HIDDEN DREAM VI - CONNECTION
The mood within the Hidden Dream Village is… different.
After the truth was revealed to them, things didn't exactly get better or worse, just different. There's still a melancholy and dread but where before it was from the betrayal of the Hidden Leaf and murder of their leader, now it's from their own leader betraying them.
The shinobi are still reeling in from everything while trying to hunt down the Amagiri clan who've mysteriously disappeared, along with Mōkin who was revealed to be a part of this.
The village is full of lost hope.
Naruto, for his part, has been trying to help in every way he can. His [Shadow Clones] have taken to cleaning the city and salvaging any belongings that can be salvaged. The Dream shinobi were unsure how to take in any of this, but they quickly saw that their attempt to capture and kill him has not left any malice in Naruto. He's definitely an odd fellow, that much they can agree on.
While the Clones are working on helping with whatever they can, the original Naruto is standing on the hospital rooftop with his back pressed against the wall, and staring blankly at Yaizu.
"So… You're saying…"
"Yes." Yaizu nods as he speaks in a hushed voice. It seems telling his grandnephew the truth took more out of his old body than he thought it would.
"You're… mom's…."
Yaizu nods again.
"And you're my…"
Yaizu nods once more.
Naruto slides down to sit on the ground with his head in his hands, absorbing everything he heard.
"When the Hidden Whirlpool fell, there were a lot of people chasing after me. I had to run. If I went to the Leaf, if I went to Kushina, it would've brought unwanted fire to them. I couldn't let that happen." Yaizu shakes his head. "So I hid. For years, I hid and when I finally felt it safe to come out… it was too late. I found out she'd died and Minato, as well. So I ran again." His breath becomes shallow with his eyes welling up.
Naruto slowly gets back up with his head hanging low; hair obscuring his features.
"I didn't know." Yaizu begins openly crying. "I swear to you, I didn't know. If I did, I never would've turned back, I never would've left you alone."
Naruto walks over to him and places a hand on his shoulder. "I know." He pulls Yaizu in for a big hug. "I know."
Yaizu returns the embrace and the two remain in that position for a solid couple of minutes. Both crying, both not saying anything, both glad to have found family.
Naruto pulls back and wipes away his tear with his sleeve. "Why didn't you say anything, back in the cave?"
Yaizu sniffs back an undignified booger. "I was just… processing it all. The thought that I had a grandnephew I didn't know about; to find that out after losing all hope for over 20 years… And you had an important mission to do, so you had to stay focused."
"Yeah, I get that." Naruto smiles. "So… what happens now? This is kinda my first time finding long lost family so I'm kinda clueless."
"You and me both." Yaizu laughs.
"I mean, you gotta come back to the Leaf! It's not just me, but a buncha other Uzumaki, too. I doubt granny Tsunade would mind at all."
"Princess Tsunade? Is she part of the Uzumaki clan, too? I thought she more identified as a Senju."
"Oh, no, she's the Fifth Hokage, so I guess she'd have to give the OK for you to move into the Leaf."
Yaizu raises a brow. "Tsunade's the Hokage? Really?"
Naruto nods. "She is. Has been for 10 years now. Although there was that one time where she almost-" He shakes his head. "Actually, never mind, we can talk about that later."
"I look forward to hearing anything you have to say." Yaizu grins. "I got to make up for a lotta lost time."
"We have the time," Naruto claps him on the back, "Uncle."
Yaizu smiles. "Yeah. We do." He pats Naruto on the back in return.
The two of them walk back inside to regroup with the relief effort. There's much more to be done and this has been Yaizu's home for a while now, he has to do whatever he can for it.
-x-
Naruto chooses this time to find his kids taking a break in a little side-room. Yokumaru's been using his medical ninjutsu to aid, while Kotori and Shoto have been using more common methods to help those with lighter injuries. It's clear, they've been working hard, especially Yokumaru who's sweating profusely.
He walks over to Yokumaru and taps him on the shoulder, transferring some of his own chakra to the boy to bolster him. "Take care of yourself, alright?
"Third clause: No medic ninja shall ever die until they are the last of their platoon." Yokumaru recites his medical studies. "I can't put myself at risk if it means I won't be able to heal someone else."
"Atta boy." Naruto gives him a brief hug before turning his attention to Kotori, who's sitting uncharacteristically quiet in the corner.
As he walks by, he pats Shoto on the shoulder and gives him an approving nod.
He finally goes and sits by Kotori's side. "Yaizu told me about Mōkin. I'm really sorry, Kotori."
Kotori just lets out a faint whine. "It's fine."
"I know what it's like to wonder who you are and where you're from, and I also know what it's like to finally find out. We can work on tracking him down, we can figure out where you came from."
"Dad." Kotori places her hand on his arm and looks up to him with a forced smile. "We don't have to. I'm happy where I am, so I don't need to know where I was."
Shoto narrows his eyes. "Then why did-"
Kotori glares at him. "I said it's fine."
Yokumaru curls up quietly in his seat.
Naruto glances between the kids and slides off his seat to look his daughter in the eyes. "You know you can talk to me about anything, right? No matter what happens, I'll always be by your side." He kisses her on the forehead.
"I know, dad." She leans her head against his shoulder.
Shoto crosses his arms.
The slightly tense moment is interrupted by a knock on the door.
"Excuse me." A familiar older voice comes through before opening.
Enzo Tenrō walks in with his daughter, Ryuka, and Yomito Hirasaka. The three of them get in the middle of the room where they can look at all of Team Naruto and take a deep bow.
Enzo speaks up. "I know a simple apology can't make up for how we treated you, but at this point in time, I don't know how else to express my regret."
"Please accept our sincerest apology." Ryuka and Yomito say in unison.
"You don't have to apologize." Naruto holds up his hands. "You were tricked and were trying to defend your home. There's no need to be sorry for caring for your friends and family."
Enzo straightens himself. "Still, that doesn't excuse me from falling to such manipulation, and allowing it to fester for years."
"I just hope now we can actually talk about the Shinobi Union in peace, yeah?" Naruto grins. "No fighting to the death."
"I…" Enzo lowers his head. "I don't know if such talks are possible now. Our village is in shambles; we have nothing to offer to the Union."
Naruto steps forward. "It's not about what you can offer to us, but what we can offer to you. Helping each other in our times of need, that's exactly what we're striving for. If we're to build a better future, we have to stand by each other's side no matter what."
Enzo looks at the younger man with a sense of admiration. "The world really has changed, hasn't it?"
"We're all trying to."
Shoto looks between the two younger shinobi, noting one absent. "So where's the short one?"
"Taisa… Hasn't left his room since he woke up." Yomito answers.
"The news about his dad hit him hard." Ryuka looks away and holds her biceps with her other arm, almost as if trying to form a shield in front of herself.
"I'll… try to speak with him once more." Enzo sighs. "It's going to take us all some time to heal from this, him especially."
"With time, it might hurt less." Naruto looks out the window to the destroyed Hidden Dream Village. "Just give him the time he needs."
It's then that Naruto notices a swirling black void appear in front of the hospital.
"Looks like Sasuke brought back-up." Naruto hops directly out the window.
Enzo peeks out and sees the man he'd met not long ago step out of the void. "Space-time ninjutsu?" He gives a short chuckle. "If we'd gone to war, we really wouldn't have stood a chance, huh?"
-x-
Naruto greets Sasuke as he returns. Team Nine follow shortly after, as do Enzo and the kids. Yaizu watches over while leaning over a window on the first floor.
Behind Sasuke, a small group follows. Led by Sakura Uchiha, dressed in her work uniform, a team of medic ninja waste no time in preparing to do their work. Yamato also comes out with them.
Sakura nods a greeting to Naruto, but hasn't the time for a proper conversation. She's yet to assess how grave the situation is and how much work it'll require.
She turns to Yamato as soon as they step out. "Captain Yamato, I'm sorry to ask this of you right away, but-"
"No need." Yamato interrupts her. "You need the proper facilities to work. That's why I'm here."
"Yokaze, Iō, I need you to look over the injured and separate them by severity. Use the buildings Captain Yamato will make."
"Yes, ma'am."
Sakura then turns to Enzo, being the closest adult Dream shinobi around. "I'm going to need a report of what treatment's been done until now."
Enzo is slightly taken aback by how quickly this woman has gone into work mode. "Yomito, go with her."
Yomito nods and leads the medic unit into the temporary hospital.
"Sakura-sensei." Yokumaru jogs up to the medics. "I can help, too. I've given what treatment I can, but I'm still…"
"That's fine." Sakura ruffles his hair. "We can use your help, too, Yokumaru."
Yokumaru beams.
As they all walk by, a [Shadow Clone] awaits them by the front door. With each person that passes him, he places a hand on their shoulder and imbues them with some of his chakra. A thin layer of red chakra surrounds their forms, and their cloaks turn from white to glowing orange with chakra.
"Thank you." Sakura nods to the Clone.
Yamato walks over to the real Naruto and stretches his arms in preparation for the hard work to come. "This is the second time now that I've had to rebuild a village after you visited." He recalls the partially destroyed Kusatsu Town, the very first mission he had after leaving the Leaf.
"Sorry about that." Naruto rubs the back of his neck.
Enzo wonders how this could even be such a common occurrence.
"Well, I best get to work."
Nauto pats him on the shoulder, as well, and gives him the same cloak of chakra to bolster his abilities. "I have a couple hundred [Shadow Clones] running around, if you need any help with anything."
"I'll keep it in mind." Yamato nods.
Naruto then turns to Sasuke. "Is that everyone?"
"Not even remotely. How did I end up being a ferryman." Sasuke sighs. "I'll be right back."
With another swirl of black energy, he disappears.
Naruto and Enzo exchange a confused look but wait it out. After a couple of minutes, the space-time ninjutsu appears again.
This time, the first person to walk out is none other than Hinata Uzumaki. By her side, dressed very differently from normal in a grey suit and black overcoat, is Ino Yamanaka, followed by a small team of shinobi dressed in grey suits.
"Hinata?" Naruto cocks his head. "What're you doing here?"
"Mom!" Kotori runs to Hinata and hugs her tight around the waist.
"Hello, Kotori." Hinata returns the hug. "Lady Tsunade sent me to take over negotiations in a more official capacity." She turns her attention to Enzo. "You must be Enzo Tenrō. I'm Hinata Uzumaki, representative of the Shinobi Union for the Hidden Leaf."
"It's a pleasure to have you." Enzo bows.
Ino steps forward. "And I'm Ino Yamanaka, head of the Hidden Leaf's Sensory Division. My team will help hunt for the traitors and root out any who still remain in your village."
"We'll be counting on your aid." Enzo bows to her, as well. "I'll summon our sensor right away to aid you."
"That'd be appreciated."
"You look pretty official." Naruto looks over Ino's new attire.
"I'm here on official business, after all. I have to look the part." Ino winks. "Let's get to work." She beckons her team and goes to get settled.
Naruto goes to give Hinata a quick hug.
"Are you alright?" She looks him over. "Both of you."
"We're fine, mom." Kotori reassures her while still holding on tight. "Got in a bit of a scrap but we pulled through."
"I'd like to hear all about it, but I first have to tend to my assignment."
"Actually, before that, let me introduce you to someone." Naruto beckons for Yaizu to come to them. Hinata raises a brow at the old man leaping through the window. "Uncle Yaizu, this is my wife Hinata. Hinata, this is Yaizu. My mom's uncle, and my granduncle."
"Your…" She looks between them with confusion. "You mean, your actual…"
"My actual granduncle, yeah." Naruto flashes a wide grin. "My actual family."
Hinata confusion doesn't subside. "But- How? Where did you even meet?"
Yaizu chuckles at her visible surprise. "If the Hokage wills it, we'll have plenty of time to go over it. It's… a bit of a long tale to tell."
Hinata finally snaps out of it and bows a proper greeting. "It's a pleasure to meet you. I'm Hinata Uzumaki."
"Yaizu Uzumaki." He bows. "Pleasure's all mine."
"So, um, what's the plan now?" Hinata looks between them.
"Well," Naruto scratches his head, "We're gonna go back to the Leaf and report to Granny Tsunade and tell her about Yaizu. And… he'll just come live in the Uzumaki compound with all of us."
"It's been nearly 30 years since I met anyone from the clan. I'm eager to see our clan whole again. But you seem a busy woman, I don't want to hold you on my account."
"Once this is over, we must speak!" Hinata says with a hint of excitement.
Naruto chuckles. "Don't worry, we'll all sit down and talk." He kisses her on the top of the head as she heads to Enzo Tenrō.
"Looks like you found a good one, huh?" Yaizu chuckles.
"I sure did, although it took me a while to realize it."
"She's not just good, she's the best." Kotori says with pride.
Naruto ruffles his daughter's head and turns to Sasuke. "We're ready to go when you are."
"Alright."
Yokumaru and Shoto walk up to them and prepare to be sent back home.
Hokage's Office
Tsunade furiously reads over the reports she's been given concerning the situation with the Hidden Dream Village. The near destruction of a hidden village and potential member of the Union is going to result in some setbacks. The Leaf has taken it upon themselves to be the primary aid in rebuilding, but the Hidden Stone and Sand have sent whatever relief they can, as well.
Still, it's going to be a significant drain on resources to help the Dream get back to its feat, and there's still the uncertainty of whether they'll even join the Union. Well, the best she can do now is entrust negotiations to Hinata.
To aid in sifting through these scrolls, Shikamaru and Shizune are also sitting in their respective corners to read through and plan for their next course of action.
It's then that the sudden appearance of a black portal startles them and sends them into a battle-ready position before they realize it's Sasuke.
The Uchiha himself is first to step out, followed by Team Nine, and one unfamiliar older man dressed in slightly more presentable clothes than the rags he'd worn before.
The Leaf shinobi take their position in front of the desk while Yaizu looks around in complete confusion.
Yaizu finally turns around to face the desk and chuckles lightly. "Well I'll be damned, you look exactly the same."
Tsunade squints at the stranger, trying to look past his messy hair and old, wrinkled face. She gets up from her chair and slowly makes her way around the desk. "Yaizu? Is that you?"
"One and the same."
Tsunade grasps his hand in a firm handshake. "You bastard, we thought you were dead!"
"Honestly, I may as well have been. I got Naruto to thank for bringing me back to life." Yaizu nods to his grandnephew.
"Naruto…" Tsunade looks between the two of them. "Wait, Naruto, you're-" Her rush to explain gets interrupted.
"Don't worry, we caught up." Naruto smiles, assuring her that they're well aware.
"Lady Tsunade?" Shizune speaks up. "Do you know this man?"
"Of course I know him, I even owe him my life. This is Yaizu Uzumaki, known as the Thunder Lion. A hero of the Second Great Ninja War."
"Did you say Uzumaki?" Shikamaru raises a brow.
Yaizu nods. "She did, indeed. I'm Kushina Uzumaki's uncle, and Naruto Uzumaki's granduncle."
"And Kotori and Hiroto's great-granduncle." Naruto pats Kotori on the head.
Yaizu chuckles. "It'll take some getting used to how old I've gotten."
"So," Tsunade walks back behind her desk, "I'm going to assume you're going to increase my workload by having Yaizu join as a citizen of the Hidden Leaf."
"That's the plan!" Naruto laughs.
Tsunade smiles and shakes her head. "It's good to see you again, Yaizu. Let's get a drink once all this is done." She motions to the workload in front of her, Shizune, and Shikamaru.
"Yeah, that'd be nice."
"Come on, let's meet the rest of the clan!" Naruto eagerly turns to Yaizu.
"Just so we're clear, you're walking there." Sasuke says.
"Don't forget you still have to report your mission, Naruto." Shizune reminds him.
Tsunade nods. "There were… extraneous circumstances that changed the mission parameters, but in an odd way you did accomplish your goal, so I suppose we can consider your mission complete."
Naruto gives a thumbs up.
The kids sigh in relief.
"Would've sucked to fail after going through all that." Shoto says.
"Yeah." Yokumaru agrees.
Naruto brings them all in for a group hug. "You kids did good. Now how about we go home?"
"That'd be nice." Kotori buries her face in Naruto's arm.
"Um," Yokumaru speaks up, "Even if it's possible, could we… go back to the Hidden Dream? It just doesn't feel right to leave them like that when they still need help."
Tsunade raises a brow. "Eager to help, huh? Do the rest of you feel that way?"
Shoto exchanges a very quick confirming look with Kotori. "I do." He answers.
"Yeah." Kotori adds.
"Well, there you have it." Naruto chuckles.
"That's easy enough to arrange, we can classify it as a D-rank mission. Sasuke, you're going back tomorrow to transport anyone who needs to come here, right? You can take Team Nine with you on the way there."
"Very well." Sasuke nods.
"Thank you for your aid. Your space-time ninjutsu is invaluable in situations like."
"I'll do whatever's in my power."
With that, the six of them are dismissed to go on their ways.
Sasuke goes to pick up Kamae from her grandparents' place. With Sakura currently in charge over at the Hidden Dream, and Sasuke having to transport people to and fro, little Kamae will have to stay with Kizashi and Mebuki for a bit, not that they mind at all. At the very least, while Sasuke is here to spend the night, he'll take her home and drop her back there in the morn.
Shoto and Yokumaru also head home, eager to share their mission's success and everything they experienced in the process.
That leaves the Uzumaki family to walk together through the streets of the Hidden Leaf.
-x-
Uzumaki clan compound
As soon as Yaizu sets foot beyond the compound's gates, his breath stops. A torrent of emotions, nostalgic memories of happy times back home. The compound looks like it was ripped directly from the Hidden Whirlpool.
He looks around, taking in every minute detail of the sight he'd long given up on ever seeing again.
Naruto notices his amazement and smiles. "So, how is it?"
"It's… incredible." Yaizu wipes his eyes, fighting back the tears as much as he can. "I never thought I'd get to come back home."
"Is it that close to looking like the real thing?" Kotori asks. "We only got to see the ruins."
"Yeah, it's pretty similar."
As the three of them walk further in, Naruto and Kotori are readily and happily greeted. They wave to their fellow members of the Uzumaki clan while Yaizu watches on for any familiar faces. He might've been a powerful force among the clan but that doesn't mean he knew everyone or would even remember them if he saw them now.
Interestingly enough, some murmurs eventually are directed at Yaizu, with hints of recognition from the older Uzumaki.
"Who's that guy?"
"Doesn't he look familiar?"
"He kinda does."
"Wait. Isn't he…"
"Yaizu?" Awaji Uzumaki rounds the corner, staring a hole right into Yaizu. "Is that really you?"
The Uzumaki elder slowly makes his way toward them.
"Hey, old man." Yaizu meets him half-way. "Been a while, huh?"
Awaji grabs the slightly younger man's arms, almost like to make sure it's the real deal standing in front of him. "You're… alive. You're here." He says in disbelief.
"Sure am." Yaizu looks back to Naruto and Kotori. "We found each other under… odd circumstances."
Tears begin streaming down Awaji's eyes. "It's so good to see you again, old friend. Welcome home."
"It's good to be home." Yaizu is once again unable to stop himself from crying at the family reunion.
The two embrace after a very long nearly 40 years of being apart.
"My goodness, you're so small and frail." Yaizu laughs, breaking the heartwarming scene. "Feel like I might break you."
"And you're the same brick shithouse you've always been." Awaji smacks him on the biceps. "Old age's been kinder to you than most."
Yaizu's attention is brought to the six people behind Awaji who approach the two of them.
Awaji turns around and smiles. "Ah, Yaizu, allow me to introduce you to my daughter Minami and my son-in-law Hyōgo."
!RETCON! It was previously his son Akashi and daughter-in-law Kaikyo.
"Minami? Well, well, you were a babe the last time I saw you. Probably don't remember me, huh?"
"I'm afraid not." She gives a nervous laugh. "But I've heard the stories of the Thunder Lion. That's you, isn't it?"
"I'm sure it was all exaggerated." Yaizu waves it off.
"And these are my grandkids. Michi, Senjo, Saki, and Esuka." Awaji introduces them from oldest to youngest.
The four of them bow, and Yaizu bows back.
"You can just call me Sen!" He says in his usual boisterous voice.
"It's an honour to meet you, sir." Esuka politely addresses him as the more well-mannered of the group.
"This… will take some time getting used to, won't it?" Yaizu says.
Naruto claps him on the back. "Maybe, but we got time. Gramps, we're gonna need to put on a huge welcoming party."
"Consider it done." Awaji laughs.
"Well, that might have to wait a bit." Yaizu says. "There's still things to be done back in the Hidden Dream Village. I might be coming to live here, but I did call the Dream home for a good few years; I owe it to them to see it through."
"Whatever you still need to do, Yaizu, we'll be here. All of us." Awaji motions to the gathered Uzumaki, curious to see who it is that's newly arrived.
"Come on, I'll give you a tour of the place, and you can meet Hiroto!" Naruto ushers him on.
"He's a real handful." Kotori beams despite the apparent warning/complaint.
"That sounds nice." Yaizu bids his farewells with Awaji and his family and goes to get acquainted with his new home.
Over the course of several days, the Shinobi Union would continue to help the Hidden Dream Village get back on its feet.
The main contributor to fixing the village itself is, of course, Yamato who got the infrastructure back to a respectable level. Thankfully for him, the Dream wasn't completely destroyed like the Leaf was years ago so it was a simple enough task to create new lodging. Having his strength boosted by Naruto's chakra also helped. The people of the village were endlessly thankful for his efforts and quickly settled into their brand new homes.
Sakura took charge of the situation extremely swiftly. In mere hours, she had the situation under control and her team gave appropriate care for each person who suffered in the dreadful attack. She personally tended to the more severely injured while her team provided basic aid to those with more minor injuries. No one else perished largely thanks to her skills but also thanks to a new piece of medical equipment.
When the Hidden Rain joined the Shinobi Union, they shared much of their technological discoveries, which included the chamber that kept Konan alive for nearly a year. Once Tsunade got her hands on it, she was able to make breakthrough discoveries and increase their viability tenfold. It's practically a miniature hospital and if they can be made portable, would save a lot of lives. For now at least, they have Sasuke Uchiha to transport the medical chambers so it's not an issue for this exact scenario.
Ino unfortunately had less success in her duties. Even with her Sensory range boosted by Naruto, she couldn't find any of the Amagiri clan defectors. The Amagiri shinobi who were still in the village had their minds read by Ino's Analysis Team and they were found as being completely ignorant of what their fellow shinobi were planning. For the safety and security of the village, Enzo enforced for even non-Amagiri to have their minds read, which was met with protest. Some readily agreed but a good portion of the shinobi refused to be treated like suspects. Morale took quite the dive and Enzo found himself scouring for solutions and wondering what to do. Enzo and Ino came to the decision to not force the people of the Hidden Dream to do anything against their will, but that still leaves Enzo questioning if any of those people were secretly in league with Gensui and Mōkin.
Despite the commotion caused by the Analysis Team, negotiations between Hinata and Enzo went well. People may have been displeased with the mindreading, but no one could deny that the new homes and medical treatments weren't life-savers. The Hidden Leaf and the Shinobi Union came through and saved their lives from whatever Gensui Amagiri had planned for them. By the end, Enzo Tenrō officially announced that the Hidden Dream Village will join the Shinobi Union.
Last but not least, Team Nine's continued help does not go unnoticed or unappreciated. The Dream shinobi still try to make it up to them, for suspecting and trying to kill Naruto, even if they were unsuccessful. At one point, Taisa Amagiri does emerge from his room to offer his sincerest apologies which Kotori quickly accepts by hugging him. Taisa grows very uncomfortable by the suddenness.
-x-
Inuzuka household
When Tsume Inuzuka opened her door, the last person she really expected to see was Naruto, let alone apparently visitors from another village. Behind the Uzumaki head are two people very visibly from the Hidden Dream Village, given their headbands- an older man and a young girl.
"Hey, Naruto. What brings you here?" Tsume gives the three of them an inquisitive look.
Naruto looks and gives Enzo and Ryuka a confirming nod before turning back to Tsume. "I was hoping you'd hear out a story, and to ask whether you have a free plot in the cemetery."
With that oddly cryptic opener, Naruto and the two Tenrō explain to Tsume what happened in the Hidden Dream Village, mainly the elements that would concern Tsume enough for a personal visit- details of the Great Beast, Ōkami.
Tsume very quickly arranges for a new tombstone to be etched with the name of a long lost clan member. It's made especially easy since there's not even a need for a grave, just an empty lot.
Naruto kneels in front of the tombstone of Shino Inuzuka. "I know this isn't really your home, but I hope you can find rest now."
Tsume and Hana Inuzuka, and Kiba Yamanaka pay their respects, as do Enzo and Ryuka Tenrō.
"To think our clan had such a history…" Tsume laments.
"From what I saw of Shino's memories," Naruto recalls the visions he saw when their chakra connected, "It seems like there was a faction in the Inuzuka that disagreed with Shino being turned into a weapon. They split off and formed the Tenrō clan."
"So our ancestors were on the wrong side of this." Hana looks away.
"Not necessarily." Enzo reassures her. "Those were different times; forgotten times. I'm sure they had their circumstances and did what they thought was right."
"They just failed at it." Kiba says in a slightly mocking tone.
"And maybe there was a chance they wouldn't have." Enzo shrugs. "It's difficult to say."
"But if our clan split away from the Inuzuka, why was the Ōkami sealed with us?" Ryuka asks.
Enzo explains. "The seal that was used was a blood seal, meaning only members of the Tenrō clan could unseal it. And I suppose of the Inuzuka, as well, if it came to it. Whatever happened in the past, our ancestors must have realized their mistake and dealt with it in time."
"We've had a lot of dealings with Great Beasts like that." Naruto explains. "Although it's been quiet for the past 5 years. The other Great Beasts were sealed away by my ancestor, Tamamo Uzumaki. I guess somehow your ancestors got to Shino before she could."
"So there're more like this? People who became unhinged monsters?" Enzo asks.
Naruto nods. "Yeah. And someone is trying to control them and use them for their own purpose, and we can't allow that to happen."
"After seeing what this one Beast can do, there's no way I can calmly sit back. Especially if someone is plotting to use them for their own gain."
"I'm glad to have you on board." Naruto stands up and shakes Enzo's hand.
Tsume extends her own hand. "Maybe we can get past whatever disagreements our ancestors had."
Enzo nods and readily returns the handshake "I believe we already have."
-x-
Hidden Leaf Shinobi Union hall
With the Union now officially numbering 11, further adjustments will need to be made. Although the Hidden Dream is still very much recovering from their heavy losses, they've managed to set up the proper channels.
Ten of their shinobi have been delegated to other villages to act as ambassadors and, in turn, a shinobi from each of the other ten villages has been sent to the Hidden Dream to set up a base and offer whatever aid they can.
Hinata Uzumaki has gathered the ambassadors within the Hidden Leaf to introduce everyone to the newest member.
A woman stands in front of the 11th seat, marked with the symbol of her village, and takes a bow. Her light shoulder-length hair bobs as she straightens herself.
"It's an honour and a pleasure to count myself among your ranks. I'm Kiso Onikuma of the Hidden Dream Village's Onikuma clan. I hope we can work well together."
"It's good to have you here, Kiso." Hinata bows her head in return. "I know living in a new village must be difficult to get accustomed to, given everything that happened."
"Yes, we still haven't had time to process everything, but I promise not to let that get in the way. And the Hidden Leaf looks like a good place to raise my daughter."
"Oh, you have a daughter?" Temari asks. "How old is she?"
"Enko's only one year old; she has a lot of growing to do."
"So she's the same age as our kids." Karui notes.
Hinata smiles. "I hope they can grow to become friends, then."
"I hope so, as well." Kiso smiles.
Hinata stands up from the chair and looks over her colleagues. "Now then, with a new member of the Union, we have a lot to discuss. You've all surely heard of the unfortunate events surrounding the Hidden Dream. We're going to have our work cut out for us."
"I don't believe any of us ever thought it would be easy." Kegon of the Hidden Waterfall notes.
Tsurara of the Hidden Frost organizes her documents in front of her. "The Hidden Frost Village and the Land of Frost suffered greatly in the Fourth Great Ninja War. We managed to recover largely thanks to the aid of the Shinobi Union. It would be remiss not to return it in kind."
The ambassadors all nod in agreement.
"Thank you." Kiso bows her head again.
Uzumaki household
With the Hidden Dream Village situation handled to the best of anyone's ability, the Uzumaki family can finally sit down and actually have a proper sit-down and get used to thought that their family has increased yet again.
Naruto, not wanting to do anything small, has organized a massive feast and invited his closest family to his yard. Hinata had her work cut out for her, with cooking meals for a grand total of 23 people while giving instruction to Kotori and Naruto. Surprisingly, Yaizu proved adept in the kitchen, although he needed to be for all the years he lived by himself. Cooking becomes an important skill when you're in solitude.
They place a long table out in the garden and decorate it with an assortment of homecooked meals, tasty enough to sate anyone's appetite.
From the hosts' side, there's Naruto, Hinata, Kotori, Hiroto, and Yaizu. As immediate family, Hiashi and Hanabi are present, with Konohamaru coming as Hanabi's date, although he probably would've been invited even if they were a couple.
Iruka, Shizune, Tonton, and Shohei, along with Kakashi, Anko, and Azuki are also here as part of Naruto's extended family. Tsunade is also present as Shizune's adoptive mother.
When it comes to people Naruto and Hinata consider family, they can't very well exclude their students, either. Yokumaru, Yoi, Teuchi, and Ayame and Shoto, Itosuke, and Asami are all here.
Naruto can't help but think back to his younger days when he spent practically every night by himself, how much he wished for exactly this. Even Kotori who, even though she had a lot of love for everyone in the orphanage, couldn't help but wonder what it'd be like to have a meal with a family of her own. Yaizu, the man of the hour, also isn't that much different. For almost 40 years, he thought all of his family had died. He'd gotten used to the thought that he'd waste away and not be mourned by anyone, yet here he is, surrounded by the people his grandnephew calls family.
The gathering starts in the mid-afternoon and continues well into the evening, with everyone enjoying their time together and taking in how little they've actually enjoyed themselves like this. Many have been long overdue for a nice gathering like this.
It took Yaizu some time to get to know and remember everyone, but it seems like at least the older generation are familiar enough with his legacy. The Thunder Lion is a name that rang in people's ears even after the Hidden Whirlpool was destroyed.
Currently, Yaizu is in the process of sharing a tale of ages past. He has his legged up on his chair while he stands to recall the events. "So when my squad gets there, it's already full-on chaos, right?" He laughs. "I see this giant snake rampaging in the distance and Tsunade here trying to keep a good dozen people alive, while also trying to stop a half-dead Jiraiya from joining the battle."
Tsunade covers her face with her palms. "Gods, I remember. We were fighting to the north against the Hidden Cloud, weren't we? Jiraiya wouldn't stop going on about helping Orochimaru. Thankfully you got there in time."
"He was always a character. Can't believe he's gone." Yaizu sighs and takes his seat again. "Would've been good to share a drink with him. Can't believe Orochimaru's dead, either. Didn't think he'd be the type to get himself killed."
Tsunade stiffens a bit. "I wouldn't mound Orochimaru. He's… a sore subject." She gives a passing glance to Konohamaru who got a bit quiet. "A lot of things happened, Yaizu, and he turned out different than we expected. I'll tell you about it later."
"Oh." Yaizu nervously looks around the table. "I didn't know, sorry."
"A lot has happened since then, it's not your fault." Kakashi says.
"So it has." Yaizu raises his cup. "I'm sorry to hear about the White Fang. I never actually met him, but his name rang through pretty much every battlefield."
"Thank you, sir." Kakashi nods his head.
"Say," Shoto leans on the table to look to Yaizu, which prompts his father to reprimand him for putting his elbows on the table, "Did you fight any of the Hidden Stone's Teshin clan?"
"The Teshin?" Yaizu scratches his chin. "That's right, you're a Teshin, aren't you? I didn't fight any, no. They'd already retired by the time I was given more frontline missions, so I never ran into them."
"Aww." Shoto leans back in his seat.
While the adults converse and catch up on events, Shohei and Azuki run around the yard with Tonton, who may or may not be a willing participant in this game of chase. They also go by Hiroto's chair and play peek-a-boo with the small toddler. Much to their dismay, they're not allowed to take Hiroto and run around with him, but Kakashi summons some his ninja hounds to play with them. The large bulldog Bull proves to be a worthy steed for them.
-x-
Kotori, Shoto, and Yokumaru play around with them a bit, as well, mainly using their jutsu to wow the kids, with colourful parrots flying around and shiny crystals grown from the ground.
During one of their breaks, Team Nine sit inside the house to eat some ice cream away from Shohei and Azuki who will undoubtedly want some, too.
Shoto uses this time to ask a question he knows is uncomfortable for Kotori. "Have you told Naruto-shisho yet?"
Kotori stops and doesn't take her gaze away from the ice cream. "Told him what?"
"You know exactly what. About your parents and-"
"Just stop, will you?" She cuts him off with a sharp tone. "There's nothing to talk about."
"What even's your problem?" Shoto raises his voice. "Did you already forget how we told Yoku to talk to his mom about Teuchi? We established pretty well to not keep this stuff in and yet you're doing it! Why?"
Kotori throws the tub of ice cream beside her with enough force for it to bounce for a bit. "What am I supposed to say, Shoto? Huh? 'Sorry, mom and dad, you're not enough for me'? 'I want to chase around some ghosts'? That's not something you just say to your parents."
"Well it obviously means a lot to you! Do you seriously think they'd hold it against you? Have you learned nothing about them in five years?"
"It doesn't matter. This is my decision. I can't tell them I keep thinking about my birth parents." She shrinks in her seat. "I can't do that to them."
"I've had the same thoughts, you know." Yokumaru speaks up in a soft voice. "I keep thinking about my dad, and thanks to you I was able to talk to mom and Teuchi about it. And they understood. If thinking about 'ghosts' is a bad thing, then what does that make me?" He looks her directly in the eyes.
"Yoku, I didn't mean- Look, it's different, alright? I don't have any memories of my parents; they're basically strangers to me. That's why… I don't want to tell them. I don't want to tell them that some strangers are more important than them. You at least remember your dad and have a connection to him. That's not a luxury I have."
Yokumaru lowers his head. "Losing someone's not a luxury. No matter what happened." He hops from his chair. "I think I'll go back."
"No, that's now what I-" Kotori doesn't get to explain herself before Yokumaru leaves. She clenches her fist. "Why do you keep bringing it up?"
Shoto calmly closes his and Yokumaru's tubs and places them back in the freezes. "Because you're being stupid. You say you don't want to hurt Naruto-shisho and Hinata-shisho, but you're hurting yourself instead. And to them that's worse than anything. Although if you still hadn't figured it out by now, I guess I'm just wasting my time." He also walks out back to the party.
Kotori remains in the room by herself, only the sounds of talking from outside to keep her company. She doesn't even look at the ice cream as it continues to melt.
After a few minutes of silent contemplation, she walks out.
-x-
The tense air around the kids goes largely unnoticed because of the busy atmosphere, and also because the party doesn't exactly last long after that.
With Hiroto's bedtime approaching, and Shohei and Azuki getting tired, the families have to call it a day.
As everyone gets ready to call it a day, Yaizu stands one more time with his cup in hand. "Before we go, I'd just like to say… Thank you. I know this probably won't mean a lot coming from someone like me, but you were all here for my only family when I was too busy wallowing in pity. So thank you for being his family when I couldn't, thank you for taking care of him." He bows.
Hiashi neatly sets aside his empty cups and plates. "In truth, it was mainly Naruto's perseverance that got him to where he is now. His strength of character is one not easily matched."
"Right?" Konohamaru grins. "Bro's just amazing like that."
Naruto laughs. "Trust me, I'm not. I had plenty of help to get here. I owe everyone here a lot." He raises his cup for a final sip which everyone joins him in.
With that, the party slowly dies down until everyone gets ready to leave. The Hatake and Umino family are the first to leave, seeing as they have to get the little ones calmed down enough to actually sleep.
-x-
Before they go, Yaizu takes a moment to speak to Iruka who's leading Shohei by the hand..
"We didn't really get the chance to talk much back there." The older man initiates the conversation.
"Ah, I'm afraid my career as been boring compared to yours or Kakashi's." Iruka rubs the back his neck. "I don't have as much to share."
"Boring doesn't mean uneventful or unimportant. I know I'd make a terrible teacher, so you got my respect for that." Yaizu laughs. "But I heard you've been a strong force in Naruto's life; acted as his father in his wedding. Wanted to thank you in person for everything you've done for him."
Iruka shakes his head. "I don't know if I deserve such praise. In truth it took me a while to realize my mistakes. I wasn't there for him as much as I could've been."
"But you were there as much as he needed you to be, that's enough. When he was telling me about you, he was real energized and passionate. Whatever you've done for him left an impact."
"Your words honour me."
Yaizu claps him on the back. "Have a good one, Iruka Umino."
"You, too, sir." Iruka bows his head and heads on out with Shizune and Shohei.
-x-
Before the Kigatsu family leaves, Yoi looks back at the messy table and the countless dirty dishes that will need cleaning. As a server, her heart breaks a little at the sight.
"Are you sure you don't need help cleaning up?" She asks.
"What, that?" Naruto laughs. "I got it handled. Check this out."
[Multi Shadow Clones]
Naruto summons a couple dozen copies of himself to immediately start cleaning the table.
"I'll have this cleaned in a flash."
"You mean 'we'." One of his Clones corrects him.
"Yeah, fine, 'we' will." Naruto sighs.
Teuchi chuckles. "I sure would love to have that skill. Would make running a business so much easier. With you as a one-man staff and Hinata as a cook, I'd be in trouble if you decided to open up a restaurant."
"You know we'd never do that to you, old man." Naruto laughs and claps him on the shoulder. "We already got our hands full with everything else."
"Well, thank you for having us." Teuchi smiles. "It was a very pleasant evening."
"Thanks for coming."
With that, both the Kigatsu and Teshin families head home, and Naruto notes the kids don't see each other off as they usually do.
-x-
Once everyone has gone and left the Uzumaki family to themselves, Naruto walks up to Kotori and hugs her without saying a word.
He figures something happened between them and he figures it happened back in the Hidden Dream, but since Kotori tried to assure him all's well, probing for any more wouldn't help. Right now, the best he can do is be here for her and trust that she'll speak up if she wants to.
Kotori hugs him around the waist and remains like that for a bit.
Hinata walks over to Yaizu who's holding Hiroto and looking at the boy as if he won't see him for a long time, with a wide smile on his face.
"I can take him off your hands now."
"Can I… hold him for just a bit longer?" Yaizu says in a whisper to not disturb the boy.
Hinata smiles. "Of course."
"I could lay him to sleep, too."
"Let's. It's been an exhausting day for him."
"I promise I'll be here for you, little one." Yaizu softly brushes his great-grandnephew's cheek with a finger.
Hinata and Yaizu walk to the door with Hiroto, joined by Naruto and Kotori.
Kotori looks up to Yaizu and asks. "You're gonna visit us lots, right?"
"Well, I'm apparently your new next door neighbour, so…" Yaizu chuckles. "Yeah, you'll be seeing a lot of me, kiddo."
Hidden Mountain Village
Things have been hectic for the entire Shinobi Union. From their perspective, the Great Beasts have been inactive for some five years now and have shown no signs of activity in that period. The only ones who know why are, of course, the Hidden Mountain Village who have been behind their unsealing.
Except for this last one that has baffled even them.
Kaidomaru has summoned a meeting of his Uzumaki clan about this very issue.
"That's two now." Kaidomaru taps his finger. "First the rock monster in the Land of Earth, and now the wolf in the Hidden Dream. Two Great Beasts we were woefully unaware of that have been dealt with by Naruto."
"Will this pose a problem?" Seto Uzumaki, elder of the clan, asks.
"Let's hope not, but the more Naruto gets to fight them, the more he'll learn. Apparently he managed to connect his consciousness with the Ōkami enough to kill it. That's something we'll need to account for when we release the Great Beasts behind the Rashomon."
"When will that be?" Jun Uzumaki asks. "We've waited for so long now."
"Not nearly enough as Lord Kaidomaru has." Seto silences her with a glance.
"It's fine, Elder Seto." Kaidomaru raises a hand in reassurance. "I'm aware everyone is impatient. We've had to hide our true selves even more since joining the Shinobi Union and I know how frustrating that is. Believe me, no one more than me wants to act, but if we're to succeed, we need to bide our time still."
"We need to strengthen our forces even more, and secure a better position for ourselves." Kikyo states. "In case you hadn't noticed, we're kind of surrounded by Union right now."
"That will come with time. I have an exact idea how to make our situation more favourable."
"I don't trust these Union ambassadors, either." Sento Uzumaki peers out the window to the village. "Feel like they're always watching."
Kaidomaru waves off the concern. "Oh, I have no doubt that some of them have also been told to spy on us. Destroying Hakone Town may have eased some suspicion from us, but not removed it outright. If my calculations are correct, we'll only need one or two more years to secure everything we need."
"So until then, we lie low."
"Precisely. Before that, one of the preparations we must make..." Kaidomaru turns back to his Anbu Captain. "Takeshi, find the Hidden Dream's Mōkin and Amagiri clan. Convince them to join us to the best of your abilities. If they don't want to, at least learn how this Gensui Amagiri knew about the Great Beast. It irks me that he found out about it when we hadn't."
Takeshi nods. "Yes, sir."
"As for us," Kaidomaru turns back to his Uzumaki clan, "We need to deal a blow to the Shinobi Union's forces. Every single time now, the Tailed Beasts have intervened and helped Naruto Uzumaki in some form or another. We can't allow that to keep happening."
"You thinking of sealing them away, boss?" One person asks.
"Yes. Either seal them away in a prison or have one of you become a jinchūriki. Adding to our firepower would be preferable, but I'm concerned about the connection Naruto has with them and how that might interfere."
Elder Seto stomps his staff on the wooden flooring. "Whatever connection he may have, it will not be stronger than the Uzumaki clan's fūinjutsu, of that I can assure you."
Kaidomaru smiles. "Thank you, Elder. First on the list, there's one Tailed Beast in particular I have a perfect use for in the future. Find out the location of the Five Tailed…" He goes deep into thought as he looks around his fellow Uzumaki clan members. "Actually, what IS the Five Tails?"
The others look amongst each other in confusion.
"It's a horse, isn't it?"
"Looks like a horse to me."
"Yeah, but it's got that weird face. That's not a horse's face."
"Kinda looks like a dolphin."
"... What kinda fucked up dolphins have you been looking at?"
"Well what else is it?!"
Kaidomaru slams his fist on the table, interrupting their… discussion. "Okay! It doesn't matter what it is, just find it so we can work on sealing it. We'll need to act fast, the Union isn't going to stand idle while the Tailed Beasts disappear one by one."
"Yes, sir!" They all say in unison.
"Soon." Kaidomaru leans back in his chair. "After all these years, we'll have what we're owed."
Hidden Leaf Village
High up on one of the Leaf's taller pillars, Naruto Uzumaki has taken to sitting and looking over the village. It's not his preferred spot on top of his dad's stone head but this does bring him closer to the village he's sworn to protect.
He closes his eyes as the wind hits his face, causing his orange cloak to billow against it. He takes a deep breath and looks down to the smoking pipe in his hand.
It's not something he'd really considered before. The Third and Jiraiya smoked a lot and it never appealed to him; just being close to the stuff made him sick. He sighs and takes a long whiff of the pipe. He lasts all of 2 seconds before entering a coughing fit.
"Pa, I don't think this has the calming effect for me like for you." He says to no one in particular.
The pipe itself is one special made in Mt. Myoboku where its contents are also from. Fukasaku gifted some to Naruto and he promised to try it, but it might take some getting used to.
Naruto looks back when he senses a presence approaching him and he sees the cloaked figure of Shino Aburame joining him up on the pillar.
"I didn't think of you as the smoking type." Shino says in place of a greeting.
"Yeah, I don't think I am, either." Naruto coughs again to clear his throat. "You back from your mission in the Hidden Moon?"
"I am," Shino nods, "And already I'm hearing you've cause quite the commotion with your own mission."
"It... didn't quite go according to plan."
"Then we share that in common."
"Yeah?" Naruto raises a brow. "Wanna share what happened? And I'll tell you what happened on mine."
Shino chuckles. "Swapping stories might be fun. Just… don't smoke. My kikaichū are sensitive to smoke."
"Can't smoke at home, can't smoke outside…" Naruto sighs and puts away his pipe. "Come on, first drinks are on me." He stands up and pats Shino on the shoulder.
"And the next- on me." Shino says. "I believe we may have a long evening ahead of us."
NEXT ARC: 'Hidden Moon'
Name Meaning
Minami Uzumaki (うずまき ミナミ, Uzumaki Minami) - named after Minamiawaji City, on Awaji Island. It's the city that's connected to Naruto City via the Great Naruto Bridge.
Hyōgo Uzumaki (うずまき ヒョウゴ, Uzumaki Hyōgo) - named after Hyōgo Prefecture, which Awaji Island is a part of.
Kiso Onikuma (鬼熊 きそ, Onikuma Kiso) - 'onikuma' = 'demon bear', a Japanese yōkai ; 'kiso' = named after Kiso Valley, where the onikuma is said to originate from.
Trivia
Enko Onikuma is Boruto's classmate in 'Boruto: Naruto Next Generations' and a member of Team Ibiki.