I hope you enjoy. This is clearly a very heavy AU and while it's overused plenty I felt it would be cool to do a Woodstyle Naruto fic myself. Anyway so obvious changes that I will mention and will likely imply some things for the fic overall.
is Tsunade and Jiraiya's child and part of Minato and Kushina's generation.
is a woman…..assume what that will entail as you will. I won't be posting a full pairing list till much later. She also isn't the only one that is suddenly a woman.
has woodstyle and is not a jinchuuriki.
story starts during the last days of the Second Shinobi World War.
For all those interested in a great community of fellow writers and readers of fanfiction I urge you to come down and give a try to AizenTheGoat's discord server an invitation code can be found here → /JpTMCgvr
Anyway I hope you enjoy, and take a look at my other stories if you haven't so far.
Chapter One
What to Expect
Senju Estate, Konoha
She snarled viciously at the man before her. Someone she thought knew her better than any other but had gone behind her back to put their son in jeopardy once again. To say Tsunade was furious with Jiraiya was a gross understatement.
"You and that old fool have no right, Jiraiya!" She cried as she tried to land an infuriated blow smashing a table that the white haired man had substituted himself with.
"Calm down would you! Stop acting like it's the end of the world!" Jiraiya shouted back as he spun around a very sharp looking table leg being used as an impromptu kunai.
"Don't tell me to calm down bastard! Not after what you did!" She screamed.
"You're blowing this way out of proportion!" He shouted as he went out the open window.
"Get back here and suffer!" She howled as she went after him.
Jiraiya had never seen her this angry before. Which was saying something, he had always sort of liked her temper. It was weird, sure, but every man had their tastes and his had always been Tsunade, especially when she was acting hot-headed and angry.
This was different though. He wasn't aroused at all at the burning eyes tracing his movements or the way she jiggled. Alright so that was a lie, he was very aroused right now but it was simply outdone by how very terrified he was becoming the more she pursued him.
In hindsight, he should have expected some sort of reaction like this. Their son, well he was their world of course. For Tsunade though, it was more than that. Jiraiya loved the kid, he was his own flesh and blood, but already having shown the signs of an early prodigy and the ability to use the legendary woodstyle, Naruto was far too important to be coddled by them. It sucked but their world was unforgiving. Naruto would be something amazing but they had to push him to achieve that.
"Jiraiya!" Tsunade shouted as he managed to narrowly avoid being cornered by her.
"Tsunade, it's for the best!" He tried to reason with her.
"For the best? Lie to yourself, fool but not to me. The old monkey has been whispering in your ear about all this since Naruto made that little sapling grow in the training yard. You just can't bring yourself to stand up to him." The blonde hissed at her, now likely former, lover.
Jiraiya paused briefly at that. Did she really think that of him? That he couldn't stand up to their teacher over anything? A more worrisome question, was she actually right?
"No. No! I agreed with him after he made me see reason. Naruto is going to be the center point for the next generation Tsunade he needs to be ready." Jiraiya argued.
"He needs a childhood! He's five! You've gone off and betrothed him to that Uzumaki Princess and tossed him into the upper class in the academy and he's just five!" She screamed, swinging another punch that nearly connected with his head only to freeze mid swing.
Jiraiya took a deep breath to calm himself as he watched Tsunade struggle briefly against the shadows that pinned her in place. Three Nara clansmen hidden behind ANBU masks. He wasn't sure which impressed him more, that three were required to restrain her or that it only took those three to stop her.
"I know you're upset about it, but we graduated at six, the same age that he will. He needs to be prepared for-" Jiraiya tried reasoning with her until he fully locked eyes with her and saw something he never thought he would.
The honey colored eyes he loved so much looked back at him with nothing but disgust and hatred. In this moment, she truly hated him. The realization that she actually, truly hated him almost caused him to miss her next words but the snarl on her lips brought him back just in time to register what she was telling him.
"He's all I have left in this world Jiraiya and you and the old monkey are treating him like a weapon. Just like the elders did to my Grandmother and just like they plan to do for that little Uzumaki that you decided Naruto would marry without my input at all. He's five and he needs to be kept home and safe till he's older and strong enough to protect himself." Her voice had fallen from the outraged roar earlier to an indignant hiss. Something that hurt more than the white hot fury she had come at him with earlier.
"Tsunade, I am trying to protect him by making sure he is ready." Jiraiya argued.
"Shut up." She snapped, her voice had finally fallen lower even than the previous hiss and now to a simple cold tone.
"Just shut up. I don't want you coming back around to the estate. I don't want you near MY son either." She huffed as the shadows receded from below her. Finally free, and no longer murderous in her rage. That was the end of it. Tsunade simply rolled her shoulders once she was free and stalked off back home to await her son returning from the academy. His first day placed with the advanced class.
All Jiraiya could do was watch her go. The Anbu shifted awkwardly for a brief moment before flickering away. The Sannin sighed deeply as he leaned back against a wall and groaned. A part of him tried to convince himself that she would get over all this and things could go back to how they had been. They'd been really good for the last seven years or so.
That look in her eyes though. He'd never seen something like that from her. It told him a different story. Things wouldn't blow over, she held grudges anyway so the thought that this time she really was done with him caused an ache in his chest. Only worsened when the last of his team dropped down beside him with a blank look on her face.
Like Tsunade though, her eyes were different. Slitted golden orbs that he once felt such attraction toward now simply made him feel awkward. The knowing, mocking look he knew to be hiding behind the calm blank expression made it all the worse. Those eyes seemed to judge him as a fool, once again and he hated it. Every bit of his being hated it. Even though he could never bring himself to hate their owners. Perhaps that was why he hated the judging look from them so much. He would never utter a word about how they hurt him.
"Jiraiya…" The pale, exotic woman said as she looked over at him. No change in expression, just a slight tilt of her head as she thought of her words. He decided he would preempt whatever venomous insults she planned to sling at him. He really didn't need it today.
"Can it Orochimaru. I have enough shit to deal with. I already know what you are going to say. 'Stop being Sensei's dog. Think for yourself. You're being an asshole.' Tell me did I hit it on the head?" He asked sarcastically.
Orochimaru stared back at him but Jiraiya could see just the slightest shift in her eyes. A change from mocking to disdain, maybe. She was always hard to read...especially for him. Slowly she shook her head, long black hair swaying slightly with the motion. She and Tsunade both truly were beauties. One the gorgeous princess, the other the exotic temptress.
"You are a pathetic idiot. I'll be getting more involved with Tsunade and Naruto-kun. I was going to offer trying to mend your relationship with her and not badmouth you to him, but I think they are better off away from you." She said without changing her expression in the slightest.
"Please, you wouldn't talk me up to the two of them if I paid you to. Plus, what makes you think you are so much better to be around them. After all, Naruto will never know his uncle thanks to you." Jiraiya replied. He hated himself the moment he said it. It was a low blow and it made him wonder how did he get here from the little boy who had crushed after both of his teammates so terribly.
Orochimaru couldn't quite force down the hurt look that leapt in her eyes from his words. Most would have missed it but not Jiraiya. He was better trained to read people than most, but the only reason he caught it with her was because they had been close for literally their entire lives. Same orphanage, same academy class, same team...and after a lifetime of friendship all they had was bitterness and regret between them. It was a disturbing feeling.
"No, Jiraiya…" She began glaring into his eyes now. Face pinched so very slightly into that aristocratic scowl she had developed somehow despite being an urchin like him. "You couldn't pay me too, but if you really think that is why I would have done it then… You really don't know a damn thing."
She made to leave but paused before looking at him over the pale flesh of her exposed shoulder. Her eyes trailed him up and down and she seemed to be thinking of something before turning to face him once more. This time the cold expression on her face was far from blank. He knew that face, the one saved for those that had somehow chipped through her icy heart enough to actually upset her. No easy feat.
"You ever bring up Nawaki as my fault like that again...I will ruin you in every way I can imagine." She didn't wait for a response before she turned and stalked away. The sway of her hips drawing his eye even now. Even though he hated himself for it.
Jiraiya nearly whined out loud as one of the ANBU he knew to be assigned to the Hokage today dropped beside him and caught his attention. He just wanted to go sit in a bar and sulk for a while couldn't the world see that? He was sure Hiruzen could with his damned crystal ball.
"Lord Jiraiya, you are requested to meet with Lord Hokage and his advisors. They have much they wish to discuss with you about your son and the Senju clan." The ANBU said.
"They will need Tsunade to discuss anything with the Senju. I'm not stupid enough to poke her after all of this." Jiraiya said. The ANBU agent simply stared back silently causing the Sannin to groan in frustration.
"Fine, Fine. Alright just give me a second and I'll be right there." He said while scowling up at the trees that covered the village.
"Understood." The ANBU said and flickered away to inform the Hokage that his former pupil would be arriving soon.
"Yeah, guess I will have to tell Sensei myself about the new situation with Tsunade...I hope Naruto is having a lot better day than I am." Jiraiya grumbled as he began to make his way to the Hokage tower. Much more sedately than the ANBU had earlier.
Naruto was not in fact having a good day. It turns out, being advanced to the senior class from the entry class roughly four days into the academy year drew a lot of attention. Naruto loved attention, especially from his loved ones...this was different. These kids either saw him as the village prince and gawked at him in wonder, or thought he was a brat who didn't deserve to be there.
Naruto agreed. He didn't want to be in this class. He was just starting to make some friends in his own class and now he was with kids four to six years his elders. At least he knew they weren't dumb enough to try and pick a fight with him. Having parents as Sannin typically meant no one was ballsy enough to talk to him, let alone start a fight with him.
Well, almost no one. Since she came to the village two years ago, Kushina Uzumaki had not been very pleased by her situation. Not only was she moved to a village away from her home, friends, and family, but also she was to be made the next jinchuuriki of the nine tailed fox, not that anyone outside of the ANBU, Elders, Hokage, and Senju clan were even aware of that fact, but she was also betrothed to a boy five years younger than her.
Five. So, being told she was bound to marry what she had so very intelligently referred to as the Royal Toddler of Konoha, or simply the Toddler, she had lashed out in frustration. As she couldn't lash out at the Senju clan, Mito, or the Hokage...that left one person. The Toddler.
The fact that several kids had tried to bully her evidently only for her to beat them into pulp made it all the easier. A lot of their classmates were horrified as Kushina laid into the little five year old in their class about him not belonging there and needing to go back to his babysitters.
Naruto hadn't been happy but over the last year of Kushina treating him rather poorly he was accustomed to her name calling. Eventually, she had left him alone. Settling for scoffing every time he managed to prove exactly why it was that the Hokage and his father had wanted to elevate him to this class. Just like Kushina was advanced two years, Naruto had been advanced by six.
The day was long, and mostly annoying for the blond boy. He had learned the academy level jutsu and chakra control techniques from his parents already. He wondered if they knew he was going to be advanced so quickly. It would make sense. They were the ones that trained him after all.
With the school day over, Naruto happily made his way home. His mother and even the Hokage had told him to make nice with Kushina as best as he could but she flatly turned down his offer to walk home together. Her compound was close to the Senju estate on the outskirts of the village on the mountain in the woods behind the heads of the Hokage. Still, he was a little happy she turned him down. She was so rude sometimes.
When he got home he was a little disappointed that neither of his parents were there. Orochimaru, his mother's friend, was though. The woman was always sweet to him. Sometimes more so than even his mom, like whenever she would sneak him candy or other treats when he wasn't supposed to have them. For some reason she and his father didn't get along though. They were always staring at each other or making fun of one another.
Orochimaru took him out to the training ground after he ate something to fill his stomach till dinner. She was to handle his training till Tsunade returned home whenever she was done dealing with the Hokage and his advisors.
Naruto was fine with that. He was more than happy to simply be getting to start working on his training once more with actual material. He wasn't ridiculously ahead of the advanced class members, the fact they were five to seven years older than him not really mattering much in his mind if they would all graduate together. It seemed silly, that the whole next six months would be nothing but review for him and his classmates as they 'fine tuned' their skills for graduation.
Being able to really train here at the estate at least made sure he wasn't doing nothing. The idea of sitting around and doing nothing wasn't really fun for Naruto. Orochimaru seemed to agree as she decided to make him work on harder chakra exercises than normal, like surface walking on the Senju family pond while dodging a ball she had seemingly pulled out of nowhere.
It felt a lot less like training and more like a game but he wasn't about to complain. Plus, Orochimaru seemed to have as much fun tossing the ball at him as he did dodging it. She laughed or giggled every time it got close and seemed disappointed if she ever managed to hit him. Eventually though, even with his Senju body giving him a leg up in training programs like this, he needed to rest. He was a five year old after all.
Seeing him beginning to slip up in maintaining the surface walking technique the Snake Sannin called the session and snatched him up into her arms. The boy was confused by this but let her carry him while he asked her why she wanted to.
"Well, did you know I was the third person to ever hold you when you were born? Before even your father." She said as they made their way leisurely toward the house.
"Really?" Naruto asked, curious as to why she would want to hold someone else's baby. He'd seen a few when his mother had checked up on new kunoichi mothers. They looked mostly boring and loud. Not a combination he liked all that much.
"Yes, really. It wasn't long after your uncle passed away…" She said softly as her eyes turned away from Naruto's face.
"My uncle?" He asked.
"Hmm, yes, my student and your mother's little brother. You remind us all so much of him it's shocking sometimes. He was killed on a mission not long before you were born and I was very sad, I think I was more sad than your mother was because she still had your father and you on the way." Orochimaru explained, though she kept it light for the child.
After Nawaki had been killed Orochimaru had spiralled. She lost herself and became a butcher on the battlefield. She'd already struggled a little because she had felt like Jiraiya had pushed her to the side to get into the Senju Princess's panties. She cared for them both, even more so after she realized their relationship hadn't been totally based on their lust for one another. She'd always felt a little self conscious of her unique appearance, even if she was often called an exotic beauty...it always had to have exotic first, never simply just beauty.
That was nothing compared to the loss of her prized student though. The one that her best friend had entrusted to her. Had Naruto not been born she was certain Tsunade would have pushed her away and she would have taken the offer to join Root when it was given to her. As it was she was running the T&I department instead of R&D but no one in her cells was an innocent or not an enemy of some sort. She could sleep at night with that knowledge. She didn't have to give up a part of herself to the darkness like her sensei's beloved teammate Danzo appeared to have done.
Naruto really had saved her, just by being born. She loved him for it. That was why she was on Tsuande's side in this whole debacle. Naruto might be a prodigy and possess the mokuton, but he was a little boy and he knew that his advancement had nothing to do with his actual readiness and all to do with old men's greed.
Orochimaru smiled as her darker thoughts slipped out of her head as the little blond wrapped his small arms around her neck and embraced her. This precious child would grow into an amazing young man and she couldn't wait to see what he would accomplish. She and Tsunade just needed to make sure he reached the point that he could have a chance to accomplish those things.
The Snake Sannin brought Naruto inside and he helped her set things up before even helping to make dinner. When Tsunade returned, Orochimaru almost giggled at seeing the weight slip off her friends shoulders at the sight of her sister in all but blood and her own little boy working together in the kitchen to make a relative feast. Instead of giggling she pitched her a bottle of sake, knowing the glass would just be a waste of time and the three remaining residents of the Senju Estate set about digging into their food happy as could be...even if Naruto was a bit confused on where his father was.
Over the next few months Naruto had settled into his new routine as best he could. He had been very upset when he found out his parents were no longer together and that his father had gotten his own home close to the artisan district of Konoha. It was actually closer to the academy but because his dad was so often taking part in missions outside Konoha because of the war while Orochimaru and Tsuande's skills had given them more value within Konoha. That of course meant that Naruto rarely if ever got to see his father.
In school, Kushina had largely continued to avoid him. She had gotten a shadow as far as he could tell in the shape of a blonde civilian girl that was neck and neck with her for kunoichi of the year. Naruto himself wasn't going to graduate as rookie of the year, he didn't have the strength to compete in a direct fight with the larger stronger students...yet. Despite that his speed and technical skills were by far the best.
That made sense as both his parents and Orochimaru all decided that if he was going to be graduating onto a genin team soon he would be as well rounded and skilled as he could be. Orochimaru especially took an interest in his training and Naruto had even overheard her speaking with his mother. She wanted Orochimaru to apply for Jonin Instructor again but Orochimaru had flatly refused saying she couldn't have another team, not after the last one. As far as Naruto was aware that was the end of that discussion for good.
As neither of them were going to be his sensei, they had upped what they wanted him to know even more. Even demanding Jiraiya began instructing Naruto in the most basics of sealing. He hadn't yet made much more than the practice seals yet but Jiraiya seemed decently happy with his progress.
His greatest progress had been with ninjutsu. All of his mentors knew he would eventually be a ninjutsu powerhouse. Even without his mokuton, Naruto had an overly large pool of chakra to draw from coupled with above average control. It was only obvious to feed him ninjutsu to perform for eventual combat.
By now he had managed to get started on elemental ninjutsu. Had he been staying the full length of time in the academy it was no doubt Naruto would have a solid handle and mastery of his elements, but as it was he only had the nature exercises for his earth and water jutsu completed. He was starting on actual jutsu but beyond his instinctive ability to grow small trees or wooden objects without much control he had little more than the basic academy jutsu and a very basic healing palm variant.
Right now though, that wasn't much of an issue. The tests for graduation were easily passed for him. So he now sat with his classmates hitai-ate tied around his neck at the suggestion of Orochimaru. Their instructor, someone he hardly recalled, stepped into the room finally and smiled at the collection of new genin sat before her.
"I just want to say that it has been an honor to teach all of you in this advanced graduation class. All of you have exceeded my expectations and while I haven't gotten to teach you for very long I want you to know I am proud of each and every one of you. Now I am going to be calling out the teams." She said getting the kids to puff out their chests in pride and grin at the thought of their future team.
Naruto listened intently excited to hear his name called. Several went by, Kushina was called for her team with Tsume Inuzuka and Shibi Aburame under Sakumo Hatake. Naruto had heard that name before. His mother had made sure he was very aware of the various clans within and without Konoha that were important. The Hatake were small and practically extinct but they were some of the most legendary in the clan wars era.
A handful more teams were called before Naruto finally heard his name.
"Naruto Senju, Minako Namikaze, and Issei Kurama, your sensei will be...oh Lord Jiraiya." The instructor said.
Naruto's teammates both became very excited at the prospect of being taught by a Sannin. For different reasons of course. The blonde girl, Minako, saw Jiraiya much like herself. An orphan making her way by the skin of her teeth. Issei was the oldest member of the class and more excited with the prospect of Jiraiya's other source of fame.
They didn't have to wait long before Jiraiya burst into the room in a cloud of smoke on top of a giant toad. In a single instant, all three children were wrapped up in the toad's tongue and they once more vanished in a poof of smoke stunning the instructor and remaining students.
In an empty training ground Jiraiya, a giant blue and purple toad, and three very ruffled and shaken kids appeared. The Sannin grinned down at the students. Normally, a Jonin instructor would perform a test to see if they were ready. Jiraiya had carefully selected each of his students and knew already he would pass them.
Instead, he planned on simply doing introductions and jumping right in on training teamwork. With a jump start maybe they could move on to something actually exciting. With a tap on the head from it's summoner, the toad launched the three students out of its grip and vanished away in smoke.
Naruto and Minako both rolled to their feet without too much of an issue while Issei stumbled and slowly rose to his feet again. Jiraiya sized them up. Naruto, despite being the youngest, was clearly the least rattled by Jiariya's antics. He had grown up with toads, slugs, and snakes around the house talking to him and it wasn't even the first time he had been wrapped up in a summon's oversized tongue.
Minako wasn't too disturbed, though the mix of a blush and green tint on her face showed that she wasn't very pleased by the method of her being transported by Jiraiya in such a way.
Issei was the roughest for wear. The sticky fluid left on his shirt from the transport had collected dirt and grass all over him. He looked even more green around the gills than Minako. Cheeks bulged slightly like he was fighting back vomit.
"Well, have a seat kids and let's introduce ourselves to one another." Jiraiya said.
His son nodded and sat while paying attention to his father intently, similarly Minako followed her younger teammate's lead while Issei flopped onto the ground with a sigh. Jiraiya could already tell he was going to get along with the brunette boy. He reminded him more of himself at that age than his own son...Jiraiya refused to even entertain the possible thought, tickling in his mind as he glanced at the Kurama clan boy.
"So, you know I'm going to be your Sensei, Jiraiya of the Sannin, in case you hadn't heard any of my extraordinary legends. I look forward to teaching all of you, I love the village and shapely ripe fruit, and dream of a peaceful world." He said with a smile getting interested looks from each of the kids. Even Naruto, seemed to be learning things about his father he didn't know. Though he didn't know his dad liked fruit so much. Alternatively, Minako look shocked and embarrassed while Issei nodded vigorously to his new sensei's words.
"Alright, we'll start with you, include your name, age, a dream, and some things you like or dislike." Jiraiya pointed at Issei.
"Ah, I'm Issei Kurama, I'm twelve, almost thirteen and I want to become clan head and expand it by taking several wives and having a lot of kids. I like...fresh ripe shapely fruit too and I hate pretty boys that squander their gifts." Issei said with a grin. Jiraiya nodded sagely at his student's words as if he had said some great and wonderful truth.
"I'm Minako Namikaze, I'm ten and I want to become the first female Hokage. I want to also become a sealing mistress like Lady Mito was in her day. Uhm, I like training and reading heroic stories." Minako muttered through her blush, embarrassed, at the realization that both her Sensei and idol, and her fellow teammate were evidently irredeemable perverts.
"I'm Naruto Senju. I just turned six a while ago. I want to become super strong like my Great Grandpa Hashirama and help bring an end to the war. I like fruit too, strawberries are my favorite especially when Orochimaru lets me eat them with sugar when my mom isn't home." Naruto said.
Minako was smiling brightly at the innocent boy with them. She would have been a bit worried, about him being on the team if she hadn't been in the same class as him for the last six months. She wasn't worried about him physically but maybe she needed to worry about the influence her new sensei and teammate would have on the boy.
"Now that that's out of the way I have to say your introductions were all useless to making you a good team." Jiraiya said with a sigh as if he was disappointed.
"What do you mean sensei?" Issei asked. He had done exactly as they had been told...right?
"I told you to include your name, age, and all that other stuff because that will help you get along. Not one of you told the others what their skills were or what their weaknesses were. I want you all to understand right from the start here, this isn't the place to chat and waste time. There is still a war going on. Sure, it's winding down with us on top, but only at the cost of thousands of lives, including our closest allies, the Uzumaki. Your classmate is the last of her people and I want to make sure that none of you suffer a similar fate. That means your focus as shinobi and kunoichi must always be on the danger our lifestyle brings." Jiraiya let that sink in for a moment.
"But, you didn't tell us your strengths or weaknesses either." Naruto pointed out to his father, a little annoyed that he seemed to be holding them to a different standard.
"That's because to be where I am today I had to have at least passing skill at every facet of shinobi life and excel at plenty as well. None of you are to that point. You have to know your teammates strengths and weaknesses so that you can all fill in for one another alright?" Jiraiya said. Slowly the three children began to nod as they came to understand.
"Good, now let's try this again, starting with you." He pointed to Issei once more.
"I'm Issei Kurama, twelve, I want to build a big family with several wives...my best skill is genjutsu. I don't have my family's kekkei genkai because it is so rare but I am still good at genjutsu. My taijutsu and ninjutsu suck though. I don't have very much chakra to work with either so I get tired easily but I have pretty good control." Issei explained.
"Well done kid. Don't worry the whole reason you guys are assigned to Jonin Instructors as genin is so that we can shape you up to be solid, well rounded shinobi. I have plenty of exercises to help you work on bettering what you're bad at and perfecting what you're good at." Jiraiya said before motioning to Minako.
"Minako Namikaze, ten. I like reading and training and want to become Hokage. I'm really fast and flexible, I also have started on seals. I can even make a sealing scroll to replace my backpack. I did it the last couple of weeks of the academy. Uh...I guess I don't have a lot of stamina and I don't hit as hard as I would if I had more muscle." Minako said, struggling a bit with openly admitting her weaknesses. That was good actually in Jiraiya's mind. She didn't seem the prideful type so her having difficulty admitting them meant she wanted to change them badly. She would be easy to set on the right path to grow.
"Good, we'll work on all of that, and I'm a certified sealing master so I will be glad to help you hone that skill especially. Now, last but not least, Naruto." Jiraiya said.
"I'm Naruto Senju, I'm six and I want to become a strong shinobi for my family. I still like fruit and especially strawberries. Uhm, I can do a little elemental jutsu already. Earth and water style. I don't have them mastered. I can do a really easy healing jutsu too. Uhm...Oh, I have a lot of chakra and okay control so I have a lot to use for Ninjutsu. I'm smaller than everyone else though and whenever we do Taijutsu training it's hard when everyone is bigger and stronger." Naruto said. His voice was abnormally clear and intelligent for his age but he still tilted his head and tapped his chin in a thoughtful way like a little boy would, making Jiraiya chuckle at his son's antics and Minako giggle softly at the cute sight. Especially, when he brought fruit up once again.
"That's a great place to start with all of you. Now, today we'll run through what will normally be our warm up routine and get it down properly before I dismiss you. Tomorrow we'll meet here at seven thirty in the morning so don't be late. Especially you Naruto, you have no excuse since I know where you will be sleeping at." Jiraiya joked, getting some laughter from his students as they stood up and began the stretches and light exercises they planned to use in their daily routine.
Tsunade was conflicted over the fact that her ex-lover was Naruto's sensei. She didn't absolutely hate Jiraiya, but after his decisions regarding Naruto's early entry and graduation as well as some of the odd things he said revolving around toads and prophecy she could barely stand to be around him. He was Naruto's father though, and she knew that Jiraiya truly did love his son and in his own way wanted the best for him.
Her son being on his team meant he would be able to spend more time with his father which had become especially rare over the last year. It also meant that one of the most powerful shinobi Konoha had at it's disposal would be watching over him and that relieved her. It also worried her because she knew Jiraiya better than anyone in the world did.
He was reckless, uniquely arrogant, and far too fond of the sink or swim approach. However he wasn't a terrible teacher whenever he focused on actually teaching. His focus on using a handful of basic skills to ridiculous affect in action was something she thought was ingenious. Jiraiya himself didn't have that many jutsu in his arsenal especially if you removed his sealing and summons. What he did have was extremely versatile and if he could pass that on to his students, or more importantly for Tsunade, Naruto, then Naruto would take it to another level. Her son, as much as she tried to shield him, really was a prodigy and if he could take Jiraiya's teachings to heart he could possibly even surpass her grandfather.
That all benign said, if that shitty lecher did anything to turn her innocent and sweet little boy into something in his image…
She swore to herself if Naruto ever came to her talking about women's figures and all that other perverted trash his father drooled after, she would beat her fellow Sannin to a pulp and let Orochimaru toy with his remains.
Letting out a sigh so that she didn't snap the wooden spoon she was using to make dinner, Tsunade calmed down from her mental rant. Tonight was special. Naruto was on a team now, and so was little Kushina Uzumaki. Tsunade had sent Naruto over to get the girl to come eat dinner with them.
The Senju woman knew that Kushina was still unhappy about the situation with being arranged to marry Naruto. She couldn't blame her. There had been several attempts to betroth her to this noble or this clan heir or that shinobi. Thankfully, her mother had been around back then to kindly tell the Hokage and his advisors to step off a cliff and die. People wondered where it was she got her temper, and it was undoubtedly from her mother.
That all being said there wasn't too much that could be done about it now. Sensei and his teammates saw Naruto as the second coming of Hashirama simply because of his mokuton abilities and Kushina as the same for Mito, simply because of her special chakra and now the fact she was Jinchuuriki of the kyuubi. They were dead set on marrying the two together the moment Naruto was sixteen.
After it all was said and done, Naruto and Kushina would eventually be married. They needed to get along and Tsuande planned on doing her best to make that happen. Not to mention she had no doubt the poor girl was incredibly lonely in the compound that Mito had left her.
After a glance at the clock Tsunade felt her stomach sink. Naruto and Kushina should have been back. Making a shadow clone she sent it to go get them and carry them back. She hoped they weren't fighting or something, kami knows she just wanted them to get along and make the best of their situation.
When the clone popped a short time later, Tsuande got the memory of the kicked in door to Kushina's home and the overturned furniture. Someone had seemingly kidnapped Kushina and her baby too. She was gone in a shunshin before the spoon she'd been holding hit the floor.
Kushina didn't cry. Not a single tear since the Kumo-nin had grabbed her and tied her up. A jonin and pair of tokujo had kicked her door down just after sunset and she hadn't had a chance. She still tried to run for it. Now they were leading her along tied up with her chakra sealed as if she was a misbehaved dog.
She wanted to cry but refused. The terrible thoughts of what would happen to her when they got back to kumo made her legs feel like jello and her stomach ache in fear. The same people that had a hand in her homelands destruction and the massacre of her family were pulling her along like a slave.
Another addition to her grief was that she didn't think anyone was coming for her. She didn't have any real friends or loved ones. She was technically related to the Senju but she treated little Naruto badly because someone had decided she had to marry him. She suddenly felt a little bad about blaming him for that. He didn't make that decision. The few she considered her friends in the village weren't very close. Tsume and Shibi were both gone back to their own homes and had no reason to even know she was being taken. Mikoto was a couple years older than her, and they had gotten along well enough but the Uchiha largely kept to themselves outside of police duties so like the others she had no reason to suspect her to stumble upon what had happened.
The thought that it could be until the next day that she was even discovered missing and only because she didn't show up for training killed almost all of the hope she had left. Almost. She wasn't sure why. Maybe just out of desperation or wishful thinking that someone, anyone from Konoha would find it, she began plucking bundles of her hair out and dropping it to leave a trail.
She prayed to the kami it would help. Even as the three kumo nin seemed to become relaxed and confident they had made plenty of distance from the village as the moon rose high in the sky marking it around midnight. They shared some drinks and roughly pushed her onto the ground for a brief break while they quickly ran through a bottle of sake.
"Suicide mission...hah! Look at us now. We'll get that pardon for sure when we hand deliver this little whirlpool cunt to the Raikage himself." One of the Tokujos said.
"As long as we don't end up in the bingo book as missing-nin I'm happy." The leader said as he pulled the bottle from under his vest, roughly handling it and took a deep swallow of the bitter liquid.
The fact that the men had decided to get drunk made her even more frightened after recalling some of her Kunoichi classes at the academy. Most had focused on what to do if captured and what to expect. The thought nearly killed her last hope, but the fact they had decided to get drunk before crossing the border of the Land of Fire actually bolstered it a bit. Drunk men made mistakes and that gave her hope.
That tiniest sliver of hope that someone would save her was all that kept the tears at bay.
Naruto had seen the caved in front door of Kushina's house, and like any normal person knew immediately that she was in trouble. Unlike a normal six year old though, instead of running for help he did what his mother would refer to as 'reckless' or 'stupid'. He checked out the house quietly and easily realized she had been taken by someone.
He looked for any kind of sign or trail when something caught his eye. Strands of red hair. Easily picked up in the light from the full moon tonight. Naruto collected the hair and frowned. He hoped it was enough of a trail for him to follow.
As he raced through the forest, slow enough that he could keep track of the patch but still fast enough to gain on them. He soon heard another figure approaching much faster than him and assumed it to be one of the kidnappers. Drawing a Kunai he locked blades with his attacker only for his golden eyes to widen as he stared into the shocked blues of his own teammate Minako.
The girl seemed as surprised as him to see him and both slowly stepped back before putting away their weapons.
"Naruto? What are you doing here?" She asked. Naruto was silent for a moment looking at the older girl before he noticed the hand clasping several red hairs that she had clearly picked up on the trail as well.
"You came to save her too?" He asked as he turned to look at the trail he was planning to follow.
"Yeah, I've always been jealous of her hair. I thought it was beautiful." Minako replied as she glanced at her hand.
"It is pretty. She's leaving a trail to follow so we have to go help her." Naruto said as he moved to step forward.
"Wait," Minako said, grabbing his shoulder before he could jump away.
"Don't try to stop me, I'm a genin same as you. I can fight, maybe even better than you can." He said with a frown.
"I'm not. We will go save her, it's just someone should go get help. The Hokage or someone to tell them where we are and lead them here." Minako said.
Naruto was quiet for a moment. She was right, whoever kidnapped Kushina was likely to be more than he could handle alone. That being said, as much as Kushina seemed to dislike him, he did care about her. She was alone, her clan was gone and she was forced to do a lot of things she wanted no part in like eventually marrying him. He felt bad for her, and perhaps because he wanted to show her that she had people that cared for her here in Konoha he wanted to be there to help her. Besides, there was a very good reason why out of the two of them Naruto was better suited for going after the kidnappers.
"You should go get help. You're faster than me and can bring back-up sooner." Naruto said. Minako hesitated for only a moment before nodding and taking off back toward the village to get help.
Naruto watched her leave before turning and leaping off into the woods himself to save his fiance.
It didn't take long to find them. It was odd, the men had vests showing they were all at least chunin, though he imagined they were higher ranks than that, given they had infiltrated this deep into the Land of Fire. They hadn't gone into the actual village, taking advantage of the fact that the Uzumaki property was just outside the actual settlement.
Naruto could practically smell the alcohol on them as they trudged through the forest yanking roughly on the leash they had tied to the redheaded girl. Naruto wasn't hateful but seeing a fellow citizen of Konoha being led along like a dog sparked something in him and his honey gold eyes grew cold and serious. An expression no child of six should be able to make came onto his face and he began his work.
For Kushina, hours had passed and still no one had come. That sliver of hope in her heart had begun to wither and die. She was exhausted and simply stumbled on behind the Jonin pulling her leash. She didn't even hear the rear most shinobi of the group collapse as a kunai embedded itself into his neck.
The surprise of the last two, along with their slightly dulled reactions caused the second Tokujo to only narrowly avoid a half dozen shuriken aimed at him. While he managed to block them he hadn't anticipated the kunai following close behind that caught him in the eye and caused him to fall back, tripping over Kushina and startling her as he fell.
The kumo nin had managed to survive, just barely but he was screaming bloody murder as his eye bled around the blade stuck in his skull.
The last member of the group, the jonin nearly tore Kushina's arm from it's socket as he yanked her up into his arms and slowly backed up to one of the oversized trees of fire country with a kunai of his own against her throat. Kushina for her part fought back tears. Not sad ones or even frightened ones. Her tears were nothing but happiness. Pure joy, because she had been wrong. Someone came for her.
"Listen up! Show yourself and we can negotiate otherwise I'll slit her throat. I mean I know I'm dead if I kill her but if you don't come out here all this is for nothing and I promise I got less to lose than you do tree-hugger!" The jonin bellowed out into the darkness.
Slowly his comrade had stopped screaming instead whimpering at the wound and trying to slowly remove the kunai without causing more damage than he had already suffered. The Jonin continued to scan the dark forest looking for his enemies. They weren't ahead of him, not to the sides or rear anymore...that only left…
Just as he turned his head upward, only catching the glittering gold orbs of an evil looking child he felt something stab him through the back at an upward angle. The odd pain spread so wide and so quickly he couldn't even scream. Instead only a choked gargling sound escaped, followed by blood slipping from his lips as he was lifted up off the ground a few inches. As his body failed him and his world slid into darkness he dropped the girl who would have gotten him his life in Kumo back if only he had been able to get her to Kumo. He then died shortly afterward, the amount of damage done to his body from an entire tree branch impaling and expanding through his chest and throat was completely catastrophic.
Kushina yelped as she fell, scuffing her arms and legs. She didn't waste any time though, pushing through her exhaustion she snatched up the kunai that had been held against her neck just a moment before and began furiously working at freeing her hands. She kept glancing up at the body of the kumo nin suspended up into the air by a tree branch and his final remaining comrade.
The last tokujo had finally removed the kunai from his face and had begun to step toward Kushina. He was careful to do his best in avoiding coming too close to any of the trees as Konoha seemed to have been hiding a secret during this war.
"Come here you little bitch!" He growled, reaching for her just as she got free.
Kushina screamed at the man as she finally got free and slashed up at the man with her kunai taking the small finger on his left hand ripping another scream from his mouth.
"You fucking Uzumaki cunt! I'll kill you!" He howled as he twisted to plunge his kunai down into her only for Naruto to land on his back and drive a kunai into the junction of his neck and shoulder.
As the man reached up toward Naruto to pull him off or cut him, Kushina launched forward and embedded the kunai in her hands into his chest causing him to finally collapse onto the forest floor. Both children scrambled away from the man with kunai at the ready but thankfully the fight was over as they both collapsed to the ground exhausted.
Kushina glanced over at the boy who had saved her and was a bit shocked at what she saw. Guilt slipped into her heart as she saw the blood splattered on Naruto's hands and face from his last kill. She was about to say something when he held up a hand. Looking at it she saw a few strands of red hair held between his fingers and realized he had actually used her hair to track him down.
"Your hair is very shiny and pretty Kushina, it was easy to find with the moonlight." He said with a small tired smile.
"Naruto…" She said timidly. "You, you killed those men for me. You came to rescue me, but I…" She stopped herself not wanting to admit being at fault for how she had treated him in the past.
"Of course I did. No one deserves that." He said simply. The words caused Kushian to nod and smile slightly. He really was a kind boy, even if he was capable of killing at so young.
"What about that?" Kushina asked as she looked back up toward the Kumo nin suspended by the new branch sticking into his back and out his front.
"That's why the Hokage and my dad made sure we were betrothed. Mom says that the Hokage and his over the hill friends all look at me as the second coming of my Great Grandpa...my Great Grandma was Mito." He explained.
"And I'm supposed to be the new Mito." Kushina said with a nod. "I knew you were a hotshot Senju and the heir or whatever but I didn't realize you had the actual Mokuton."
"I've never used it like that before. I used the basic hand signs for growing my trees at home but channeled more chakra into it and I guess just made it sharp." Naruto said sheepishly.
"Well it worked." Kushina said.
"Yeah…" Naruto said but started to grow pale as he turned his head back toward the woods.
"What is it? More Kunmo nin?" Kushina asked, tightening her grip on her kunai.
"No, it's…" Naruto began only for Tsunade and Minako to come barreling into the clearing before freezing as they looked around at the three corpses and two bloody and tired children.
Following right behind the mother and small but very fast blonde girl came the Hokage, Jiraiya, Orochimaru, and a half dozen ANBU. The whole group paused briefly at the sight before them before the ANBU flickered into the trees to secure the perimeter. The rest checked the bodies and two kids over for any injuries.
After running a quick diagnostic Tsunade had snatched both kids into her arms and strode past the Hokage. Hiruzen watched her go with a sad expression. He hated when children their age were exposed to the realities of their world so soon, but it was better that they knew what they would face as Shinobi of Konoha.
He would be having Jiraiya's team seven and Sakumo's team four come to his office tomorrow. All three children, Minako included would need to tell him their sides of the story and it was best their teammates get some picture of what they would be going up against once they began missions.
What he needed to worry about now was, how three enemy Shinobi bypassed the land of Fire's border and Konoha's outer perimeter without being detected. For all three to be killed by two fresh genin, one of whom was a six year old meant they were mediocre Shinobi at best so Hiruzen now had to dig for a possible rat in his ranks.
His night would just be getting started while for the likes of little Naruto, Kushina, and Minako a long ordeal was finally drawing to a close. It didn't bode well for their careers. Hiruzen was sure of it. Genin less than a day and already fighting men who had been Shinobi longer than they had been alive.
The Hokage just hoped that he and his jonin could properly prepare them for the challenges they would have to face.
Alright so that is the first chapter of Senju Scion. Lots planned for this fic just like all my stories. Anyway for those interested a harem list can be found below here.
For those interested in being spoiled for the pairings the harem is Kushina, Minako, Orochimaru, Kurenai, Anko, and Shizune. Obviously some differences regarding age and the like happen from Canon but either way these girls are all ending up with Naruto.
Till Next Time