So I don't know about you, but I think I am ready for another chapter. Also, some things are gonna happen in these coming chapters that are going to establish the grounds for Shippuden and the standings of the rest of the Genin. There is also another…Michiko type of thing. Ehh you'll find out.

Anyways please enjoy! And here is a bit of a recap on the story so far since I am happy to announce not only is this chapter 50, but we reached 200 reviews! Thank you all so much for supporting the story, it means a lot to me.

Recap-

Through the first ten chapters Akihane was growing more comfortable with her standing in Konoha and established herself in Team Seven. She also learned of her heritage, which lead into the events of the next ten chapters, the Wave Mission.

Hinata's Team, Team Eight, was sent out to guard the bridgebuilder. Kurenai and Hinata were the ones to push Zabuza into retreating and Hinata revealed some of her hidden skillset to her teacher and her teammates. Team Seven and Team Ten were sent to help the other Rookies. They stepped in as the battle was drawing to a close and managed to save the Kiri-Nin. This lead into the next arc where Akihane returns to Konoha to the welcome arms of her brothers and the Hokage.

Once back in the village and having spent a day with her older brothers, Akihane goes to Hiruzen to inform him of her discovery. The Hokage then introduces her to not only what she now has access to of her father and mother's assets from the Hokage Vault, but also her grandfathers. She gains the two blades that Michiko and Tobirama passed down their line until Minato stowed them away for Akihane to use later on.

The Chunnin Exams began and Akihane was introduced to the Suna and Iwa teams early on. She also introduced the idea of multiple teams training together before the exams and found herself enjoying training with Shikamaru. At the start of the Chunin Exams Akihane also showed that her sensitivity to chakra was even worse against nature chakra. Sakura was able to prove herself in the second exam after Sasuke was given the cursed seal and Akihane met a mysterious Uzumaki helping Orochimaru. Sakura also earned the respect of Rock Lee after he witnessed her Will of Fire. The Rookies helped each other to the end of the second exam where Kakashi was finally able to put the pieces together and found out that Akihane's older brothers were also part of the Former Hokage Guard Platoon, while her other brothers had been dragged along. The two argue and Kakashi is struck with the fact the Hokage already knows.

As the preliminaries start there are several key matches. Sasuke is able to hold back his anger and finish his quickly, while Hinata proves that she is not a useless Heiress and sheds some of her façade while fighting Neji. The Iwa Nin are revealed, leading into Akihane's fight where she breaks one of her promises to Shisui Uchiha and reveals her sensing ability to everyone present.

From there the month long training begins where Jiraiya and Kakashi take over for Akihane, Anko takes over for Sasuke, Lee and Sakura train together, and Hinata trains under Kurenai. The three also learn about the invasion of Suna and Oto after Akihane nearly dies protecting Hayate. Hayate's death is faked and the Hokage informs the rookies about the impending war.

The genin all prep and at the final matches Akihane finds a kindred spirit in Hesei Shisui. Afterwards the Hokage is attacked by Orochimaru and the Uzumaki that he knows from the past. They take their fight elsewhere and Yin Uzumaki fights off the Hokage Guard Platoon, Kakashi, and Jiraiya. Iwa's Tsuchikage, upon seeing the carnage, sides with Konoha and helps to take down Yin.

Akihane arrives at the battle and learns who Yin is before she ends up using her father's technique to save the Hokage. The Tsuchikage recognizes the technique and registers who exactly Akihane is.

Akihane and the Hokage Guard Platoon help Hiruzen as he fights Orochimaru and the resurrected Nidaime and Shodaime, the former of the two Kage revealing that Akihane is his granddaughter.

The battle wages, ending with Akihane having both kage sealed in her head and Hiruzen with three days left to live because of Yin's deal with the Shinigami. The three days pass, only for Yin to take Hiruzen before the time is up to make the contract null and void. Akihane also reveals her status as the Clan head of the Uzumaki when the council questions her ability of Mokuton in front of Hiruzen.

Akihane is then named the stand in Hokage in Hiruzen's will and reluctantly takes over in managing the village and seeking out help in repairing it. Her team manages to drag her from her duties to throw a birthday party for her where Kakashi gifts her a ninja hound. Jiraiya also informs her that they are going to go look for Tsunade.

Akihane begins to learn the Rasengan alongside Jiraiya and Haku. She runs into Itachi and after her battle is saved by Tsunade, who then refuses Jiraiya's offer. This leads to Orochimaru contacting her and the Akatsuki fighting Akihane. One of the members known as Omega Shiro, who fought Hinata and left her stuck in bed, fights Akihane and makes her realize just how weak she is compared to this new threat. Sasuke nearly gets her captured, but in the end Omega flees when both the Sannin show up.

Orochimaru comes in next and Tsunade betrays him and is then protected by Akihane and her group. She realizes that she should go with them and they leave for Konoha after the fight.

Now, after Tsunade has settled in Akihane is set out with Sasuke, Sakura, and Shikamaru on a mission to the Land of Tea.

I~~~~I

Dressed as she was in nothing but her undergarments and shorts…well Sasuke couldn't help but feel flustered as he gazed at the amount of skin that Akihane had on display.

Until he remembered the other male in the room. That made his embarrassment get backed up with fury, up until he felt a hand on his back and was shoved, rather unceremoniously out of the room by Sakura.

Shikamaru stood beside him, the boy's face nearly as red as Sasuke's as they heard Sakura scold Akihane and order the girl to get dressed.

Shikamaru spared a glance at Sasuke and the two sobered up, Sasuke feeling murderous at the thought of the other boy seeing Akihane like that.

"Hey, it's not my fault!" The Nara hissed at him as he registered the glare, the two exchanging heated looks.

"You saw her too!" He bit at the Uchiha, and Sasuke felt himself fidget.

Groaning, Sasuke turned sharply and marched off, needing to go drown himself in the water or at least beat that image out of his skull. Maybe he could drag Shikamaru down with him in the meantime.

I~~~~I

Akihane smiled as she watched the village in the Land of Tea fade way. She waved at the retreating figure of Idate, the boy grinning from ear to ear.

Whatever had happened between the boy, Sasuke, and Shikamaru seemed to have gotten rid of his spiteful streak. Though Akihane hadn't been privy to the full story, she had at least figured out the gist of it.

Turning away from the crowd the Wasabi Clan had fathered to see the Konoha Shinobi off with, Akihane found herself looking over the boat headed across the ocean and back to Konoha. Along the way they were going to make a stop in the Land of Waves to thank Tazuna for his help in Konoha. The man had returned soon after the group of genin had left, and he had finished his contract with Konoha.

Akihane was happy to hear that the Bridge Builder was finished with reconstructing the village, or at least doing what he could. She was going to thank him, despite the man doing it to repay their acts in Wave when they got rid of Gato.

Humming, Akihane smiled and waved at the figures of her teammates as they came onto the deck of the ship.

Shikamaru and Sasuke had been downstairs talking with Ibiki about their journey, leaving Akihane alone on the deck of the ship since Sakura had gone to rest.

No one had judged the kunoichi for taking the first opportunity to crash amongst fellow shinobi. Akihane herself had wanted to rest but had decided against it. She felt more energized that she had when they arrived, she had merely wanted to relax for some time before they returned to the village.

Now, she stood next to Sasuke and breathed in the ocean air. Her chakra buzzed with life as she felt the salty wind rush through her hair.

Sasuke paused to observe her before he shook his head and ruffled her hair.

Akihane frowned, pouting at the Chunin as he smirked down at her.

She almost wished she was taller than the Uchiha, just so she could rub it in his smug face.

"Akihane, please refrain from attacking Sasuke while we are at sea. You both just recovered." Shikamaru drawled from behind Sasuke, earning a sigh from the Uzumaki as she nodded to him.

"Hai. Don't worry about me. I won't hurt Sasuke." She told him, smiling sweetly.

Normally the look was enough to unnerve either boy, but now it only made them shake their heads at her. Maybe Akihane was losing her touch.

Sasuke took a moment to take her in, to watch as the wind swept her hair behind her and as Akihane breathed in the air. He hadn't seen the Kunoichi this relaxed since before the exams. It was…a welcome sight.

Akihane slipped passed the two shinobi, walking toward the steps leading down into the boat.

"How about we go get some food?" Akihane asked the boys as she gestured back into the ship.

Despite having just left the stairs, the boys shrugged and walked over to join the Kunoichi.

They followed the girl through the winding halls of the large ship, finding themselves in the mess hall inside the ship.

Several Konoha Shinobi chatted inside of the boat, including two Chunin that Sasuke recognized from Akihane's group of brothers. Those same Chunin rose to greet the girl, either of them sticking to her sides as she smiled and conversed with them.

Izumo and Kotetsu peppered the Uzumaki with questions as they took up seats across from her and her two teammates. They even grabbed food for the five of them while they questioned the girl.

"So, we heard your mission was quite crazy. I think Kotetsu said something about the Nidaime's special blade?" Izumo asked in an excited but still quiet tone.

Akihane paused, and it was then that she turned to look at Shikamaru and Sasuke.

Ever since they had all woken up the group of Konoha Nin had little to no time to themselves. Even when they were alone, they were either sleeping or talking about the odd green chakra that had come from Akihane and healed her and Sasuke.

Akihane had told the guys she had very little knowledge of how the green chakra had come to be and how it had healed her, let alone Sasuke.

Turning to each other the boys sighed. Sasuke reached down to grab the shattered pieces of the Nidaime's blade from his pouch. He placed them next to Akihane. He was tense, feeling like he was going to crack under the pressure of the girl's stare. Akihane shifted her gaze to the blade and something heavy settled on Sasuke's heart as he watched her eyes fill with sadness.

The girl picked up the pieces gingerly, looking them over before she shook her head and smiled at the Uchiha.

"Thanks…Sasuke. Thank you for bringing it back to me." She told the boy as she pulled the pieces closer to her chest.

Sasuke felt his cheeks heat up and he looked away, the shame that had started to rise in him vanishing as he felt just how happy the girl was. He hadn't even managed to give her the blade intact and still…still the girl was so happy.

Sasuke hummed to her, letting her know just how happy he was to do it again. Next to them Izumo and Kotetsu shared glances before they spoke up.

"I guess that means you'll be working with Tenten's family a lot more then, huh?" Kotetsu asked the kunoichi.

Akihane's eyes widened at what the two Chunin were hinting at, before she looked at the blade. The Uzumaki almost seemed to be weighing in on her own thoughts before she nodded, her smile brightening.

"Yes, I know exactly what I am going to do to." The girl spoke, her eyes hardening as she settled her resolve.

Unbeknownst to the group of Shinobi, thought the storm had calmed around them, it was only starting to brew above.

I~~~~I

Sasuke stretched out his limbs as he walked away from the mess hall. Akihane had left earlier to get some rest with Sakura, while Shikamaru was dragged away by Ibiki for some reason or another.

Sasuke was free to explore the ship on his own for the moment, or to go and rest like his teammates were.

He didn't want to lay down, his skin instead itching with the need to move. His mind was running wild as he thought about the topic that had been brought up after Akihane had left their group.

There was talk about Konoha joining Kiri's war. The Hokage had voiced the topic several times in meetings and now the general population was beginning to swim with rumors.

There was a lot of anger at the idea of going to war, especially right after they had just recovered from Orochimaru, but there was also the opposite reaction.

Sasuke frowned as he thought it over. Kiri had been known as the Bloody Mist for some time. To many it was a country that was doomed to destroy itself.

To Sasuke…It was a troubling dilemma. The Uchiha knew that if Tsunade chose to join in on the bloody war then his friends, his Uzumaki, would be called to arms. There were few ninja that were qualified enough to take up the mantle of representing Konoha, and fewer still that didn't have other pressing concerns revolving around them leaving the village to fight in someone else's war. The newly made Chunin would be perfect because of the state they were in.

Sasuke didn't want to watch his friends go to war. Anko and Kakashi had been clear in what the outlook of such a situation was, of how likely it was for everyone to return intact, if at all.

Sasuke thought about Sakura and Akihane, about the Hyuuga and even the other rookies. He couldn't think of a world without them. Even Shikamaru, as…troublesome as the boy had become, was someone Sasuke didn't want to see go to war.

The Uchiha sighed and stopped near his room, right next to the room where both Akihane and Sakura slept.

He glanced to the door where the girls were, raising his hand to knock. He frowned before shaking his head and stalking away, shaking away the thoughts in his head.

He couldn't keep bothering them. They needed to rest and he…

Sasuke wasn't sure what he needed. Reassurance that there wouldn't be a war? Help figuring out what to do next? Power to protect the people he was starting to let into his heart.

Sasuke gripped his hair, running his hand over his head as he muttered a string of curses.

"I don't think your mother would appreciate those words coming out of your mouth kid." A voice spoke up, dragging Sasuke's attention up to the figure of a woman standing in front of him.

The Uchiha frowned, gazing at the woman with assessing eyes. She wasn't a Konoha Shinobi, or at least not one that Sasuke had ever met.

The woman raised a brow at him, standing poised and regal in front of him.

If it weren't for the woman's shinobi attire, then Sasuke would have mistaken her for a noble. There were no nobles on their ship thought…As far as he knew any way.

"You wouldn't know anything about my mother." Sasuke bit out, feeling a string of rage rise in his chest.

The woman sighed and glanced down at him, taking in his body and just how tense he had become.

"Perhaps…but mother's do understand others." The woman said cryptically and turned, ready to leave.

"Just watch your mouth around these parts. You don't want to stir any resting demons with that foul tongue." She said as she started to walk away.

Sasuke frowned, something tugging on him as he started to walk after the woman.

"I think it's rather rude to start ordering people around when you don't even know their name." Sasuke told her.

The Kunoichi glance back and Sasuke swore he saw a flicker of a smirk on her lips, her eyes narrowed on him again.

"Oh, but I do know your name Sasuke." She said.

"It's hard not to know about the Last Loyal Uchiha when one knows of Konoha's history." She said. Then, tilting her head she gazed off into the space beside her.

"Though I supposed that title only has an inkling of the truth to it. Itachi wasn't disloyal after all." She said, the last part fading into a whisper.

Sasuke heard the whole thing though, his eyes widening as his chakra prickled. Something wasn't right.

"What do you mean, how do you know Itachi?!" Sasuke demanded, narrowing his eyes on the woman.

She turned to face him again and she smile gently at him, her pale lavender eyes meeting his even as his Sharingan dragged her into a Genjutsu with him.

They stood there, across from each other as he willed her to speak, to answer him,

Finally, she did.

"Because those that die know of what happens in the living world after them Sasuke. Because I heard the screams that night…and I know exactly how things played out and why Itachi killed every last member of the clan, except for you." She intoned, her voice growing soft as she gazed at him with sadness.

Sasuke felt his body tense again, only he was jolted from both the Genjutsu and the gaze of the woman when a thunderous crack echoed, shaking the whole ship as the tell-tale sounds of thunder echoed throughout the halls.

Sasuke stumbled, not expecting the strike.

The woman stayed steady on her feet and gazed up at the ceiling, sighing.

"It's almost time. I wanted to talk longer, but I suppose we will leave it at this. Sasuke, look for the records in the Uchiha Clan Archives, the ones that mention Uchiha Izuna. Only then…Will you draw closer to the truth of the massacre of the Uchiha Clan." The woman told him, and before Sasuke's eyes, she vanished.

The Uchiha called out, shocked. He rushed forward, trying to find out what had happened. He saw no chakra, no hint that the woman had left.

Rushing down the hall, Sasuke broke into a sprint. The echoing of thunder grew louder and louder until finally Sasuke broke into open air, sprinting right out into a growing storm. Icy rain pelted his skin and the boy panted as he looked around for any sign of the woman.

Instead, he found chaos and shinobi fighting against crashing waves. Fog and thick rain obstructed the vision around the boat and the water made his footing shift beneath him.

Sasuke's blood went cold as he thought of the woman's words, of the way she had looked at him like she feared for him.

Who was that? How had she gotten away from him and how had she known so much?

The Uchiha was dragged from his thoughts as the hair on the back of his neck rose.

Looking up, Sasuke grit his teeth and his chakra shifted, rolling through his skin before it shot upward in a strike of lightning, meeting with the other strike that had been about to strike the ship.

The Uchiha cried out and light flashed across the night, thunder clapping all around the ship.

I~~~~I

Akihane was woken from her bed by a frantic Sakura. The Kunoichi told her that the ship was struggling with a storm and all hands had to go on deck to help with repairs to the ship.

Apparently Sasuke was up on top of the deck, dealing with the lightning that threatened to crash down on the ship. Akihane worried over the boy, not wanting him to get hurt.

Still, Sasuke was smart. He wouldn't be doing anything too dangerous.

Akihane shoved her worries away as her and Sakura arrived at the mission briefing room, streaming past several shinobi that rushed by.

Ibiki was shouting out orders to the shinobi, splitting them into groups while the captain of the ship stood beside him. The Captain was calmly explaining how he was having trouble getting through the storm and how he had no way of telling how off course the ship had gone.

Akihane took it all in and stepped up as Ibiki turned to her and Sakura.

Ibiki narrowed his eyes at them both and then turned to the Captain.

"Uzumaki, Haruno. I need you to go with the captain to the control room and see if you can do anything to help with the situation. A few of the crew members were hurt when lightning struck the observation deck, but for the most part they are okay. Uzumaki, I want you to see about getting some seals laid out to aid Uchiha's efforts to minimize the strikes on the ship. Go!" The man ordered, and the kunoichi both nodded sharply. They turned to the Captain, allowing him to guide them as they rushed out of the room.

The Captain kept casting glances between the two girls, before he helped them find their way into the control room of the ship.

Inside were the rest of the navigation crew, still struggling to get their equipment working. Sakura rushed over to help heal several of the members.

Akihane wanted to help, but she had another job. Taking a deep breath Akihane took out her scroll she used for seals, going over several barrier seals in an effort to figure out what would best suit her situation.

In her head the girl was guided by Hashirama and Tobirama into an interlocking seal combination, one that absorbed the lightning into a sealing array similar to her lightning tags inside of a scroll. This way Akihane could take advantage of nature and store the power for another time.

Humming to herself the girl got to work, scrawling the lines along the floorboards of the ship while she muttered to herself.

Akihane gazed at the seals, the formation clicking into place before it settled.

She then took out several of her reinforced tags and created key points on each of them to help the seal know where to expand.

"Sakura, I'm going to head outside and get these seals set up. Are you alright in here?" Akihane asked the girl.

Sakura nodded sharply.

"Sasuke can help you, he is at the front of the ship." She told her.

Akihane nodded and rushed from the room. She set foot outside, water pelting her back as she rushed to the farthest part of the ship.

There she found Sasuke weaving through hand signs as his hair rose above his head with static shock.

Lightning crashed down and Sasuke met it with similar force, channeling the lightning away instead of at the ship.

The Uchiha shuddered, the rain pasting his hair back to his face as he let go of the lightning.

Akihane stood still for a moment, her eyes wide as she watched what Sasuke had done.

She had never seen the Uchiha use such a technique. She wondered where he had learned it from, to use it so effortlessly.

Shaking her head, the Uzumaki rushed over, calling out over the sound of rain.

"Sasuke! Help me get these seals down!" She shouted, earning a sharp nod from the boy as he straightened and ran to follow her.

The two Chunin went to the back of the ship, and there Akihane began to lay her seals down as she channeled chakra into them.

She handed two other seals to Sasuke and told him what to do before they both split up to set the seals down. Rain made the job harder as it weighed down on Akihane.

Never had she experienced a storm like this one. So unrelenting…And furious. Something about it didn't seem real, and yet…

And yet Akihane felt like she was floating, like everything was normal and like she could go on for days. She felt like the downpour was awakening something inside of her that made her burn with the need to reach out into the storm, to become a part of it.

She had never felt this…alive. The ocean sang to her, even as she tried to block it out with the last seal tag.

She placed the seal tag down on the front dock of the ship, the nose a few feet ahead of her while stacks of boxes and supplies were at her back.

Akihane breathed in the salted air, the water that drenched her and made her shake as it chilled her to the bone.

She felt everything rush at her, barely noticing as her hair rose against her scalp, the feeling of static electricity lighting the chakra under her skin.

The seal below her glowed, and Akihane gazed up at the storm as light began to funnel down, sharp, and precise and deadly.

The lightning struck the seal in front of her, drawing a gasp from her as she flew back into the cargo behind her.

Her head hit the wooden crate and images flew through her head.

Blood, metal, intricate lines that danced along cracked soil. Shouts rang out and the torrent of rain was replaced by a torrent of shouts as the storm turned to white noise.

Akihane could see buildings, towers that fell to ruin and red hair that fluttered to the ground. Storms that raged and raged for years…Swallowing all who drew close.

Akihane closed her eyes, the warmth that tingled at her skin growing feverish, chasing away the chill of the rain.

All around her the seals she had made lit up, casting away the rain and the lightning. The pounding of the thunder outside drew Akihane back, muffled though it was.

Her eyes opened as she looked ahead.

The looming buildings did not fade, towers that crumbled echoing ahead of her.

In a shuddering movement she felt the ship jerk as it impacted something.

Only the girl's quick use of her chakra kept her from lurching forward, and then to the side as the ship rose to almost be standing up, its nose pointed to the air in a 45-degree angle. She gasped as she clutched to the boxes behind her, her eyes widening at the sight before her.

The ship had hit land, a large mass of it.

Ahead of the ship was a sprawling city that laid in ruin, one surrounding by tempered seas that began to clear out. Akihane could hear the crashing of waves, and inside her head the two Kage seemed shocked.

"Uzushio…" Tobirama spoke up, making Akihane gasp in shock as she gazed at the ruins of her Clan's home.

What had just happened?

I~~~~I

Akihane stood on the beach along side Ibiki and Shikamaru as she looked over the once towering village. Her heart ached as the icy rain chilled her skin, coating her cheeks in a thin sheet of ice. The others weren't much better, thought they were more focused on the ruins in front of them.

"Uzumaki do you…Do you know how this happened?" Ibiki asked the girl.

Akihane glanced to him and shook her head, her eyes holding in her shock.

Tobirama had called it Uzushio, yes, but there was something else that thrummed in Akihane's blood that called this place home. The only time that Akihane had ever felt like this before was when she had found Michiko and Tobirama's home. She had never expected to feel that same thing here and now.

Akihane took a step forward, the rain fading out of her thoughts as she felt the thrumming grow louder like a pulse. Her eyes narrowed on the spires in front of her.

"Uzumaki-!" Ibiki called out, but she couldn't hear him. Her thoughts were clouded as she launched away from the group.

Behind her Ibiki swore and ordered Shikamaru to follow while he went on the ship to grab Izumo and Kotetsu.

Shikamaru shot after Akihane, trying to keep her in his range even as she flickered through the rain and across the beach until she hit the ruins.

Her figure paused and then turned to dart into the alcoves of fallen towers.

Akihane could feel the pulsing get louder and she rushed to the source, her body barely registering the use of Shuinshin and she pushed herself deeper in the ruins.

Chakra lit the ground beneath her as a winding path of runes and seals rose form the soil, guiding her further along the path.

Akihane glanced at the seals and then adjusted to run along them as they wove through the city. Lightning flashed overhead and Akihane heared the rumbling of thunder as a dull murmur in her ears.

The path trailed off into a shrine, the building one of the few still standing, untouched.

Inside Akihane felt the pulsing chakra. She walked forward and as soon as she entered the building her hearing rushed back…but this time it wasn't with the sounds of the present.

She could hear the shouts and the screams, the orders from Shinobi and crackling as seals were activated. Crashing sounds echoed, once towering pillars brought to the ground in a display of force.

Akihane felt tears slip down the corners of her eyes and crept further into the temple, the masks along the walls watching her every move.

She could feel the desperation and the fear as it drenched the area around her, the anger and the raw emotions that all piled up in this one place. She could hear the lost thoughts of her people as they screamed and shouted, as they blead and made others bleed.

Akihane hit her knees as she found her breathing increasing. Her hands rose to her head and the raw chakra in the area crashed down on her. She clawed at her skin as she felt all of the seals rising in the area, all of the pulsing signatures that were long dead now written in the blood that flowed from Uzushio.

Akihane let loose a scream, one that echoed those of the past as she felt the weight of what had happened here. A massacre, a true genocide of a people who were mere fragments of their past.

The ache in her chest increased and Akihane clutched herself as she fell forward, her vision swimming.

The seals in the temple wove around her, crawling up her arms and her legs. She felt the burning heat of hundreds, thousands of chakra signatures rushing through her.

She could hear the faintest edge's of Tobirama and Hashirama shouting at her, but the rising rush of chakra drew more of her attention.

The pain faded and Akihane felt the rushing warmth as the seals danced along her skin. Her blood, drawn by the claws on her hands, slipped into the lines as they pulsed with power.

Akihane opened her eyes as she felt the chakra use her, funneling out and around her, before it was released into the sky.

Across the Elemental Nations, the beacon of power and lost emotions spiraled into the sky, past the stormy clouds and over into the heavens.

The storm, as though sensing the anguish and the release of the emotions of the Uzumaki, began to funnel around the beacon as it pulsed.

Akihane gazed up at it, her hands shakily helping herself to her feet as she reached out to the dissipating chakra.

The beam faded, disappearing against her fingers. The seals along her limbs faded as well, but their outlines remained. Akihane could feel each line, tracing around her body and woven into her heart.

She let out a soft cry, tears falling from her eyes as the rage from earlier made her hands clench, made her want to tear and maim…and as the will of Uzushio settled inside of her Akihane took a deep breath and let all of the emotion go.

Aiding her was a pulsing blue set of seals that took in the emotions and helped to dissipate them.

Akihane took another deep breath, her head pouding as she turned around.

The pulsing of the chakra was still there, like a heartbeat.

Akihane stepped closed to it once more, finding herself then kneeling in front of an altar with a mask. The mask of the Shinigami stared back at her.

Faintly she registered several other chakra signatures landing outside of the shrine, but she didn't pay attention to them as she reached out and ran her hand along the surface of the altar.

Her blood wiped across the surface and more seals lit up, before the altar let out a creaking sound and opened.

It slid across the floor, opening to reveal a passage leading down.

Akihane was reminded of the Uchiha Temple, of the one hidden under the matts.

Taking a deep breath Akihane began to descend into the tunnel, ignoring the calls behind her and the way that the chakra left around her wove around her arms.

She ignored the way she was now opened to the area, the way her chakra had spread out naturally and how she wasn't overwhelmed despite everything that she could feel.

Tobirama and Hashirama had grown quiet as she worked her way down the tunnel, her steps surer and her spine straighter with each step she made.

Finally the steps lit up as she reached the bottom, opening to a large and hollowed out area.

Akihane sucked in a gasp as she found the source of the pulsing chakra, the heartbeat that echoed around her.

Hundreds, thousands of scrolls that decorated the walls. Seals that spanned from the center of the atrium and wove their way across the tiled floors and up the walls. The whole room was alive.

How could Kumo, Iwa, and Kiri wipe out the Uzumaki? How could they destroy a people who breathed life into the world and created such a beautiful sight?

Akihane couldn't understand, her sensory abilities taking in the warming hum of chakra as it coated her, welcoming her like a friend.

She walked toward the center of the room, standing in the middle of the towering shelves and feeling the seals assess her.

Friend, family, and child of Uzushio. The titles all registered to Akihane as she spun to look at everything once more. Her chakra brushed the edges of each scroll, of each seal along the floor and it made her feel alive.

Akihane choked down another cry as she felt her smile rise.

"I'm Home." She spoke, and the chakra pulsed in welcome.

I~~~~I

When Akihane finally walked out of the Uzumaki Mask Shrine, she came out to quite the scene. Sasuke and Shikamaru were staring grimly at her as she exited, halted at the entrance by a glowing barrier of purple chakra.

Akihane took another deep breath and reached out, touching the barrier.

The chakra sizzled along her hands, before it began to fall around her.

The others, Izumo and Kotetsu, Sakura and Ibiki, and several more shinobi, all watched her in awe.

"Uzumaki, what happened?" Ibiki ordered, stepping in front of the girl.

Akihane looks up at him, her eyes softening as she glanced back at the temple.

"A…A lot Morino-San. The Uzumaki left a lot here…for those that would listen after they were gone. I…I just listened." She told him, her eyes filling with tears.

So many souls that were lost and never laid rest until decades later. It almost made Akihane swim in her rage, had the seal on her stomach not funneled that emotion out until all she felt was bitter over the treatment of her people, of their home.

"I apologize for running off…I…I had to come." She told Ibiki, meeting his eyes as her chakra rose around her.

She heard another gasp, and glancing over Akihane saw Sasuke through a haze of green chakra.

The chakra was solid though, forming tendrils around her like ribbons.

No, not tendrils…but chains.

Her chakra was let loose, and the chakra was finally able to take form as Akihane gave herself to it. The chains were formed from the emotions she felt, from the overbearing feeling of everything she could sense. It left her with a clear head as she gazed at them fondly.

"I was drawn here. The Uzumaki were not silent, even in death." She said and met Ibiki's eyes again as the chains faded from around her, settling into her skin as the winding marks.

Ibiki narrowed his gaze on her, before he sighed.

"Don't let it happen again. Now, I want a full recap." He ordered her, and Akihane straightened to give him one.

She omitted the cries and screams that had worked their way from her lips, omitted the feeling of home down below, and only told Ibiki what he needed to know.

The man didn't press her, up until she offered to guide the group down into the remnants of the Uzumaki's main library.

Akihane glanced around the before they entered, catching sight of the rubble.

Oddly enough, though the souls of the people had not been laid to rest, the bodies were not there. There should have been hundreds of them, and yet Akihane could not feel a single one. She hummed, filing that away for later as she turned to Sasuke.

The Uchiha was gazing at her, and only he seemed to truly read her as she offered him her hand.

"Shall we?" She asked and the Uchiha huffed but took her hand as they delved deeper.

I~~~~I

By the end of the day the group of Konoha Nin had found several more areas of interest and had deferred to Akihane to decide what to do with them.

Akihane had taken to packing away several dozen scrolls, telling them she would ask for permission to redo the Uzumaki Shrine at Konoha and work on adding these scrolls to the archives there where they would be protected and used.

She then set to work checking out the perimeter, and as night fell on the village, found out where the bodies had gone.

Akihane stood next to Sasuke and Sakura as she gazed at the obelisk made of a reinforced stone, thousands of names scrawled along the surface. Akihane touched the surface, her eyes softening. She could feel the remnants of thousand's of chakra signatures residing here, the bodies of those who had fallen burned as per tradition and their names scrawled into stone so they wouldn't be forgotten.

The nomads of the Clan, those who escaped or hadn't been present, had to have been the cause.

Amongst the signatures was one Akihane knew. She knew this signature because it sang the way the chakra on her stomach did. Yin Uzumaki's chakra was here. He had to have been one of the ones that returned to burry the dead and set them to rest.

Akihane closed her eyes as she rested her head on the stone, feeling for each and every name, each indent and the scrawling of every letter. She wanted to take them all in so they would never be forgotten again.

"Lay at rest, among the falling stars and the fires of the sea. Let the salt cleanse your wounds and the waters calm the rage in your soul." Akihane spoke softly, stepping back.

Sasuke reached out to hold her shoulder, while Sakura stepped next to her, her presence grounding Akihane.

Akihane nodded to them both before she turned to head back to where the ship was being fixed and readied. She could feel the chakra as it slipped away, as her senses were drawn back in.

The three flashed out of the area as they returned to the ship.

They found themselves greeted by Ibiki and the Captain, though this time Ibiki merely nodded to them before he left.

The Captain paused and looked over their group, before he inclined his head to Akihane and went back to his business.

Akihane raised a brow but shrugged it off with the rest of the insanity that had happened that day. She leaned against Sasuke as they went to go and get food, wanting to just lay down and rest after the eventful day.

She barely registered talking with Izumo and Kotetsu before she went to bed, barely registered either of her teammates curling up next to her as she closed her eyes to sleep, their warmth keeping her centered as she slipped into dreams of crashing waves and a sea of red, dotted with a chakra that was filled with enough life to make the world around it bend to its will.

I~~~~I

Akihane opened her eyes to her mindscape, finding her head in the lap of Hashirama while Tobirama sat at her side. She gazed up, into the eyes of the Kyuubi.

The Kyuubi was eyeing her quietly, something in his gaze undiscernible.

"They were slaughtered…but they fought so hard." She said, turning her haze to Hashirama.

The Shodaime nodded, looking grim as he ran a hand through her short hair.

Tobirama sighed and nodded, looking down at his hands.

"Neither of us…neither of us knew what had happened to them. Konoah and Uzushio were always allies, they were always together. To think that three villages sought the destruction of the Uzumaki…It hurts." Tobirama told them softly.

Akihane nods, feeling the sadness of all those in Uzushio for the moment as it weighs on her.

Then, she remembers the rage, the agony and betrayal that she had felt.

Looking up Akihane meets the eyes of the Kyuubi again.

"I'm sorry, Kyuubi-San…I had never thought of what you go through when we humans express our emotions. I felt the barest fraction of what you do and…I can only say that I am sorry." She says and closes her eyes.

"We never strive to understand those we deem dangerous, to us they are just different and that is all they will ever be. Odd, different, standing out from what we deem to be normal." She continues, before she sighs and rests back against Hashirama again, enjoying the way his fingers run through her hair. Kind, caring…Family.

She hadn't known what that was like until Hiruzen had come in and given her the idea.

Now Akihane never wanted to let the feeling go, the warmth and the comfort of being surrounded by your blood, by those with ties to you greater than anything else.

Tobirama sighed as the fox huffed and looked away, his paws resting close to them while his tail circled around their bodies.

Tobirama looked down at his great granddaughter, taking in how much more relaxed the girl was. She had the marks along her skin, the seals that had swarmed her upon feeling her Uzumaki chakra.

They had been primed for her, laid in wait for the moment when she appeared.

Tobirama thought of Yin, of the Uzumaki he had only ever met in passing when his son had come by before introducing him to his wife.

Yin Uzumaki hadn't liked him, at all. The man had seen him and Tobirama had immediately felt the hostility. Until he had been revived, he hadn't known why.

Orama Hyuuga, his other daughter. He had met the girl when she was a genin fighting hard to make the branch system for the Hyuuga crumble. She had looked at him as though he were her idle, the ideal she wanted to work toward.

After his death…Tobirama wondered if her opinion of him had changed. If the girl had learned that who he was to her and if she had lost that light she used to have in her eyes when she looked at him.

Shaking his head, Tobirama looked back down at the girl in front of him, at the winding marks along her and the familiar and unfamiliar seals that marked Akihane as a Testament to the Uzumaki.

These seals hummed with Yin's power, lines woven in the same way they were to Akihane's other seal. The Uzumaki had planned this, but how was a big question.

Somehow, Yin Uzumaki had managed to give Akihane yet another chance at family. Tobirama wasn't sure how he felt about that.

I~~~~I

Akihane woke up, curled against Sasuke with Sakura at her back. The three were a tangle of limbs and blankets, likely because Sasuke always hogged the blankets and because Sakura would angrily snatch them back, leaving Akihane to end up a tangled mass in the middle.

Rising, the girl tried not to wake the others, only to meet the eyes of Sasuke while Sakura sighed and drifted awake.

"I guess it's time to get ready then." Sakura muttered, sighing as she slipped of the bed from the two and walked to the bathroom.

Sasuke shared a look with Akihane and they both shook their heads fondly, knowing the girl would take some time in the restroom getting ready.

They leaned on one another, feeling their chakra spread out into the room.

Akihane's warm chakra drifted over the ship, spreading down halls and across rooms to take in everyone. She could still feel the humming of the chakra at Uzushio, beckoning her home.

She pushed passed it, finding it much easier than before to take in everything without losing herself. She filtered through the information, taking her time as she relaxed into Sasuke's side.

"We are going to be busy repairing the ship today." She told Sasuke, feeling around the hull of the ship and the underneath. They would probably be ready to sail back to Konoha at the end of the day or beginning of tomorrow. The work was tedious, but with shinobi on board it could be done quickly.

Sasuke nodded as he relaxed against her, breathing in the ambient chakra of hers that coated the room. His skin tingled and he activated his Sharingan without noticing. He drank in the room, the saturated and comforting air that clung to him like a hug. He relished Akihane's chakra, knowing it was potent enough to be a drug.

His thoughts were cut as the girl drew herself in a little more, the flow of chakra filtering out until it ghosted along the floors, telling her what she needed to know.

"We should get ready." She offered and stood to go grab her brush from the counter. She began to untangle her hair roughly until Sasuke took over and gently combed the white locks, helping Akihane get her dog tags around her neck and her headband on. Then the girl slipped on her shoes while Sasuke grabbed his own, the two exiting the room. They didn't look the best, but they didn't want to deal with a grumpy Sakura if they tried to snatch the bathroom back.

They both grinned at each other, though Sasuke's slipped into a smirk as they both thought of their teammate. They were starting to welcome Sakura into their fold, treating her as much more than a person they knew in passing. Sakura had wormed her way into their circle and now stood at the same level as Kakashi.

The two walked to the deck, getting ready to help out for the rest of day so they would be ready to head out and return to Konoha to let them know not only the state of their mission, but also the new discovery in Uzushio.

All the while, Sasuke felt the lingering suspicions in his thoughts about the woman who he had talked to before the storm had truly started up.

The Uchiha filed the thought away for another time, knowing only then would he be able to comprehend exactly what the woman had said and who she was.

I~~~~I

So here it is. I wanted to write more, but this chapter is already over 8k words, and I didn't want to crowd things up too much. I really enjoyed writing this one, and I tried to get the flow right. Basically, what happened here was that Akihane discovered the will of the dead Uzumaki written in seals, and when they sensed her they became a part of her. From there the chakra and the rampant emotions were released in the beam that let the rest of the world also know, and Akihane was given a sense of calm as she established her chakra with the other signatures that guided her into strengthening her sensory abilities. The sealed room below was set to call out to any Uzumaki who came close so they could discover the archives and protect the information the Uzumaki set aside.

Thanks for reading and reviewing, and lets celebrate hitting 50 chapters and 200 reviews once more!