient Knowledge Passive Unlocked Alchemy 1 and Alchemy Recipes along with shields related to said skills
Healing Beverage successfully transformed into Heal Jar.
"What?" Came out of my mouth before I hacked at the sudden smoke bomb that my pot created.
"Lair!"
"So you were-"
"No, something-"
"As if we would believe you after pulling this stunt!" I clicked my tongue and remembered the same hot looks from Melromarc. I felt the dark heat inside me move before I heard a clang of glass.
"Ah, Uzumaki-sempai… How did you make this from just a liquid compound?" I turned to the voice and found Kabuto holding a glass jar with an odd gold ribbon around the neck. Inside was a clear bluish liquid.
"What the…" I took the jar and used my appraisal skill on it.
Heal Jar : A basic healing medicine made from various extracts ; Quality 100 ; Element: Water; Effects: HP Heal (M): Ether Effects: Effect +, Powdery
There was more, but I pulled the glass topper and sniffed the medicine. I poured a small drop on my finger and tasted it.
"It's no longer bitter?" Though still a bit unpleasant with a chalky texture instead of the normal bitter of Healing Beverage.
"Kabuto-sempai, are you in on this prank-"
"No. It was in the pot… I'm just trying to figure out how the mixture appeared in its own container."
"That might be due to my Shield." I moved though my status and to my skills.
Ah ha! There's Fairy King's Blessing a! It seemed to be a bundle of active and passive skills under one name… Though all I could read was some the various skills… The rest seemed corrupted and turned into gibberish.
Yet, it was Ancient Knowledge and this "Alchemy'' thing that I bet the Kyuubi on that caused this. I wonder if Auntie knows-
"Thank you for taking me here."
"No problem. I needed to speak with Uzumaki-san."
"Ah, perfect timing, Auntie." I looked to the doorway and flinched at seeing the Hyuuga clan head standing next to Auntie.
Crap. Why did a clan head want to see me directly?
"How did I-" Auntie's eyes landed on the Heal Jar and her voice stopped in her mouth.
"Ah… Auntie?" I asked before finding Auntie somehow learned to teleport. Or she knows how to use speed boosting magic to the par of a ninja.
"It… It really is a Heal Jar!" Auntie held the jar carefully. "To think I would see an item thought only to exist in my history's fables before my own eyes!"
"Really?" Wait, the others looked at us with confusion and contempt. Kabuto's eyes, however, sparkled with curiosity and then I saw a translation bracelet on Auntie's wrist. One of our guards lent it to her with passing her off to the Hyuuga head. "My appraisal says it's a basic medicine."
"It is, but due to conflicts between the churches and practitioners of medicine, many fields like alchemy lost many recipes due to bad eggs. All thanks to the divide made by healing magic and medicine makers." Auntie let out a sigh. "I personally see such as nonsense as both can benefit from the other. Alchemy suffered the greatest from it to where history books said it was the art of affinity, able to make new items from others that no other discipline of magic could do."
"But how did I make this then?" I stared at the jar in utter confusion. "Tate-chan said some skill activated, but this is the first time something actually… Well, changed!"
"Heroes are known to bring much knowledge from their wo-homes to theirs… Maybe alchemy is closely tied to your homes from what I see this hospital is like. The alchemy of my place now focuses on just making technology and improving on the old instead of trying to create special items alchemy once made." Auntie said before seeing my "bullshit" expression. "Or it could be your shield. Much of the history of the Four Legendary Weapons are held by the religious sects and few can access those records."
"Yeah… I noticed that." So I need to visit that church again. There is no way I could put learning about the weapons through grapevine tactics on the side.
Especially with finding levels and status magic exists in this world… And people here do age by level. The ANBU was able to quickly prove it amongst their ranks through simply comparing their new recruits to longer serving members close to the same age.
Those with a high kill count aged enough to look like young adults even though closer to my age. Thankfully, though, it seems killing is harder here and the aging is limited to a few years older than to what my aging had done.
There had to be more to the heroes than just being picked at random by the summoning.
"Though, you are saying you made it?"
"Ya, Auntie." I sighed and turned back to my field journal. "It's like…" My hand moved on its own, but it was exactly as I was about to describe it. The recipe just popped in my mind and now how to do a Heal Jar was on my field notebooks page.
"Kabuto… Could you-"
"On it." Kabuto smirked while adjusting his glasses. He took the ingredients I wrote down and copied my instruction. "Ah," He almost stopped mixing but I grabbed his hands.
"Let me do this part." I imbued my magic power into Kabuto's own to push into the mixing pot and after a bit… A small puff of smoke and a glass jar with a muddy liquid appeared.
"Huh?" Kabuto went crossed eyed, but quickly straightened himself when I gave him a stern look. Good. We were still figuring out how to get status magic awakened in everyone without doing it individually like I just did as a by product…
Still, the proof was right before.
Heal Jar : A basic healing medicine made from various extracts ; Quality 40 ; Element: Water; Effects: HP Heal (M): Ether Effects: Healing, HP+, Muddy
"Alchemy is amazing." Even though it was the same item from the same materials, my Heal Jar was superior. Still… What was this HP+? And why wasn't Healing on my jar?
As well as what was Ether Effect or Ether in general?
"Then you may be of assistance to me, Uzumaki-san." I raised a brow at the Hyuuga clan head. "With seeing the necklaces you imbued, you reminded me of something that I found with becoming clan head." The Hyuuga clan head pulled a delicate looking scroll. "My clan has no means to use this old knowledge, but you might."
"The catch?" My brows went up when I opened the scroll.
"You may need the Cipher Corps to help-"
"It's a bit different… But it's a magic language." I said with shock and showed it to Aunt.
"You're right. I can't really make it out, but that might be due to this being a different.. country's version." Auntie looked at me apologetically. Likely, she caught herself before destroying the cover up to hide from the civilians and other ninja villages about other worlds. "Can you read it?"
"Amazingly, yeah. It's oddly clearer to me than what I learned in Melromarc." I glanced over the scroll. "It's a log of recipes… Except for this odd passage: To whoever receives this scroll, beware of those who plant the seedlings of destruction and use these recipes…"
To help fend off the threat the old hourglasses' chime warns of.
The words stayed in my mouth. I felt the cold sweat form as my eyes stayed glued to the pen illustration next to the passage… It looked exactly like the Dragon's Hourglass back in that church.
"Uzumaki-senpai, are you all-"
"How much for this scroll?" I rolled the scroll back up and looked the Hyuuga clan head straight in the eyes. "This… is possibly more important than your whole clan. Especially if what I've been through is exactly the threat it speaks of."
"I see." The Hyuuga clan head paled ever so slightly, but his firm grimace told me I made the point clear. "You probably see my notes next to one recipe. Make it so we both know it is true, first."
Ah… For a clan head… Your handwriting is kind of childish. Thankfully, he used loose paper for his notes… Let's see… If I am right… I need burdock, taun, and a liquid. Thankfully, there was a taun tree here in the greenhouse along with burdock.
The recipe had specific measurements, but I figured out ratios just to be safe. Much to my shock, the process known as synthesis made medicine much faster than before I knew it…
Success! Cure Jar created!
Cure Jar quality improved from 30 to 60!
Cure Jar : Neutralizes poisons and effects on and within the body ; Quality 60; Element: Earth ; Effects: Cures anomalies; Ether Effects: MGK+, RES+
And it appeared with its own container like the Heal Jar. Still… What the hell was this medicine? Cures anomalies was pretty vague. Is it able to cure illness or is it just referring to poison only? Especially with only working on it with half the time other medicines took me.
In fact, I tried Soul Healing Medicine and Magic Power Water through this method… And was grinning ear to ear with successfully making both with far commoner ingredients and less processing.
"These are medicines you learned from this Melromarc?" Kabuto asked as he looked over the container the Soul Healing Medicine. It was a short, squat bottle that looked like a heart. Magic Power Water came in a more dew drop shaped bottle with taper.
"Yep. And the Medic Corps can easily make these medicines." I grinned back at the scowls. "Still, why were you looking into medicine like this?" I handed the Cure Jar to the Hyuuga clan head.
"To better my clan for the future," His whole body seemed weighted down as he looked at the medicine in relief. "You want this scroll?"
"Yes." I glared at the Hyuuga head. "If I am right on that scroll… It may serve Konoha much good as well as Melromarc for the job I am stuck in due to idiot summoner."
"Summoner?" Kabuto asked while glancing at my shield. "Ah, wait, then your disappearance wasn't due to-"
"Yeah. If I hadn't been summoned, then Iruka-sensei would have died due to… the situation we were in with the Forbidden Scroll." I pinched the bridge of my nose. "Damn enemy took advantage of my failures to trick me into thinking stealing the Forbidden Scroll was a make-up exam. Still pissed at myself for being so naive."
"Ouch, yeah… That sucks." Kabuto sheepishly laughed with everyone glaring at me outside Kabuto, Auntie, and the Hyuuga Head.
"Yeah, right. Lair." Was clearly written on their faces as I sealed away my work station.
"Let us discuss details at a better place." Wow. Thank you. The Hyuuga head actually gave a pretty scary evil eye at the medic-nin. "I'm assuming you plan to share this with Konoha?"
"Yeah. I mean, I can make medicines, but not enough for the whole village." Though, I wished my fellows and ladies of the Medic Corps would lay off with their hatred. They can hate me, but at least put it aside for the greater good.
"Ah, could we go to this Tea Avenue?" Auntie perked up. "I am very interested in the teas of this w-country. Maybe it will cut the edge of discussion, too?"
"Sure. I live near there, so-" I sensed the movement, but I was shocked to see the Hyuuga head already blocked a kick from one of the younger medic-nin when I turned…
And face full of liquid along with the ping sound of broken glass. Damn. Which of the medicines bro-
The pain, the burning pain stabbed me through the eyes and straight into my brain then throughout my whole body. I collapsed on my knees and banged my head into the ground in hopes of knocking myself out.
"Uzu-"
"See! He was-"
"-maki-senpai are-"
Monster Crest Curse removed.
Curse of Hatred removed.
Curse of the Otsutsuki removed.
The pings only added to the misery as my whole body felt like it was turning itself inside out… Everything spun around me… Or was my vision expanded? No clue… Outside my throat ached when the burning subsides… Odd… I felt quite light after...
My eyes widened as I looked up at my status message again. I quickly yanked off my chest plate and looked at my chest.
The monster crest was gone.
"He's alright! He was just acting, bastard." The young medic-nin huffed with his arms crossed. "He's been acting this whole time and wasting our-"
"You. Fucking. Bastard." The room became dead silent as I put my armor back on. "Do you know what you have done?" I let my head slack back as I glared at the punk of a medic-nin.
"Ah… What is with his-"
"I fuckin' got to pay to get that on!" I roared as I launched myself at young medic-nin in a black and white world. I saw odd tubes, but ignored it while pushing magic power into the shield. "Monster crests are fuckin' expensive as hellllll!" I snapped and slammed the shield right into the medic-nin's gut… Wait a… I felt a blast of my magic power come out of the shield and hit the big bundle of tubes in the gut…
The medic-nin turned pale and coughed out spit before his eyes rolled back in his head… He collapsed onto the ground twitching.
"Uh… I… do that?" I blinked a few times before my vision spun. I could see behind me and before me… Circle and circle...There!
"Are you alright?!" Auntie screamed as I barely made it to a trash can.
No… Please make this spinning ride stop! My head feels like it is unscrewing from my neck.
"Close your eyes." I did as the voice said and only black and white covered all around me.
Oh… The spinning began to stop. Still heaved from the disorientation. It's worse than that one time I got snagged in my own snare trap and ended up spun around fast by Kiba and some other kids. Wait… How could I see things if my eyes are closed.
"Just breathe in and out… Calm down and let your chakra move away from… Ah, it's not chakra that… So, a magic power version." The Hyuuga head said as he moved my headband over my eyes and tied it. "Not everyone in the clan activates the Byakugan, but we sometimes get late bloomers like you. Do you sense the pool of energy in your eyes?"
Now that he mentioned it… It seemed like a lot of magic power to my eyes. I willed it away… And flinched as nine chunky green hands touched my face and absorbed the magic power… I focused behind me… And breathe a sigh of relief seeing them connected to my back instead to my tail bone. I'll… look into that later… Once I figure out what is wrong with my eyes.
"Everything seems steady now?"
"Yeah." The Hyuuga head helped me stand. I tried to move the headband off my eyes, but he stopped me.
"Don't. Your brain isn't used to the expanded sight. By removing color and light, it allows for both the eyes and brain to catch up." Oh. Made sense as I could still see people around me as well as the desks and such. "However, nice shot. That lad will be out cold for a few days."
"What?!" I regretted doubling the double take as I almost tripped on my own feet from vertigo.
"He deserved it for attacking a fellow shinobi of Konoha." The Hyuuga head's voice was stone cold and everyone flinched from it. "Even worse, he attacked my future son-in-law."
"No… I shouldn't have-" I jolted straight up. "What do you-"
"Marrying my daughter is a must to even discuss the selling of the scroll to you." The Hyuuga head then grinned. "As if I would let a natural Gentle Fist user slip my grasp… Though, she will be joining your clan as you just gave me the means to end the tradition my clan used as an excuse to put politics within our own family.. I wonder what to call your eyes as they aren't Byakugan per say."
Next thing I know is I am with the Old Man Hokage in his personal tea room with Hiashi and Auntie.
"So, what is this urgent matter, Hiashi-san." Huh?! How did the Old Man know this was more than just a spontaneous tea ceremony? Not that the Old Man would not deny a chance to rest with some tea. "And why is Naruto blindfolded?
"I hope you don't mind that this outsider is a witness," Hiashi deeply bowed. "But, I want to officially have my eldest daughter wedded to Uzumaki-sama."
"Kinda not a surprise if he can hear it." The Old Man chuckled before I shook my head. "Wait, the why-Ooooh… Shit."
"He is also a natural with knocking out an unruly medic-nin." Wow. Didn't know the Old Man's brows could go up so high. "His eyes are a magic power version of the Bakyugan that somehow awakened when he got splattered by the antidote for the Caged Bird Curse Seal."
"I see… So to keep-Wait… You said antidote to your clan's secret seal?" The Old Man turned serious.
"Yes. I will give you this scroll, Uzumaki-sama, for enough jars of medicine to give to every branch family member." I focused on Hiashi, "And I wish for you to take them in to reform the Uzumaki clan."
"To protect them from the Hyuuga Elders? Or protect yourself?" The Old Man huffed with a frown.
"More to prevent a civil war between the Hyuuga." Whelp, that got our attention. "I believe you know of my nephew, Neji-san."
"Yes, he became Rookie of the Year last year when he graduated to Genin. What do-"
"I want Uzumaki-sama to adopt him as his brother as he will be the first to be cured of his brand. Many see him more fit for leading the clan with his talent… Hence I want him to be part of the head household of the Uzumaki to bring peace to the branch Hyuuga."
"So… This whole marriage thing is a ploy to protect your freed kin?" I raised a brow at Auntie. This was so confusing. Why not free their family and be done with it.
"More… there is great animosity between the main and branch families of the Hyuuga." The Old Man took a sip of tea. "The tradition of the two houses is that the branch family serve and protect the main branch which protects the deepest secrets of the Bakyugan and Gentle Fist style. Hence when the heir of the main branch turns three years old, all unbranded members of the branch family are branded with a curse seal to keep them under control and protect the secrets of the Bakyugan."
"So they aren't even seen as the same family, but as two separate ones ready to feud." Auntie gasped as I took my glass of tea. "But, by having me take the branch Hyuuga into the Uzumaki clan… You truly make them a different clan… But won't you lose the Bakyugan to me? Of all people?"
There had to be a catch.
"Actually, it is more to protect you and your newfound dojutsu." Hiashi chuckled with a bitter smile. "The freedom they deserve is long overdue. I find our tradition no longer serves its original purpose in this day and age like it did during the Feuding Era. If this creates the bonus of reviving the Uzumaki clan and, together, the Uzumaki and Hyuuga create a far fairer and humane method to protect our clan secrets… Well, I'm already on cloud nine as I know my daughter will be overjoyed with this agreement… My youngest can take on as heir to the Hyuuga clan while we all don't worry about the Elders trying to push their power to brand my eldest due to… her downfalls."
"So you are just passing your failures onto my back?" Ugh. I feel for this girl already. I wasn't exactly prime marriage material with having the Fox in my gut.
"Hit it where it hurts… But maybe it is for the best as I only seem to cause my daughter to wilt rather than bloom like my younger daughter does under my guidance." Hiashi gave me a small smile. "She actually admires you. Even if you two do not see eye to eye on the real wedding when you are older, I think she will settle with being adopted into the Uzumaki clan after divorcing. I rather keep things civil than make things more chaotic thus far."
Dude… The hell?
Are you still trying to up-sell me or do you really know her feelings about me? Still… Hiashi was right in needing protection. Mizuki's damage only worsened the rift between most of Konoha and me. It wouldn't take much for Konoha's enemies to try and win me over… Or, kill me to take my eyes since I am loyal to Konoha.
Having a clan, albeit one that might not like me, would provide a buffer as there's more of us. Especially with having to deal with Melromarc, this new Uzumaki clan can keep my surname shielded from any rumor mills and such. If it kept just me being the punching bag, that would be wonderful till I finish my job as Shield Hero.
"I'll accept on one condition." I let out an exhausted sigh. "Help establish the Uzumaki's clan residence while I am away. I know you have the funds from my parents' Old Man… So put it to use to help Hiashi fund this."
"Gladly. I've been saving most of it for when you wanted a home of your own." The Old Man made a signal and an ANBU appeared. "Could you please send Gai-san up to me. His team is likely reporting from their latest mission? I assume you wish to have Neji train Naruto in the Gentle Fist right away?"
"Yes." Hiashi nodded to the ANBU before he disappeared. "As well as I recommend his team and sensei. If Naruto-sama is correct, having a taijutsu team could prove useful if they assisted in Naruto-sama's and his fellow heroes' training."
"I was thinking of having Gai-san join Ibiki-san's team… But I think your idea would be better."
"Ah, if possible… Could I recommend someone for Ibiki-san's team?" I smiled even though I felt bitter thinking of this. "Could you add the medic-nin Kabuto-san? More to help me with medical jutsu… And also pass on Melromarc medicine and such through him with how the Medic Corps reacts to me. It would probably result in a smoother adoption… As well as balance out my weaknesses as a medic-nin till the next Wave."
"Another medic would be a good idea, too." Though the Old Man let out an exhausted sigh. "I apologize, Naruto… If I had known it-"
"It is mostly my fault… A naïve, but still my own mistake," And probably made another with knocking out a medic-nin. "Ah, since Auntie is here… Shall we discuss the evacuation of her family? I know some of them live in Riyute, right?"
"Ah, yes." Auntie gasped. "They lost their home due to the Wave. They have been staying at the inn which thankfully was mostly spared and turned into refuge for those working to rebuild. I'll use a crystal to contact them when we get back to Melromarc, but we will likely need to help them from there."
"I might have Kakashi put that seal within the old coal mine near Riyute then." I crossed my arms. "The current location isn't that safe considering the cave next to it has strong monsters and it is with little hiding space in the desert cliffs. By having it in the mine, it will be easier to hide the transfer between worlds, and we can disguise it as a sort of base of operations for my trading business. I mean, Kakashi only has so much chakra. We can't run him to the ground as it is not fun to run out of magic power even though you have health power left with my medicines."
"Speaking of medicines… Could you make that antidote?" Anti-Oh, yeah. Cure Jar. I quickly took out the few supplies I needed and started the synthesis. "Hm? Odd… Did you prepare all this beforehand?" The Old Man looked at me quite surprised.
"Sort of…" More Kabuto got a little carried away and now I had some excess ingredients ready to go. I would have scolded him if not for all that happened with the Heal Jar situation. "My shield unlocked my ability to use alchemy… Which seems to be a lost art here in our world."
"Ah. I heard of that study." The Old Man stood up. "In fact, if you managed to decipher that scroll, I might give you my own studies of other such texts. I enjoy trying to piece together the common lines of history from various sources and it might prove useful."
"Especially… Since it seems the Dragon Hourglasses exist here as well." That dropped the temperature a few degrees in the room. "The scroll had a warning with an illustration of the hourglass… So our history may have a permanent solution to the Waves."
"I see… All the more important to gather what information we can." The Old Man huffed as he opened a hidden space and pulled out a large scroll. "I keep it in here as I mess with this in my spare time to relax… But now I am glad I have seen more missions from archaeologists and historians. I will look into more sources of information for you, Naruto. Till then, this is a storage scroll filled with various texts and my notes as some are of lost languages."
"Like our magic language." I tapped my forehead. "It seems I can read it thanks to learning Melromarc's magic language. So Auntie might be a big boon as even though she can't read our world's magic language, she can tell it from normal text. You might even want to have her shop ready to go before even getting her situated."
"She will actually get your old apartment." Eeh? "The owner of the business below the apartments passed away. Since no one wanted to inherit it, I was thinking of letting you have it if you didn't want to become a ninja. I obtained the property through the scroll mess… So, instead I will have her take over that shop and take residence in your apartment to make it easy for her. I will be paying you a lien from her and other tenets' rent to assist your funds with you on such a long term mission."
"Does that mean I can kick-"
"No. My only rule is you can't kick out any of your tenets unless for actual reasons like not paying and such." The Old Man chuckled. "I'm the landlord, not you."
"Dammit… If that bastard below keeps you up, Auntie, let me know. I refuse to let his singing ruin your sleep."
"I see. Don't worry, dearie. I'm a veteran at noisy nights with raising quite a few children and grandchildren… Ah, speaking of which, I do worry about Ake."
"Is he the one from the Knight order?" She nodded. "Gonna guess he's gonna be stubborn and want to stay and protect Melromarc?"
"Exactly. He had a fire lit under him after seeing you in action during the last Wave." Auntie frowned. "But I have been helping him out as his unit is often looked down upon due to accepting the demi-humans in their ranks."
"So that hatred extends to even their own kind?" Ugh. Are humans really that... No, I know that answer. I experienced it first hand here in Konoha… Parents would often scold their children if they played with me. Nicer people, often foreigners, were warned to not be nice to me by the villagers.
But, even then, they didn't hate the people trying to be nice to me.
"Done." The Old Man blinked as the liquid puffed into smoke and turned into a Cure Jar. "Yeah, I still don't get how it gets its container."
"Amazing, so this is al-"
"Lord Hokage!"
"Lord Naruto!"
"Oww…" The roar that came from opening the sliding door brought back my headache. Ah… Oh dear. A man with a bowl cut was… No, he had on skin tight outfit. He almost fell over when Raphtalia rushed into the room.
"Sorry for intru-Lord Naruto! Are you alright?!" Raphtalia grabbed me by my shoulders as she went to her knees. "Why are your eyes-Gasp! Who did-"
"Stop." I yanked my headband back over my eyes. The light acted like blades into my skull. "I'm okay. Just splitting headache with awakening a dojutsu."
"Do… Jutsu?" Oh, it didn't translate.
"My eyes evolved and are now stronger." And she was still confused.
"He has gained expanded sight and being able to see through objects." Ah, thank you Hiashi. "He isn't used to it, so the headband allows him to focus his sight without being overwhelmed with color and light." Oh, Matthew and Iruka were also here. Matthew looked horrified while Iruka gave me a tired look.
"But your cu-"
"An accident due to this." I held up a Cure Jar to Raphtalia's eyes. "At least freeing everyone will be much cheaper once we no longer need the curses."
"Medicine?... Wait, you made Holy Water?!" Raphtalia's ears and tail frizzed out with her hair.
"No. It's a Cure Jar. It seems to treat even curses as if they are anomalies to the body." I sighed before a person pushed past Iruka and Matthew. He scowled at Hiashi before seeing me and went wide eyed with veins popping out around his eyes.
"Neji-san, do not be rude-"
"Who are you?" Neji demanded with an angry glare. "Your eyes are like the Bakyugan, but-"
"I'm Uzumaki Naruto." I stood up and Neji took a step back after seeing my height. "I am safe to assume this Cure Jar is for him."
"Yes." Hiashi nodded to me. "Neji-san, could you allow Uzumaki-sama to apply that medicine to your forehead?"
"What?" Neji looked between Hiashi and I before he scuffed. "Isn't Uzumaki Naruto a kid? How could this man be that little thief?"
"Because I killed enough things to age several years." That got quite the sour look on the bowl cut man. "Not that you have to worry about that unless you join ANBU. Killing is a lot tougher here than in Melromarc."
"Still, Uzumaki was fated to be a failure… So that medicine must be-" I shocked Neji by moving faster than him and yanking off his headband.
"Too bad." I poured the Cure Jar over his head… Ah, crap. My Medicine Efficiency equip bonus activated as my shield glowed and Neji glowed with it. The bandages on his forehead sizzled and he quickly yanked them off to expose some charring… And I caught a glimpse of a cross like seal before it burnt away, leaving slightly red skin behind from the heat.
So this is what he meant by-Oh, shit… Neji's eyes seemed to glow with magic power.
"Neji?!" The bowl cut guy helped keep him steady. "Are you alright?!" Neji pulled a mirror from his kunai pouch and looked at himself.
"It's… It's gone?" He put his hands together and I saw the pulse of chakra. "Release… Release..." He bit his lip and turned his attention to me. "What… What have you done?"
"I am now your brother, Neji," I smiled at him. "As payment for creating Cure Jars… I am taking in all the Branch Family of the Hyuuga as my fellow clansmen and clanswomen. Along with taking Hiashi-sama's daughter's hand in marriage."
"I'm… free?"
"Yes." I nodded before gulping at killer intent.
"Did… Did you just say marriage?" I slowly turned to Raphtalia and found her smiling at me… But why did it look so menacing?
"Y-Yes. It was-" Raphtalia! She turned and stormed out of the room with Matthew following. "W-What have I done wrong?" I whimpered as Iruka-sensei facepalmed himself and the older people in the room gave me cheeky expressions.
What in bloody hell did I just do?! Tell me?!
Why was Raphtalia angry that I am getting married?!
End Note- And done for now. Probably gotten get flack for this chapter, but gonna already say no harem in this story. I mean... Come on. I am writing the POV of a kid who happens to be in an adult body. Of course romance is the last thing on his must think of list.