Pillars of Konoha

Chapter 1: The Beginning

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto and the whole shebang.

Chapter 1: The Day

"Father! Today is the day!", shouted Kazen enthusiastically.

"What do you mean, Kazen?", asked Uzumaki-sama, Kazen's father. The Head of the prestigious Uzumaki clan was a very noticeable presence. He was tall for a ninja standing at 6" 2 inches. He had a prominent shock of yellow hair that now symbolized the Uzumaki Clan. He had blue eyes which were uncommon. It sometimes proved to be a hazard on spying/stealth/disgusing missions because of it was so noticeable. He was obviously physically fit and his friendly blue eyes hid a very sharp mind. His presence commanded serenity and yet authority at the same time.

"You promised you would teach me Kyuichose no jutsu!", said Kazen. Kazen was almost the spitting image of his father except he had hazel eyes courtesy of his mother.

"So I did!", chuckled the Head of the Uzumaki Clan. "But first, show me your Rasengan against that oak tree."

Kazen focused chakra into his palm and began to coordinate chakra to mix currents in a spherical shape. Then he ran toward the tree. The blue ball of fury looked like a stormy ocean contained in a snow globe.

"Rasengan!"

At first, a hole seemed to slowly form but suddenly, the tree ripped off its roots and flew circularly 20 meters away. It landed among some newly growing ferns.

"Wow! You have improved. I'm impressed little one. As I promised, I will teach you Kyuichose no jutsu. This jutsu requires a lot of chakra. When you use it, gather a lot of chakra into your palms."

The Uzumaki head hit the bottom of a scroll pouch and a scroll popped out the top. He caught it deftly and grabbed the top of the scroll and swung the scroll up and down causing the rest of the scroll to unfurl. The scroll was blue with a white streak down the middle. In the middle of the scroll was a swirl figure which was the symbol of the Uzumaki clan.

"Bite the tip of your finger and write your name on this summoning scroll at the spot under my name. This is a contract between you and our summon creatures. ", explained Uzumaki-sama.

"What's my summon creature going to be?" asked the curious Kazen as he signed his name.

"Well the thing about our clan is, all of our summon creatures are different. For example, I have a Komodo Dragon but your uncle has a Toad, and your aunt has a Hawk. I guess it depends on your chakra, personality, and other things. " explained Uzumaki-sama.

"Wait a minute, aren't you supposed to sign a contract with a specific animal?", asked the confused Kazen.

"Yes, normally that would be true, but we have a special scroll. Your great-grandfather spent his life making a special summoning scroll for us. He combined many scrolls and created the one you just signed. He made your summon creature depend on your chakra signature and personality.", said Uzumaki-sama.

"I see.", replied Kazen. "I wonder what my summon creature will be."

"Let's find out." Bite your thumb, gather your chakra to your hands, do these seals, and say, "Kyuichose no jutsu!"

"Kyuichose no jutsu!"

White smoke covered the ground. Then as the white smoke dissipated, Kazen and his father saw the creature. It was a red fox. The vixen had a dashing crimson tail that flowed like a king's scarlet robe. It's ears stood straight like sentries guarding a castle. In contrast to her other sharp features, her eyes said otherwise. Her eyes were grey and looked...bored.

"Who dares awaken me from my slumber?", rasped the half-asleep fox. The fox was around 12 feet tall and 18 feet long from head to tail. It had tessen (iron fan) in scabbards on its shoulders.

"It is I, Uzumaki Kazen. I would like to request something of the Great Kitsune. Please consider this humble servant to become your apprentice."

"Hmm...You seem to be honorable enough. Very well, I, Kyuuna, will be at your service. But if you want to really be able to summon any kind of Fox, you should summon the Great Fox Lord and ask to be his apprentice. Then you can summon any of us. If that is all, I will return to my slumber."

The Fox disappeared with a poof and white smoke.

"Hmmm… interesting. A fox?", pondered Uzumaki-sama out loud.

"Sorry dad, but I promised to meet Katonari, Suitoshi, and Dotonko to talk about our summons. Apparently, we all learned it today. Then we're gonna go and meet Hanate-sensei to get ready for our trip to Hidden Mist Village. Thanks for teaching me, Dad!", said Kazen without taking a breath.

"Very well. No problem at all, son. Be back by supper."

Kazen ran toward Konoha Town Spuare and saw Kato, Suito, and Doto waiting for him. (They called each other by their nicknames because their original names were too long for their liking.)

"Guess what guys! I got a fox as my summon creature!", said Kazen cheerfully." "What did you guys get? Let's show each other our summons!"

"Kyuichose no jutsu!", shouted the four.

The huge smoke made the bystanders cough and shout in rage. The naive boys did not notice the bystanders glaring at them with stares which promised pain. But the soon-to-be-mob quickly dispersed when they saw who the idiots were.

"I got an awesome Salamander. But it has an attitude." , said Kato. His Salamander was red with black spots on his body. It had a shuko/tekagi (hand claws) strapped to its wrists. It's pink, forked tongue slithered in and out of its mouth. "Sssoo who'sss head do you want me to choke off?", asked Salamandra. "Shove off", said Kato."Act normal for once. Geez. I've had mine for 3 hours and it's already bloodthirsty as hell."

"Raccoon.", said Suito.(A/N: I'm losing my Creativity. Just think of it as a Shukaku with red stripes around its body. He's made of sand.) "His name is Shikato." He had a rokushakubo (a six foot pole) attached to its back.

"A badger.", said Doto lazily. The badger was pretty big: the size of 2 men, head to toe. It had a white stripe going from the tip of its nose to its short stubby tail. The rest of its body was brown. He wore a armor with the color of the earth. The shoulder pads looked like packed mounds of earth on its shoulder. It had a nagamaki(or halberd) strapped to its back.

"Did you guys master your special moves? I mastered my Rasengan." , said Kazen boastfully.

"I mastered my Sharingan and Karyuu Enda!",exclaimed Kato, the shortest of the group.

"Ha! That's nothing, I mastered Byakugan and my Jyuuken.", declared Suito.

"I learned some shadow and earth moves. Nothing special.", muttered Doto nonchalantly.

"Nani! You never tell us what you learned damn it!", shouted Kazen and Kato at the same time.

"Maybe that's why he beats us sometimes.", said Suito. The friendly chit-chat came to an unexpected halt.

Suddenly, Hatake Hanate appeared in a white smoke. Hanate sported the infamous silver/white, flowing hair associated with the Hatake Clan. She had a mask covering the lower part of her face. She had a Jounin vest on loosely but she had made it herself- camoflouge-style.

"Guys! We're leaving for the tournament right now! The damn bastards changed the tournament to start in two days. It's as if they don't want us there. I brought your ninja kits. You have enough time to say good bye to your parents. Get ready to leave! I'll meet you at North Entrance in 5 minutes! Move move move!"

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AN: All suggestions and constructive criticism are welcome. Thanks for reading once again.