Reincarnation of Asura
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto…sadly.
Chapter 2: Return of the Senju
'Thinking'
"Talking"
"Bijū / Summons Talking"
"Jutsu (Technique)"
- Konoha -
Konohagakure no Sato was a massive village hidden deep within the forests of Hi no Kuni (Land of Fire), one of the largest and most powerful countries in the Elemental Nations. It's title as the Strongest Hidden Village earned through its differing beliefs than the other Hidden Villages.
To the other Hidden Villages, it was believed that the number of shinobi a Village had in its forces determined their strength. As such, they placed a larger focus on getting as many shinobi through their academies as possible to bolster their ranks, allowing them to recover from massive losses caused by invasions or attacks in a much shorter time-frame.
For Konoha, their priority was less on the number of shinobi, but on their individual skills which determined how strong they were. Leading to the formation of special teams of Genin (Low Ninja) who had recently graduated the Academy, placed under the direct supervision of one of Konoha's Elite Jōnin (High Ninja). The idea was to foster those with the talent to achieve greatness, ensuring that those chosen for the special teams would reach their full potential despite the massive fatality risks inherent to the Shinobi World.
Helping to ensure that their shinobi lived long enough to reach that potential, Konoha specialized in the promotion of teamwork, the reliance on those at your side to help cover one's weaknesses and overcome greater challenges.
The other Hidden Villages, especially those of the Shinobi Godaikoku (Five Great Shinobi Countries), Konoha's idea of teamwork was both foolish, and mocking to the shinobi lifestyle. But for all of their mockery and laughter, Konoha proved itself time and again as the strongest of the Hidden Villages.
Thanks to their commitment in ensuring the survival of their teams, Konoha developed shinobi of world-renown talent that stood as the frontline fighters against opposing armies. One needs only to look at the Yondaime Hokage; who was placed on one of Konoha's special teams and grew strong enough to single-handedly defeat over 1,000 Iwa (Stone) shinobi and bringing an end to the Third Shinobi World War, as the perfect example.
But that didn't mean Konoha ignored those that weren't selected for one of their special teams.
In fact, all of those who graduated the academy but didn't get on a team, went to the Genin Reserves, where they were taught all of the same fundamental lessons about teamwork that the special teams received. The only real difference was the Genin Reserves required the newly promoted Genin to work by themselves in fostering their own unique talents.
Beyond the lack of specialized training by an Elite Jōnin, Genin who went in the Reserves were typically those that didn't have the talent or mental capacity necessary to reach the higher ranks in Konoha's shinobi force.
The most a genin from the reserves could expect to achieve is the rank of Chūnin (Middle Ninja) or Tokubetsu Jōnin (Special High Ninja), a ranking given to those who excel in one particular field but lack the other skills necessary to achieve the rank of Jōnin.
That wasn't to say there was anything wrong with becoming a chūnin, when most of Konoha's main shinobi force was comprised of them, but it one wanted to become legendary and have their names known throughout the Shinobi World, they had to strive for the special teams. Something that not everyone who became a shinobi wanted for their lives.
- Entrance Gate -
A perfect example was the two chūnin currently guarding the entrance gate into Konoha.
Izumo Kamizuki and Kotetsu Hagane were two shinobi who had no desire to become legends, prefering the simpler lifestyle of Gate Guard duty over the far more deadly lifestyle of Jōnin.
Granted, standing watch as villagers and guests went in and out of the gate was incredibly boring, it was nonetheless a necessary job that someone needed to do.
Entrance into Konoha was actually a two-step process, involving a massive dome-shaped Kanchi Kekkai (Sealing Barrier) over the entire village that would trigger an alarm to the Kekkai-Han (Barrier Team) if someone unauthorized got close to the village walls.
Since anyone who was authorized wouldn't sound off an alarm, mainly those who are part of Konoha's shinobi roster coming and going on missions, they were required to stop at the Gate Guard's kiosk to have their return or exit from the village authorized.
Any shinobi who left the village without authorization would be classified as a Nuke-nin (Missing Ninja) and considered as having abandoned the village, allowing for Oi-nin (Hunter Ninja) to hunt them down on capture or kill orders.
And should a shinobi return without authorization, they would be subject to imprisonment followed by a meeting with the Gomon/Jinmon Butai (Torture and Interrogation Force) to ensure that they were not potential spies.
The only exceptions to the rule were the Anbu - Ansatsu Senjutsu Tokushu Butai (Special Assassination and Tactical Squad) who had their own private entrance and exit from the village.
Which is why, as much as Tsunade wished to rush into the village and meet with her godson, she had to first make her way over to the Gate Guards and receive authorization to enter Konoha.
"T-Tsu-Tsunade-sama!" Kotetsu stuttered out, staring in shock at the legendary woman as she impatiently tapped her foot. "Y-You've returned!"
"Yes!" Tsunade huffed, already sick of the chūnin's attitude as he continued to stammer out in-audible sentences. If there was one thing she hadn't missed about coming back to Konoha, it was how everyone treated her.
Sure, she had saved countless lives on the battlefield through her overwhelming strength and medical prowess, but that didn't mean she needed to suffer through their continued praises that they always lavished on her. And she had more important things to do than wait for the guard to get himself under control. "Can you hurry this up?" She asked annoyed
Izumo, just as stunned as his partner, quickly schooled his expression at the look of anger on Tsunade's face as her eyebrow twitched minutely. "S-Sorry about that Tsunade-sama. Let me just get your names down and send word to the Hokage Tower."
Reaching up a hand to the mic on his ear, Izumo radioed the Hokage Tower to announce Tsunade's arrival before turning back to the Sannin and her apprentice. "You're both clear to enter the village. Hokage-sama would like you to meet him in his office as soon as possible." Smiling as he smacked the still sputtering Kotetsu on the head, he added. "Welcome back, Tsunade-sama, Shizune-san."
With a final huff and a nod, Tsunade quickly moved past the two chūnin as she made her way towards the Hokage Tower in the distance.
Behind her, Shizune waved at Izumo in gratitude before following her master. Despite her master's distaste for being back in Konoha, she couldn't help but be glad that they had finally returned home.
- Hokage Tower -
Inside the Hokage's office, a confused Naruto sat on a couch next to the Hokage's desk, waiting for Jiji to explain what was going on.
It had been a strange past couple of days for the young Jinchūriki.
After his first day at the Academy, the 7-year-old had gone home to test out that "chakra" thing the Academy Teachers were going on about. Trying to remember the instructions, Naruto eventually succeeded in feeling the "spark" of energy they were told about in class.
However…instead of a "spark", Naruto felt a raging inferno of energy inside himself that was desperate to be used, just as wild and untamed as he typically felt. Clueless as to what to do with it, he tried channeling it into different objects, hoping for something to happen. It wasn't until he picked up one of his plants on his windowsill, that something amazing finally occurred.
When the tiny plant started growing and flourishing from his chakra, Naruto raced to show the Hokage his newest discovery. Which is why, when the old man just stared at him shock, he worried that he might have done something wrong.
Luckily, the Hokage was quick to explain that he hadn't done something wrong, and in fact had done something extraordinary. So extraordinary, that the old man needed to bring in a specialist to help teach him all about his cool new ability.
'Hah! Take that Teme (bastard)!' He thought, already coming up with ways to gloat about his cool ability in front of the 'teme', Sasuke Uchiha. How girls found the duck-haired Uchiha attractive he would never understand.
'At least Hinata isn't a fan-girl like the rest of them.' He smiled, all thoughts about rubbing it in the Uchiha's face pushed aside as his focus turned to his very first friend.
Surprisingly, he and Hinata got on very well together. After he had stepped in to try and stop the bullies from harassing Hinata at lunch during their first day in the Academy, only to get the snot beat out of him, the two had quickly struck up a conversation that lasted well throughout lunch. When they had returned to class, Naruto chose to stick by his first friend and sit together with the shy girl at the back of the classroom.
It was difficult at times to draw her into the conversations, considering how shy she was, but Naruto was the personification of the word 'stubborn' and worked tirelessly throughout the next few days to get her to speak up more. Granted, she still stuttered horribly through each sentence, but it was a start.
Knock Knock!
A sharp rap of someone's knuckles on the thick wooden door of the Hokage's office drew his attention away from his thoughts.
"Enter." Hiruzen replied, sitting up in his chair as he watched the door open, revealing the first sight of one of his students in decades as Tsunade walked into the room, her apprentice Shizune trailing in behind her.
"Welcome back, Tsunade-hime…It's been a long time." Glancing to the interested Naruto watching the new arrivals from his seat on the couch, Hiruzen motioned to the two kunoichi. "Naruto-kun, this is Tsunade Senju and her apprentice Shizune Kato."
Walking into the room, Tsunade stared into the eyes of her former sensei, seeing the happiness that laid within their depths as she gave a slight smile back. Despite everything that had happened, she still held a soft spot in her heart for the old man who helped her grow to become the legendary woman she was today.
Glancing at the other visible occupant of the room, well aware of the Anbu hidden in the corners, she gasped at the child sitting on the couch. He looked so much like her younger brother Nawaki did when they were children, that she had to physically stop herself from saying his name, realizing as it came out who he was and changing her slip-up at the last second. "Na-Naruto?"
Taking a hesitant step towards him, Tsunade realized that while his face did look similar to Nawaki's, it looked far more like his late mother Kushina. Which was a small blessing in her opinion; Minato looked far too feminine with his long hair and thin frame.
The cute little whisker-like marks on Naruto's face were an adorable touch.
"Yeah?" Naruto asked, tilting his head. The action causing Shizune to quietly squeal at how cutely the little boy looked. "Who are you?"
"I-…I'm…" Clearing her throat, the words seemed to catch in her mouth. "I'm your godmother."
Seeing those bright blue eyes widen in shock, she pressed on. "I'm sorry that I haven't been there for you… I've been away from the village since before your birth." Whatever he was feeling inside seemed to have been mollified a little, and she almost sighed with audible relief.
While her response wouldn't be enough to get rid of any lingering upset feelings he undoubtably had at finding out their relationship to each other, it would at least give her the chance to explain herself later on, before she could try making amends.
The very nature of godparents was a rather tricky subject in the Shinobi World.
Sometimes, the title was symbolic in nature, and the most a godparent was expected to do was keep aware of the child's life. While other times, people took the role more personally and acted as a second parent to the child. A godparent taking responsibility for their godchild after the parents' deaths was considered as an act of kindness, but it was by no means required of them.
If Tsunade remembered correctly, her old teammate Jiraiya was named as Naruto's godfather by Minato, but had chosen to take on the role as more of a symbolic nature.
No doubt the pervert would ask for an update on his godson's status from their former sensei, but the man had so little interest in making deeper connections after his prized student died, that she would be shocked if he ever wanted to have a larger role in Naruto's life.
…Then again, with how obsessed he was over the toad's prophecy (which she thought was a bit presumptuous, and more than likely faked to keep the pervert's interest in being their summoner) it's possible he might reveal himself to Naruto if he thought the boy was the next 'supposed' Yogen no Ko (Child of the Prophecy).
Considering Jiraiya was currently 0 - 2 on who he thought it was, Tsunade wasn't going to hold her breath on that.
"Sensei asked me to take a look at something you could do." Tsunade spoke softly, a gentle smile on her gorgeous face as everyone in the room focused on Naruto. "Could you show it to me?"
Nodding, Naruto grabbed the small potted plant that Hiruzen ordered his Anbu to bring before channeling that wild, untamed energy inside himself into the plant.
Within seconds, the flowers on the plant grew larger and more vibrant, blooming beautifully as its roots eventually broke through the clay pot, scattering dirt all over the floor.
Wide-eyed, Tsunade heard her apprentice gasp in astonishment while she focused on the feeling of Naruto's chakra.
Despite not being a sensor, it was ridiculously simple to feel her godson's chakra, considering how much he was releasing into the plant. In fact, Shizune could probably sense it just as easily as she could, and that girl had far less experience than she did. But the amount of chakra he had wasn't what surprised her, it was the feeling of his chakra…
It was the same feeling she remembered her grandfather's chakra felt like, back when she was just a little girl.
Blinking away unshed tears at the memories of happier times, Tsunade focused on the present as she turned to her former sensei. "It feels the same as Hashirama-jiji."
Nodding, Hiruzen sighed as a wrinkled hand came up to rub his forehead. "I thought as much, but I had to be sure…" Turning his gaze away from the room and out towards the village, he mused. "I wonder how the Council will respond to this…"
Tsunade's pouty pink lips stretched into a frown. She never understood why her granduncle Tobirama created Konoha's Council in the first place, but ever since its creation things had worsened for the village.
The Konoha Council was separated into four parts that made up the voices and decisions of the village as a whole.
The first part was the Shinobi Clan side, where every head of Konoha's major shinobi clans had a seat and could voice the concerns of the village's shinobi. Some of the seats, like the Senju and Uzumaki Clans', were kept empty until the last member of the clans either returned from their travels (like Tsunade) or attained the rank of Jōnin (in Naruto's case).
The second part of the Council was the Merchant Clan side, where the leaders of prominent merchant families were allowed to voice the concerns of Konoha's civilian population. Their ability to propose new laws and affect taxes was greatly enhanced recently, following the Kyūbi's rampage and the death of the Yondaime.
They had used the lack of leadership to their advantage; grabbing up as much power and passing as many tax changes as they could before Hiruzen took up the mantle of Hokage once again. It was through this power grab that they were able to pass legislation that gave them the right to refuse service to any civilian they wished.
Some might not understand why that was so important to the Merchant Clan, but Hiruzen knew it was so that they could refuse to allow Naruto into their shops. Until the boy graduated the Academy and achieved the rank of Genin, he would still be considered a civilian, and therefore subject to the legislation.
Thankfully, that would end in a few years when he graduated, as the Merchant Clan could not pass legislation regarding shinobi. That was something only the Shinobi Clan side could do, and Naruto had more friends there than the boy knew.
The Akimichi, Nara, and Aburame Clans were friendly with the Jinchūriki, having known Minato and Kushina for decades, and understood not how seals worked but also that a Jinchūriki was a blessing to have for the village.
The Yamanaka's, while not against him, kept their distance since many of their businesses required cooperation with several of the merchant families. The Hyūga's kept a similar distance as well, but only because they didn't care much about the boy beyond his status as a military asset, and saw him as no different from anyone not of their clan.
The most supportive of Naruto were the Inuzuka and Uchiha Clans.
The Inuzuka were a pact-like clan who believed everyone should be part of a pact, and disliked the idea that the boy was left as an orphan this whole time. In fact, their clan was well known for taking in orphaned shinobi and offering them a home within their clan's compound, as they had done in the past with Rin Nohara.
Whereas the Uchiha wanted him brought into their clan and made into a servant for the main family under the control of Fugaku, who Hiruzen had learned some troubling rumors about, alongside words of defection or a possible coup from the clan as a whole.
While the Shinobi and Merchant Clans made up the largest numbers of the Council, they were by no means the most powerful.
That honor belonged to the last two parts of the Council: the Hokage, and the Advisors.
Despite the Clans being able to vote by majority on certain laws and propositions, Konohagakure was still a military dictatorship, and the Hokage had final say on all matters. It was entirely within a Hokage's rights to ignore what the Clans wanted, and push forward with their own agenda…but that came with the risk of starting a civil war if the Clans grew angered enough to retaliate.
To keep the peace, the Hokage looked to their chosen Advisors for opinions and recommendations.
The Advisors actually didn't have the power to make decisions or cast their votes on any matters, they were only there to listen to the Clans requests and give their opinions to the Hokage. While some might think that placed them in lower status than the Clans, it didn't take into account the fact that they had the Hokage's ear and trust.
For a stubborn and youthful Hokage like Minato, who only heeded his Advisor's opinions when he wanted it, their power was greatly limited.
But for a tired Hokage like Hiruzen, it meant that the old man was constantly looking to them for decisions. In doing so, much of Hiruzen's latest decisions had been based off the recommendations of his Advisors.
Including the decision to refuse allowance for any non-related Clan to take Naruto in.
Hiruzen's shoulders slumped as he glanced at the other occupants in the room.
Tsunade had gotten down on her knees in front of the couch where Naruto sat, seemingly deep in conversation as his former student asked about Naruto's current level of training at the Academy, and trading stories about her life in return for those of his own. At the boy's side, Shizune sat on the couch next to him performing a subtle medical checkup while he focused on a story Tsunade was telling.
It had seemed like a good idea at the time to refuse the Clans who wanted to take Naruto in.
Hiruzen's Advisors (his old teammates) had explained that if one of the clans were to take in the Jinchūriki, it would give them more power over the other clans, and a powerful weapon against the village if they ever turned traitor.
But that was no excuse for leaving the boy to suffer the villager's distain and disregard. A child needed support, and a family, if they were to grow up well-adjusted in their brutal world.
'Perhaps…' Hiruzen thought, noticing the joy on Naruto's face as he talked about one of his recent pranks to a chuckling Tsunade and giggling Shizune. 'I can make amends for my failings.' Before doing anything though, he had to make sure of something first.
Clearing his throat, he waited until the others stopped their conversation to look his way before speaking up. "Tsunade-hime, will you be staying in Konoha? Or will you be returning to your travels soon?"
Sparing a not-so-insignificant glance at Naruto, he was relieved to see his student catch the subtle hint. Of his three former students, Tsunade was the most blunt and straightforward…subtly was not exactly her forte.
After sharing a quick look at her apprentice, who smiled back, Tsunade gave a sharp nod. "Hai (Yes), Sensei. We'll be staying in Konoha from now on."
Relieved, Hiruzen smiled gratefully at his student. "Then, would you be willing to take young Naruto-kun in?"
"W-What?" Naruto asked, gaping in disbelief as he tried picking his ear clean with a pinky. For a second, it had sounded like the old man had just offered the nice lady to take him in.
But that couldn't be right, no one had ever wanted to adopt him before. "Are you serious, Jiji?"
Seeing the old man nod, he wasn't sure if this was all just an elaborate dream or not. Feeling a soft, warm hand cup his cheek, Naruto nearly flinched away at the unfamiliar action.
"Naruto-kun." Tsunade's gentle voice drew his attention away from the smiling Hokage. "Do you want to come live with me and Shizune at the Senju Clan compound?"
Staring at her, Naruto searched their warm brown eyes for any signs of this being a prank or some kind of trick. When he found nothing but kindness and sincerity in her gaze, he gulped at the rush of emotions that threatened to overwhelm him.
"I-…Yes." His answer came out softly, more of a whisper than the confident tone he was hoping for.
Before he could react, a strong pair of feminine arms wrapped around his back as another pair did the same from his side; hearing the other nice lady's voice next to him as he was pulling into a three-way hug. "Welcome to the family, Naruto-kun."
Shizune smiled over his spiky-blond hair at her master whose eyes were closed, looking happier and more determined than she had ever seen.
Pulling back, Naruto asked the question that had popped into his head before he lost the nerve. "A-Ano (Um)..." Taking a deep breath, he forced out the words, "C-Can I ask you something?"
Seeing Tsunade's encouraging nod, he continued. "Could I…Could I take your last name?" Seeing their stunned looks, Naruto rushed to explain himself. "It's just that I don't know anything about my last name, and while Uzumaki sounds cool…I-I'd like to have a name that others have too."
Dropping his gaze to the ground, his voice softened to a near-whisper. "…It'd mean I have a family."
Withholding the desire to cuddle the boy, who looked like a sad little teddy bear that she wanted to squeeze (and wondering where the hell these feelings were coming from); Tsunade settled for placing her hands on his shoulders, drawing his beautiful blue-eyed gaze from the ground and focused on her.
"Of course you can." She smiled, watching as his sad eyes regained that happy sparkle it had earlier. "I'd be honored to have you take my Clan's name." Glancing to the side, she asked rhetorically. "What do you think, Sensei?"
Chuckling, Hiruzen nodded happily. "Naruto Senju, sounds like a fine name for a promising young shinobi."
"Thank you!" Naruto shouted, nearly bowling Tsunade over in a hug as Shizune giggled at the reaction.
Subtly wiping a tear from his eye, Hiruzen motioned a hand towards the door as he directed his next statement to Tsunade, who was struggling to keep her balance after nearly being knocked to the ground. "Why don't you go take Naruto-kun to gather his things and move them into the Senju compound, while I get the paperwork filled out for him."
Seeing them nod, he smiled as Naruto rushed over to hug him around the waist. "Thank you Jiji! You're the best!"
Hugging the boy back, Hiruzen felt a weight lifting from his shoulders at finally being able to help Naruto beyond the limited things he's been able to do in the past.
It wasn't easy running an entire Hidden Village…and with their loss in numbers after the Kyūbi attack, he was constantly having to prioritize which missions were most important, while figuring out how to keep their loss in numbers from negatively impacting their reputation in the eyes of their clients.
Waiting until the happily smiling group left, the aged Hokage sighed as he slumped into his chair. "Now I've got to figure out how to explain this to the Council…" Groaning, he reached up to rub his temples at the new headache he wasn't looking forward to dealing with.
He was getting to be far too old for this job.
- END -
Author Notes:
And that's 2 Chapters.
Obviously not a lot happening in the first two chapters of the story. This is all just to set the stage for everything going forward, which will be picking up its pacing as Naruto begins training in his new abilities and learning under Tsunade.
Hope you still are liking it so far! Thanks for checking out my story.