Disclaimer: - I, SSG-Goku3397, do not own Naruto and any related matter. It all belongs to Kishimoto, the original brain behind the character Naruto. The only thing that I do own is the plot of this story and any original jutsu, seals, concepts and OC's that are present within the story."
Thoughts / Telepathic Speech"
"Speech"
Letters / Jutsu notes
Chapter 11 – Waves of Change Part II
It had been a week since the Konoha shinobi, Fū and Tazuna had their encounter with Zabuza and Haku. Throughout the week, Naruto had the genin train while the jōnin took turns watching over Tazuna at the construction site.
Everyone was sitting having finished their evening meal when Ino saw a family picture with the face of one of the members torn off. Being the inquisitive young kunoichi she was, she turned to Tsunami and asked, "Tsunami-san, who is that? The one with the face torn off?"
Tsunami looked at the photo with a melancholic expression and sighed before speaking, "That's was my second husband, Inari's stepfather, Kaiza. He was executed for standing against Gato. When Inari was younger, he saved Inari's life and ever since, Inari had idolized him. His death hit all of us hard, but Inari was the most devastated."
Everyone turned to look at the young boy drop his head in sadness. After a moment of silence, Chōji spoke up, "He reminds me of the Yondaime Hokage, Naruto's father. The Yondaime sacrificed himself to defeat the Kyūbi. There are very few heroes like them."
"I always like to think that he did it for me and not the village!" Naruto said with a grin causing Inari to look at the blonde with anger.
"Sensei was a true hero, just like your husband was. No matter their reason, they sacrifice themselves for their loved ones and their beliefs." Kakashi said with a melancholic expression.
Inari exploded in anger, "There are no heroes! Only fools who end up getting killed and leave their loved ones to suffer! And why do you all try so hard? You all will only get killed in the end. Gato's too strong! You don't know what we suffered! So stop trying to understand us!"
Chōji, Ino and Sasuke bristled in anger as Naruto stood up. Sighing, Naruto was engulfed in a yellow cloak of energy. Beside him, Sakura had stood up as well, the seal on her forehead activating, spreading down her face and hands. Each took out a kunai before plunging it into their guts before harshly pulling them out in a flood of blood.
Everyone watched in horror and amazement as the wounds smoked and healed up in moments. Before anyone could voice any questions, Sakura spoke up, "Listen kid, we are shinobi. It means we are walking with death. Death is a part of our profession. It's either kill or be killed in most cases. Unfortunately for our enemies, the technique you see me using now makes me practically immortal. I would like to see some one kill an immortal!"
"And my power is shared between nine individuals. With proper training, Fū will achieve the same ability. It's something common among proficient demon containers. That's right both of us contain demons within us. The energy you see surrounding me is the full power of the Kyūbi no Yōkō. I would like to see a normal human handle an imperfect jinchūriki, let alone a perfect one like me. And suffering, we jinchūriki are treated like the demons and outcasts. Don't try to tell me your suffering is at the same level we jinchūriki suffer! Kakashi-sensei, I am out of here!"
"Naruto! Wait, I am coming with you." Sakura said before rushing after he blonde teammate.
"Should we send someone after them?" Asuma asked with concern only for Sasuke to snort.
"After the show they put on, I doubt there is any fear of them dying. Hell, I didn't even know that Sakura had such a technique. With that alone, she would be S-class. I always thought the seal on her forehead was a chakra store. I didn't realize it could be released to activate such a powerful technique."
"Sasuke has a point. Not only does Sakura has her monstrous strength, she also has a instant regeneration technique. I really don't want to fight against her. Besides, their team work is scarily proficient. Together, they both have the skill and power to take down most jōnin and Anbu." Kakashi said with nonchalance. Asuma nodded in agreement before turning to the frozen family.
"Are they really immortal?" Tsunami asked in shock causing Fū to chuckle and say, "Technically yes, but they are still flesh and blood humans. I can agree with the regeneration factor, though I don't have the same level as Naruto-sama."
After that statement, the shinobi stood up and left the room, one by one.
Naruto and Sakura were sleeping on the grass in the clearing. Naruto was on his back with Sakura beside him. Interestingly, when they fell asleep, Sakura had just laid down a couple of feet from Naruto. Now, she was cuddled up right beside him with her head resting on his chest.
Haku had walked into the clearing and was surprised by the sleeping shinobi. She entertained the thought of assassinating the duo before shaking her head. What was she thinking? Naruto probably had hidden clones around for just such a situation. Besides, Zabuza-sama had already decided to accept the young Daimyō's offer. Nodding to herself, she quietly approached the sleeping duo before extending an arm to wake them up.
Just before she could touch Naruto, a hand clenched her wrist. "And what were you planning to do Oinin-san? I know that the knucklehead teammate of mine has offered you and Zabuza a place in Uzu, so for your sake, I hope that your only plan was to wake the idiot up?"
Haku nodded with a nervious sigh as Sakura satup, not even reacting to the intimate position she was in with her teammate.
"She had no malicious intentions Sakura-chan. Besides, I knew she was approaching long before she reached the clearing." Naruto said sitting up.
Sakura nodded before letting go of Haku's wrist. "So tell me what do you want?"
"You still have two weeks to accept or decline Haku. No need to be nervous." Naruto said gently as Sakura stood up and stretched. The popping of bones echoed throughout the clearing.
Haku swallowed before saying, "I was just going to wake you. It is fortunate that we have met, Zabuza-sama has agreed to the deal. Anyway we will still be there on the bridge. Zabuza-sama's suggestion is that we put on a show until Gato appears with his thugs. We know that he would as I have personally overheard him talking with his two most trusted men about swarming us with Ronin. The only stipulation is that Zabuza-sama gets to battle against Hatake Kakashi!"
Naruto nodded with a smile. "Agreed. I will inform Kakashi-sensei. We will see you in two weeks time then! Do you need help with gathering herbs? I have a small herb garden and Sakura is a fully certified Iryōnin."
Haku bowed in appreciation, "I would be most honoured to accept your help!"
"Then let's get to it!" Sakura said as she, Haku and Naruto more towards the edge of the clearing in search of medicinal herbs.
During the hour the trio gathered herbs, they made small talk about their lives. Haku explained her situation to Sakura as she herself explained the cover story for her and Naruto's strength to Haku. At the end, Sakura could say that Haku was a friend and vice versa.
"Thank you for your help. Don't worry, I will let Zabuza-sama know that I have informed you as soon as he is lucid again." Haku said before disappearing in a shunshin as Naruto nodded in understanding.
After Haku left, Sakura nodded to Naruto before leaving in a shunshin herself calling out, "See you back at Tazuna's Naruto!"
"She's gone, you can come out now Gobi!" Naruto said after a few moments. In a flash of steam, the Gobi Jinchūriki, Han of Iwa appeared.
"So your sensory skills were true and no exaggeration! Or was it your demon?" Han asked with a mocking sneer.
Naruto didn't rise to the bait as he raised his right fist to the Iwanin. Han raised an eyebrow before bumping his armored fist with Naruto's. They stayed like that for a few moments before Han withdrew his fist and nodded to Naruto.
"We see but we must still keep up appearances. Also, I want to test myself out against you. See you in two weeks Uzumaki!" Han said before vanishing in a burst of steam. Naruto stared at the place Han occupied for a few moments longer before shrugging and vanishing in a swirl of wind.
A wave of flames blasted out of the fist of Sasuke intent on drowning his opponent in a sea of flames. Unfortunately, his opponent easily redirected the flames with a swing of her leg. The blast of wind was enough to kick up a dust cloud.
Jumping back, Sasuke peered into the dust cloud trying to gauge where Ino was only to be blasted back by a swirling wave of winds. Jumping back onto his feet, Sasuke started a combo of fast kicks and lunges releasing waves and cones of red hot flames, hoping to smother Ino with the onslaught.
Ino watched with calculating eyes as the waves of fire flew at her. Taking a deep breath, the Yamanaka heiress closed her eyes and emersed herself into the flow of air around her. Everyone watched in shock as the young girl easily dodged the waves of flames and redirected the ones she couldn't with barely any movement.
Sasuke grited his teeth in anger. All his life, he has learned that fire is strong against wind and weak against water. Now here, Ino was countering him at every turn with only her air bending. This was absurd. Then there were his prodigious skills in the Ninja arts, Ino was just a mediocre kunoichi at best, but in only a couple of months time, she was skillful enough to give him a challenge. How was she able to do that. Without realizing, Sasuke let his anger cloud his judgement and flow with his bending. Jumping into the air with jets of fire that supported him turning blue, Sasuke did a front flip releasing a massive wave of blue flames at Ino.
Seeing the suddenly different flames, Ino panicked and focused her mind in directing as much air she could to try and redirect the flames. To everyone's surprise, the flames stopped and battled with the concentrated ball of air before the air ball absorbed the flames. Everyone watched in shock as the ball suddenly shrunk, glowing like the sun before exploding in a massive ball of flames.
Everyone cried out Ino and Sasuke's name when Naruto appeared and waved his hand at the rapidly expanding flames. The flames warped before fizzling out. At the same time, clones of his had caught the airborne Sasuke and Ino.
"You let your emotions into your bending again Sasuke. I can understand that you were frustrated, but letting your emotions into your fire bending will only lead to disaster. Until you can control your emotions, try and keep a blank state of mind. Fire is second most difficult element to control. Do you know why your flames turned blue?"
Sasuke shook his head in disappointment as Naruto spoke up, "You let your anger and frustration taint the flames you produced. If you keep that up, lightning generation will be out of your league as it requires a stable state of mind. A balance between Yin and Yang. I would advise you to join Fū in her meditation exercises."
Sasuke nodded before In spoke up, "How did you overpower the explosion?"
Naruto chuckled as he said, "I didn't over power it. I starved it."
"Huh... What do you mean Naruto?" Ino asked with confusion only for Asuma to answer, "You drew away the air around the flames to snuff the explosion out. Without air, not even chakra flames would survive."
"You know Ino, wind doesn't just flow in a single direction like water. If needed, wind splits up and reconnects at a later point. Be like the wind, you are an air bender. You must act like the wind. Don't always go with the obvious path. Besides, redirection isn't the right option every time. What would happen if you accidentally redirect an attack at an ally?"
Ino bowed her head in shame when Naruto spoke, "But all things considered, you are doing quite well for someone who just started learning bending a little more than a month ago. I only ask that you think of your options more. Also, don't panic like you did at the end. Now keep it up!"
Ino squealed in delight and hugged her fellow blonde causing Sakura to narrow her eyes in annoyance. After a moment, Ino let go of a surprised Naruto and walked back to her team with a flirty smile. Naruto blushed in embarrassment before coughing and turning to Sakura. "Since everyone has had a spar other than us, how about we have a bout with all your skill? Unless you are scared?"
"Only if you use only ninshu and basic Ninja arts, no senjutsu or Kyūbi Chakra Cloak!" Sakura said getting a nod from Naruto.
Both of them jumped back and faced each other. "Everyone watch carefully. Especially you Sasuke and Asuma. I will be showing you more advanced bending skills. Kakashi-sensei, can you be the mediator?"
"Sure thing Naruto. Take your positions! On the counter of three, THREE... TWO... ONE... HAJIME!" Kakashi said jumping back to the edge of the clearing. As soon as Kakashi was out of the way, Sakura raised up a boulder and kicked it towards Naruto.
Smiling, Naruto swung his right arm in an arc before striking towards the boulder with two fingers extended. A concentrated beam of lightning flew from the fingertips and blasted the boulder into dust covering the field in dust and smoke.
As the smoke and dust cleared, everyone saw that Sakura was gone. Everyone wondered what Sakura was about to do when Naruto raised his right foot up and slammed it onto the ground. Suddenly the ground a couple of feet away from Naruto erupted revealing a bruised Sakura.
"Wow! His sensory skills are even greater than I realized!" Asuma said with shock only for Sakura to say, "Using neutral jing style of bending you were talking about? You listened to the vibrations through the bottom of your feet!"
"You should try to use it. If you become skilled enough, you gain a powerful sensory ability that will allow you to sense anything connected to the earth. It would rival the sensory skills of a Sennin." Naruto said as Sakura nodded before throwing a few shuriken at Naruto, expecting the blonde to dodge or block.
"Are you mocking me Sakura-chan? You know that these are useless against me!" Naruto said as he waved his hands at the shuriken. Everyone watched with awe as the shuriken came to a stop a few feet from the blonde before changing shape into small arrows floating around Naruto. Naruto grinned before punching towards Sakura causing the arrows to fly towards her.
Narrowing her eyes, Sakura analyzed the situation and came to the startling conclusion that Naruto had bended the recidual earth in the metal. Jumping to the side, Sakura waved her hands, trying to redirect the arrows. Surprisingly, the arrows changed their path. Not noticible by those on the sidelines, but easily noticible by Naruto and Sakura. The arrows flew and struck the tree a bit to the side of the place directly behind Sakura's previous position.
"How did Naruto do that?" Chōji asked with surprise, dropping his bag of chips.
Sakura smirked and said, "You bended the trace earthly impurities in the metal! Thanks for showing me. I just need to develop my skills in bending metal. Now don't blink!"
Naruto grinned and nodded as Sakura suddenly vanished before reappearing in front of Naruto, surprising the blonde and trying to punch him in the gut. Surprisingly, the attack landed and launched the blonde back before he burst into a red mist shocking everyone.
"What?" Ino asked in shock.
"Is that some kind of new clone?" Asuma asked when Shikamaru said, "It must be a prototype blood clone he was talking about with the Kage's."
"I agree with Shikamaru, now the question is, where is Naruto and when did he change?"
Sakura in that time had drawn up a massive amount of water from the surrounding ground and plants and started bending it into an octopus like shape around her. Taking a deep breath, Sakura suddenly lashed towards one of the trees with one tentacle of water when a blade of wind sliced through the tentacle. Before the separated water could land on the ground, it froze and flew towards Sakura in a wave of ice senbon.
Without batting an eye, Sakura grinned as she directed the water around her to form a wall and freeze right as the ice senbon struck the now frozen wall and shattered. Not wasting time, Sakura unfroze the wall and started to quickly jab into the wall causing jagged chunks of ice to fly towards Naruto.
Smiling, Naruto swung his leg and released a golden coloured flame that easily vaporized the ice chunks and continued to fly towards Sakura who let go of the water and took control of the earth and brought forth a large slab of bedrock that easily withstood the flames. Bringing her fists back, Sakura started to quickly jab into the rock wall causing large chunks of rock to fly at Naruto, this time with the added reassurance of Naruto being not able to melt the rocks.
Taking a deep breath, Naruto got into a free flowing stance and started to dodge the jagged pieces of earth with the grace of a dancer, aweing everyone. As the rain of earth petered out, Naruto grinned before jumping into the air and kicking at Sakura releasing a wave of blue flames much hotter than Sasuke's.
Seeing the powerful flames flying towards her, Sakura took a deep breath before drawing in as much water as she could from the surrounding ground and plants. Unlike last time, this time the plants withered into dust and the ground broke up. Directing the water, Sakura quickly created a dome of ice around her before adding a jagged rock hut inside the dome to protect herself.
Everyone watched as the flames struck the ice dome. At first it seemed that the ice would survive but suddenly cracks started froming all over the surface before the flames seeped into the ice giving it an eeire blue glow. The glow mesmerized everyone before blue flames started erupting from the cracks just as the ice vaporized. As the flames faded, everyone saw the remains of a hastily constructed closed rock hut. The hut was melted at places dripping red lava.
Naruto observed the scene with cold indifference. He knew that it wasn't enough to take Sakura down and to prove his point, the hot rock suddenly became dust and mixed with the molten rock, adding to it's mass.
Without even realizing, Sakura threw her hands forward causing a tentacle of molten rock to flow towards Naruto catching the boy by surprise. Jumping back, sweating from the sweltering heat, Naruto launched a massive wave of compressed lighting, blowing the lava apart before launching multiple small balls of rock at the exhausted Sakura.
Though the pink haired medic could see the balls approaching, she was too exhausted from the heat to retaliate and was consequently knocked unconscious. Seeing that Sakura was unconscious, Kakashi declared the spar over.
"That was intense, but it seems that both kept to mostly ninshu even though the rules allowed them to use the Ninja arts." Ino said with a sigh.
"I did t even know Sakura could bend lava. I know Naruto said that with enough practice, an earth bender can learn lava bending, but to watch it up close was awesome!" Chōji said with excitement.
"Sakura bended the lava with instinct. That took a lot out of her." Sasuke said as everyone watched Naruto kneel on the ground beside the unconscious Sakura. A green flame erupted in his hands as he placed them on Sakura's stomach and head.
"What is he doing now?" Fū asked in confusion as the flames engulfed Sakura before receding. As the flames vanished, all the bruises on Sakura were gone as well. Picking up Sakura in his arms, Naruto looked at everyone and said, "The rejuvenating flames have healed her, but she still needs rest so I am taking her to Tazuna's. I will see you all later." Naruto said before vanishing in a swirling of wind.
"When do you think we should attack Han?" Kitsuchi asked the Gobi Jinchūriki.
"Why do we need to ask Han? The kids young. He doesn't have the experience his father had. He may be strong, but we can take him!" A kunoichi said with confidence only for Han and Kitsuchi to glare at the upstart.
"Don't underestimate Uzumaki because of his age. That would only lead to a swift defeat. Besides he is a perfect Jinchūriki. He has full access to the Kyūbi's chakra. He may just be an even greater threat than his father!" Kitsuchi said with contempt. "Besides, he may know Namikaze's prized Hiraishin. The report says that he is good in fuinjutsu. He could have many Uzumaki clan techniques under his control. Techniques that was able to destroy the coalition army."
All the Iwa Jōnin gulped in realization of the precarious situation they were in. One small mistake, and they return to Iwa in a body bag.
"Uzumaki has made a deal with Zabuza and his accomplice. They will meet at the bridge in one and a half weeks. We should ambush them then, though I have a feeling Gato will try and double cross everyone."
"Why would you say that Han?"
"Simple Kitsuchi, Zabuza's apprentice overheard Gato tell his men that they will be ambushing the survivors on the bridge." Han said getting a raised eyebrow from Kitsuchi.
"I didn't think Iwa was so desperate that the old Tsuchikage would send a genin after me. Granted, I am officially a genin myself, so you may also have hidden abilities, but still, his own granddaughter?"
The pink eyed girl's eyes widened in shock before a pair of hands clamped down on her mouth and waist. Vanishing in a swirl of wind, Naruto and his captive reappeared beside Han, to the shock of the Iwanin.
"You all should keep an eye on your genin. I expected an ambush from Iwa, but a genin is too much, ne?"
"Kurotsuchi?"
"Ah... Hello daddy..." Kurotsuchi awkwardly said with her nervousness easily leaking into her tone.
"I can easily kill her you know?" Naruto said creating a small jet of fire in his clenched fist. He positioned the jet like a knife at Kurotsuchi's throat.
"You think you can escape here if you harm a single hair on Kurotsuchi-sama's head?" The kunoichi from before shouted causing Kitsuchi to glare at the fool.
Naruto grinned and was about to speak when he felt a kunai pierce his gut. Letting the girl go, Naruto clutched his stomach to see blood flowing through the gaps if his fingers. Naruto chuckled, "You have spunk, I will tell you that, but how did you know that I am not a clone?"
"Simple, no clone has a heartbeat! Besides, you are bleeding, aren't you? Clones don't bleed!" Kurotsuchi said with a smug grin. "You should know that I had poisoned the kunai with a fast acting nerve agent that kills normal humans in moments. Being a Jinchūriki, I say you have a few minutes at most. Die Namikaze for the sins of your father!"
Everyone watched in shock at the turn of events, even Han was surprised. Naruto grinned, coughing up blood, "Kawai little Kunoichi, taking revenge for her fallen comrades. If I followed your logic, then I should have went and completely destroy Iwa, Kumo and Kiri for the massacre of my clan. Revenge isn't the answer. It only leads to more bloodshed and pain. An eternal circle of hatred that can only be broken if the next generation gives up on the hatred."
As Naruto finished with a cold tone, he dissipated into a red mist. The red mist flowed away leaving behind a dark purple mist. The red mist condensed into a glob of blood before it refirmed into Naruto surprising everyone.
"You should know that in the world of ninja, anything is possible. A clone that bleeds and has a heartbeat? Doesn't exist, then make one! I warn you now, abandon the mission, or I will be forced to take your lives and then raise Iwa to the ground. I don't like holding grudges, but when the lives of innocent bystanders are threatened, all gloves are off!"
A shiver ran down everyone's spine, even Han's right before Naruto dissipated into a cloud of blood and flew away. After they were sure that Naruto was gone, the Iwanin finally relaxed.
"What kind of jutsu is that?" Kurotsuchi asked in awe when Kitsuchi grabbed the girl by the ear.
"A better question is; what are you doing here Kurotsuchi? This is an S-ranked mission. Also, you have cone here without permission. That is grounds for a court-martial! Father can mark you as a Nukenin! Did you think of that? Then you were caught by the Target and alerted him. Worse, you actually gave him the true reason why we are here and our position!"
"Give the kid a break. Uzumaki knew we were here from the moment we arrived." Han said to the surprise of everyone. This was the first time Han stood up for someone. "Besides kid, you mother died during a war. Uzumaki was right, revenge isn't the answer. Hatred only leads to pain and suffering. I have faced it until I proved myself. We are shinobi, our job is to kill. Everyone of us here have killed, even you. If the surviving kin of all our victims started lusting for our heads, even we would be overwhelmed. During the war, just like Namikaze massacred our battalion, I myself have massacred many teams. I don't see Konoha coming for my head. It was a time of war, nothing personal. Your mother was a hero, besides she died at the hands of Jiraiya of the Sannin, not Namikaze Minato. She was a member of my team. Her sacrifice allowed me to escape!"
With his piece said, Han vanished in a burst of steam. Everyone stared at the place for a few moments before Kurotsuchi collapsed as the adrenaline disappeared from her bloodstream. With tears flowing freely, Kurotsuchi turned to her father and asked, "Dud mom really sacrifice herself so that Han could live?"
Kitsuchi nodded with a somber expression, "That's right. A Jinchūriki is more important in the long run than an Elite Jōnin. Your mother and her two chunnin comrades held Jiraiya of the Sannin back so that we wouldn't lose Han. If they didn't, the loss of life on our side would have been worse. Besides, I don't hold a grudge against a fellow shinobi for doing his duty. If I had a jutsu like the Hiraishin, then I would have done the same as Namikaze did to protect my country. If you really need to hate, hate the cause of the death, war and the reason behind it! You are lucky to be alive."
As Kitsuchi walked away, Kurotsuchi wiped her eyes and stood up. As she followed her father, Kurotsuchi heard the other Iwanin discussing the jutsu Uzumaki had used. Some of the theories were so ludicrous that Kurotsuchi had to work hard to stifle her laughter.
"I think he is a demon. There's no other way one can burst I to a cloud of blood and reform again!"
"No I think he caught us all in a subtle illusion. That's why he was able to do such things."
"Then how do you explain Han seeing the same? He is immune to Genjutsu!"
"May be, it was a blood clone?"
"A kid creating a clone technique that was marked as kinjutsu even to research it? Ha... And I am the Tsuchikage!"
Tazuna watched in awe as multitudes of Naruto clones were rushing about helping his workers. Some were even applying what the blonde had called seals to enhance the durability of the different key components of the bridge. Beside him Asuma was leaning on a stack of wooden logs, smoking a cigarette.
"Amazing what he can do, isn't it?" Tazuna looked at Asuma with a stunned experssion. What can he say in response.
"Chōji, Sakura! On my mark, we will move the block into position... NOW!" Shikamaru called as he and his fellow earth benders lifted by a massive block of stone and lowered it down on the unfinished pillar. "Now Kakashi-sensei, Naruto, Sasuke! Melt it into place!"
Nodding, the trio of Konoha ninja jumped into the wooden scaffolding around the pillar and started generating lightning and intense flames. Sasuke and Naruto melted the rock causing it to flow and seal up the gap while Kakashi focused his lightning to chip away at the excess rock.
After the trio finished, they jumped back on to the bridge and nodded to Ino and Fū. They nodded and jumped on to the scaffolding before conjuring streams of ice cold winds and had them buffet the molten seam between the to blocks.
"You know, I knew that your ninja magic was powerful enough to kill many people and heal instantly, but I never could have guessed that your magic could be used like this."
Kakashi chuckled as he heard Tazuna's proclamation. "This isn't really ninjutsu. This is ninshu. An art that was originally developed by the Rikudō Sennin. It was meant to be used for self defense and spiritual communication. It was lost for millennia until Naruto started bringing it back and teaching us. Even we didn't realize the true implications of ninshu until now. What we are doing is infact training. Naruto seems to have a way of transforming what we consider boring D-rank missions into interesting training methods. With ninshu, I believe Naruto's wish is to make ninshu into a way of life, applied to even the most menial of tasks."
"That's what it was meant to be Kakashi-sensei. Tazuna, can you tell me what happened to the Nami Daimyō?" Naruto said walking up to the group. Turning around, Naruto called out, "Alright everyone, break for lunch. We will continue later!"
As the genin nodded and went off for a well deserved rest, Tazuna smiled at the boy and said, "Thank you for the help, even if it was meant to be training for your comrades. We are way ahead of schedule. Instead of the end of the month, I project the bridge being completed by the end of the week. Because of that, I feel we can call it a day today!"
As Tazuna said that, cheering erupted from the gathered workers and even the genin. Tazuna nodded to his workers before turning to Naruto, "Daimyō-sama was the first to go. We didn't realize it until Gato had executed Kaiza, but when we challenged Gato by telling him that Daimyō-sama would retaliate, Gato laughed and revealed that he had already killed Daimyō-sama and taken over all of his holdings. From what I heard, Gato even had hime-sama raped in front of her father before he had them killed. Some of Daimyō-sama's court joined Gato others were killed along with their families. Most ran away leaving us to Gato."
Naruto's eyes narrowed in anger. He nodded before saying, "I see! Here I though the present Daimyō was a tyrant and overstepping his bounds. I will take care of the problem Tazuna. Don't worry about a thing."
Tazuna nodded and was about to speak when a burst of smoke covered the duo. The Konoha shinobi and Fū were alarmed at first but as the smoke cleared, most of them breathed out a sigh in relief.
"Hello Gamakichi, can you and your friend please get off my head with the scrolls please!" Naruto said with a twitch in his eyes.
"Sorry bro, I was sure that we would appear beside you!" Kichi said as he and the blue toad jumped off with the massive scrolls strapped to their backs. After landing in the bridge, Kichi took out a smaller scroll branded with the Uzumaki Clan Mark and handed it to Naruto. "The Samurai Banker man sent this bro. He said that it contains the documents you asked for. Yura, let's drop the scroll now! We need to head back. See you later bro!"
"Thanks for dropping the supplies of so fast you two." Naruto said with a smile.
Kichi just waved a hand while Yura bowed and said, "It was an honor Sennin-sama. If you need anything, just summon Yura!" With her piece said, the two toads vanished in a puff of smoke.
Tazuna stared at the place the two toads occupied with incredulity. As Naruto kneeled down and picked up the two scrolls. As he stood up, Tazuna was surprised by the toad like eyes Naruto now sported.
"What's this about Naruto?" Kakashi asked as he eyed the scrolls with curiosity.
Naruto just grinned and suddenly tossed one of the scrolls to a surprised Fū. After fumbling with the scroll Fū finally strapped it to her back and looked at Naruto with a questioning look.
"Just some supplies the Uzumaki Clan is donating for the citizens of Nami. Fū follow me, we are heading to the Town square. I want to see if Gato has the guts to stop me or take the supplies I am giving."
The mint haired girl nodded as Naruto turned back to Tazuna, "You also follow me Tazuna. I need you to fill me in on the political position of Nami at the moment."
Kakashi was about to follow him when Naruto tossed the small scroll to him. "You all head home and read the scroll. It will fill you in. Don't try to unseal the documents, Takagetsu-san has a habit of trapping such deals with very unpleasant consequences for a thief."
With that said, Naruto, Fū and Tazuna walked towards the middle of town, leaving behind a group of contemplative shinobi.
"What other secrets do Naruto have? Next he will say that he has figured out time travel!" Ino said with a dramatic expression. Sakura, who was drinking a cup of herbal tea choked but quickly recovered.
With an annoyed expression, the pink haired medic asked, "What did he do now?"
"It seems that Nami no Kuni is a satellite state of Uzu no Kuni. Naruto-sama plans to take full control of it again." Asuma said as he popped a new cigarette into his mouth. Before the Jōnin could even lite it, a senbon made of ice pierced it and flew away, tearing it away from the stunned shinobi's mouth.
"Don't smoke here. You are setting a bad example!" Sakura exclaimed with a sweet smile that sent a shiver down Asuma's spine. "It seems that I need to tell Naruto that you are slacking off again. Didn't I tell you that your smoking habit has deteriorated your lung capacity? It's effecting your stamina. Ino, make sure that he doesn't smoke again!"
Asuma looked at Ino and Sakura with a horrified expression. With Ino and Kurenai harping about quitting and Sakura and Naruto forcing remedial stamina training, his life would become a living nightmare.
Sasuke smirked while the others chuckled at Asuma's expense. Sakura sighed before saying, "So he finally decided to do something about the three satellite states of Uzu, good for him. I was wondering why he didn't do anything about them yet."
"You knew about it already?" Shikamaru asked with intrigue.
Sakura nodded, "That's right. He asked me for advice on the matter. I told him to do as he pleased but for the betterment of the people."
Shikamaru nodded before Tsunami asked, "Is your friend related to a Daimyō?"
Everyone turned to see Tsunami standing at the entrance of the lounge with a tray filled with plates of sandwiches. Everyone laughed confusing the woman. What was so funny about her simple question?
Ino calmed down first and said, "He is not related to any living Daimyō. He is a Daimyō. The Uzu Daimyō, who seems to be the rightful ruler of Nami. Your previous Daimyō's family was a retainer of the Uzumaki entrusted with the care of Nami. It seems that now you are all stuck with him. I will tell you now, Naruto-sama can drive a perfectly sane man insane with just his words. Be careful while listening to his speeches!"
Tsunami looked startled at the revelation. She was about to speak when Inari asked, "But he doesn't act like one!"
"Inari, be respectful!" Tsunami scolded before turning back to the rest if the ninja. Walking forward, Tsunami placed the plate on the middle of the table before settling down herself. After getting comfortable, Tsunami asked, "Why does Naruto-sama endanger himself for commoners like us? He could easily hire strong ninja and samurai to do the job!"
Sasuke chuckled stunning everyone, "This is Naruto we are talking about. His life ambition is true peace, equality and understanding between the nations. He is someone who believes in doing something himself instead of letting others do it for him. To him, his life is just a tool for the betterment of the world. He doesn't care who you are? What your titles are? What rank in society you belong to? Only thing he cares for is whether you are good or bad and if you are a threat to what he holds precious. So him being a Daimyō and one of the most powerful shinobi if the age doesn't mean a thing."
"Besides, until recently we all considered him a dead last faliure orphan. He had nothing, so he understands the lowest level of society just like he walks among the top." Kakashi said causing Tsunami to nod in shock.
"Very few knew the truth about his heritage and to protect him, that heritage was hidden from the general population and himself. Interestingly, he had discovered his heritage, became very skilled, but hid it under a façade. I think that is why he does so much himself. He didn't have any help growing up and even lived on the streets for some time. He never complains and always does what he thinks is right. To be exact, Uzumaki Naruto is a boy who makes it his life goal to help as many people as he can so that they don't suffer as he had." Sakura finished with a sad smile.
As a tense mood permeated the room, Chōji spoke up, "Just don't teat him differently from before. He hates formality and only puts up with it during official events. Even then, he tends to call the elder Daimyō's and the Hokage jiji."
Everyone smiled at the silly comment before picking sandwiches and eating them.
"I will keep that in mind, but may I ask where Tō-san, Fū-chan and Naruto-sama is? They are late for lunch." Tsunami asked with interest.
"They should be back in a couple of hours. Naruto asked your father to fill him in on the political situation of Nami while he and Fū hands out the supplies he ordered for the populace." Sakura said going back to her lunch.
After that the group quietly ate. They were just finishing lunch when Tazuna rushed into the room with a flustered expression. Spotting Kakashi, Tazuna clutched the shinobi's shoulders and started shaking him.
"Why the hell didn't you tell me that Naruto-sama was a Daimyō more specifically, our Daimyō!"
Kakashi gently took hold of the man's hands and said, "Maa, you need to calm down. Now to answer your questions, firts one; because it wasn't relevant. Second; I just learned about it. If you need to blame anyone, then blame Sakura. She knew before today!"
Tazuna nodded before he suddenly collapsed into Kakashi's arms, his adrenaline running out.
"What happened Tō-san? Where's Naruto-sama and Fū-chan?"
"They remained back to feed and play with the orphans. Then said they will be back after dinner and not to worry about them. The most incredible thing is a Daimyō cooking for some orphans."
"I am not too surprised. He has a soft spot for orphans." Sakura said with a grin.
Tazuna nodded before becoming serious, "I know that all of you are trusted by Naruto-sama, so I will go ahead and ask your opinion. Do you think I should accept his offer to become the present Lord of Nami? Naruto-sama offered me and my family the position."
Everyone looked surprised, none more so than Tsunami. After a few moments everyone turned to Sakura causing the pink haired girl to raise an eyebrow, "What?"
"You are his closest friend, you advise Tazuna!" Sasuke said with a smirk as he leaned his back on the wall.
Sakura grumbled but said, "Naruto's sensory abilities allow him to even sense the nature of a person. So if he believes that you are worthy of such a position, then you should accept it. But don't accept because you are afraid to offend Naruto. Accept it for the right reasons. I personally believe that you would do great as the Lord of Nami. You have, at personal risk, went to Konoha to seek aid. You are the one who has persevered through Gato's tyrannical rule and rallied the men of Nami to build a bridge that would technically free you from Gato. I think you are the only candidate. I have seen the people of Nami looking up to you, so I think Naruto was wise to offer you the charge. Think it over and accept, only if you want. Not because you feel you have to."
With her piece said, Sakura stood up and walked out if the room. As she was leaving, Kakashi asked, "Where are you going?"
"To make sure Naruto doesn't make the kids addicted to ramen!" Sakura snarked causing everyone from Konoha to laugh.
"Hey Sakura, wait for me!" Ino said as she rushed after Sakura.
"Does anyone else feels like following them?" Asuma asked getting a round of nos from the rest of the boys.
Sasuke smirked and said, "It seems Ino has changed ship. Naruto, I thank you for your brave sacrifice. Now I have to worry about one less fangirl!"
"Troublesome, but you are right Sasuke. I fear that if they ever get together, then their spawn will make even the Shinigami shiver in terror!"
"Don't be mean you two. And Sasuke, it seems to me that you are jealous!"
"Shut it Akimichi, I am just glad that she isn't stalking me anymore! Kakashi, I am going out to train my ninshu!" Sasuke said rushing out if the room.
After the Uchiha left, Kakashi and Asuma chuckled at the boys antics.
Ino and Sakura walked into the town square to see multiple Naruto's and Fū's running about. Some cooking and handing out the cooked food. Others were helping the elderly and the sick and injured with the seal Naruto used to heal Asuma. Some were playing with the children. Finally one Naruto, the one Sakura believed to be the original was talking with some men and women. A pair of women had red hair that attracted Sakura's interest.
The last time she saw that particular shade of red was on Karin, so they must be Uzumaki survivors. Besides the women stood a strong featured man who was showing Naruto an arm with steel skin. The others were just watching with interest. Then two a sibling pair looked similar to Kisame.
Naruto grinned and nodded to something the man with the steel arm said before spotting Sakura with Ino. Waving, Naruto called out, "And here is the medic I was talking about? She should be able to heal your wife. A Kaguya, wasn't she?"
"That's a relief Naruto-sama. I really hope Honoka recovers. I don't know what I and our kids would do without them."
"Don't worry about it. I am sure that Sakura can heal her. Sakura, do you have your medical supplies with you? Dōmon's wife is very ill!"
Sakura looked surprised but nodded none the same. Turning to the man, Sakura said, "Nice to meet you. I am Haruno Sakura. Can you describe your wife's symptoms?"
The man smiled, "Konjiki Dōmon Haruno-sensei! Honoka seems to have come down with a case of weak bones, lethargy and is coughing up blood at times. I am really afraid for her health."
Sakura nodded before clarifying, "Naruto said she is of Kaguya descent. If that's true, then she need to increase the intake of calcium. Unfortunately, for full recovery, she needs to be hospitalized in Konoha. There is an experimental treatment procedure that has a eighty percent success rate of full recovery."
"They are going to come to Konoha. I offered them a chance to start a new clan in Uzu and they accepted. Let me introduce you to everyone. These are Uzumaki Natsumi and Tōka." Naruto said pointing to the two red headed women. "They come from lines specializing in Fūinjutsu and Crafting respectively. Both civilian families with some becoming shinobi. Their husbands took the supplies back home to their extended families. Over all I just found thirteen Uzumaki survivors!"
"Then you have already met Dōmon. These are Hoshigaki Taruhō and Mizuhō. They are twins." The two shark like siblings nodded in greetings.
"Finally the three young men and the four young women are "Yūki clan members. You can come on out Haku. No one will harm you here!"
Haku, who was watching from a tree jumped down with a small pout. "You really like to take away the fun in being a shinobi, don't you?"
"Well, I could have let you make a dramatic entrance, but then you would have missed being reunited with lost family!" Naruto said exuberantly as he pointed to the seven Yūki Clan members. "Unfortunately, they are civilians, so by default you become the Clan Head. Congratulations, you have to suffer through the skullduggery of working through paperwork to re-establish your clan!"
Haku's eyes twitched in annoyance at the reminder. She had heard Zabuza-sama complaint about paperwork before. She was not looking forward to it. Taking a deep breath, Haku stepped forward only for one of the women to stare at the girl in shock before pulling her into an embrace.
"It can't be! Was your mother Tsubasa?" Haku nodded with a stunned expression causing the woman to cry in delight. "I am you first cousin, Hinagiku. I can't believe I found such close family still alive and practicing the shinobi arts! Naruto-sama, you don't know how much this means to me!"
"I think I can. After all, like you, I have found family as well! Not as close as I would have liked, but family none the less. Anyway, catch up. I need to go and beat up a couple of Gato's thugs. Want to join me Ino?"
"Do I want to? Count me in! These bastards need to be taught a lesson!" Ino growled remembering the pitiful state the town was in.
"Naruto-sama, before you go, you should know that a contingent of Iwanin are near by. It seems that Gato has hired them to both kill Tazuna-san, ourselves and you. He seems to feel you like the plague."
Naruto smirked, "I already know Haku, but thanks for the heads up. In fact, I think I will play around with their heads again!"
Everyone stared at him in shock, but before they could react Naruto grabbed Ino and Fū before vanishing in a swirl of wind. After he was gone, Dōmon finally asked, "He wasn't at all affected by the news! Haku-san, how large a contingent?"
"Don't know, but I know that two members were The Gobi Jinchūriki Han and the Tsuchikage's son Kitsuchi."
Everyone blinked at the news. This had suddenly become a very dangerous situation. A Jinchūriki and an Elite Jōnin wasn't something to take lightly off.
"I think I will follow Naruto-sama to give him extra protection!" Dōmon said only for Sakura to intervene.
"There's no need. Naruto is a fully realized Kyūbi Jinchūriki with exceptional skills in senjutsu. Fū, herself is a partially realized Nanabi Jinchūriki. Finally, Naruto is an S-ranked shinobi even without the fox. Then he has skills to instantly knock out an enemy with just a glare. We would only get in the way. Instead, take me to your wife. I need to see in what stage her condition is."
Everyone looked startled but it was Dōmon who voiced everyone's thought, "And he is barely thirteen. I really don't want to go through his personal training schedule!"
"I doubt anyone would survive his training regime. The only reason I don't have him committed is because of his regeneration factor that nullifies the negatives of the regime."
"And I thought Zabuza-sama was a masochist for his own training schedule!" Haku said with a bit of awe.
"Really everyone, don't worry about Naruto. Instead, pray for the sanity of the Iwanin. I doubt they all will return completely sane. Not with the mischievous vibes Naruto was giving off."
Natsumi giggled and asked, "He got the pranking habit the royal line was infamous for, didn't he?"
Sakura just nodded causing the two Uzumaki to laugh, "You should know that he is known as the Prankster King from Hell in Konoha. He once infiltrated the Anbu HQ and dyed all of their uniforms neon orange. He was seven at the time."
"If I may ask, who was Naruto-sama's father? We know that Kushina-hime was his mother as he was born in Konoha and the only known Uzumaki in Konoha to correspond with the timeline was hime-sama, so who was his father?"
Sakura grinned mischievously and said, "The Yondaime Hokage, Namikaze Minato!"
Everyone but Haku blinked owlishly at the information, unable to form any coherent thoughts. Haku and Sakura giggled at the state that little but of information sent these grown men and women into.
A/N:
Japanese Translations
N/A
A/N:
Japanese Jutsu, Style and Weapon Name Translations
Shunshin = Body Flicker
A/N: Hey Everyone! I hope you like this new chapter. Please remember to leave Reviews. The more Reviews I get, the faster I will publish another chapter, though I will try and keep it on a monthly schedule.
Also, thank you all for the well wishes.
SSG.
