Walking off the boat, he gave the beautiful beach a passing glance as he made his way towards the forest.
He walked for about a couple hours without seeing any sign of civilization. He took notice that the sun was setting, so he made a small camp, and ate his food that he sealed. When he finished, he felt that now was as good as any time to sign the Wolf Contract.
After opening and signing the scroll, he did the proper handsigns and paid in blood. "Kuchiyose no jutsu!"
In a puff of smoke an average sized, dark grey wolf appeared.
"Ah. I see. You must be a new summoner. I am Ayaka. You don't look like an Uzumaki, but you have the scent of one. Come along then, pup. Your test awaits. Word of advice, do not show weakness." A feminine gravelly voice spoke, before she placed a paw on his shoulder.
"Wait, wha-" Was all Naruto could get out before they poofed away.
Jiraiya looked around in shock.
The last time he came to Uzu, he came with Konoha Shinobi to try and help their allies, only to arrive at a massacre.
There were no survivors, nor discrimination on who was murdered. While searching for survivors, Jiraiya sifted through corpses of children in a daycare. That moment had always been imprinted in his mind.
Jiraiya could not stay there and left immediately, the others following behind him.
He had tried to return years later in an attempt to maybe give them a proper burial, but the atmosphere was suffocating, so he couldn't do it.
Now, as he walked through the destroyed village, he didn't see any corpses. When he made it to the center, he found a massive pile of ash, and scorched ground.
At first, he was upset, because he thought that Naruto just burned his kin's corpses, but looking at the edge of the scorch zone, he found a Iwa hitai-ate. 'So he burned the corpses of the enemy shinobi. How Uzumaki of him.'
Chuckling at his own joke, Jiraiya went to look around to see if Naruto was still there.
They landed in another forested area.
"Follow me."
Naruto was right behind her as she ran through the woods at a fast pace. She led him at a seemingly random pattern until they reached a wall. There was a big crack on it, and Ayaka trotted right in without fear.
Naruto hesitated a moment, but ultimately followed.
He didn't know what to expect on the other side, but it definitely wasn't what he saw.
It was a massive cavern with the ceiling open to show the sky. One side of walls was lower to show the sunset properly. There were lots of little hills with small openings which had wolves entering and leaving, and they surrounded one mountain with a large entrance. Naruto could see three big wolves from his position.
"Are they who I need to meet?" He pointed at the big wolves.
"Yes. Let's not keep them waiting." Ayaka urged.
There was a massive waterfall at the taller side of the cave that had streams flowing through the whole cavern like veins. Naruto watched as little pups played in the water under the watchful eyes of their parents.
There was an area where it looked like two wolves were fighting and had other wolves watching.
"They are training one on one battles today." Ayaka explained.
Naruto could sense the curious looks as he trekked through the cavern. He was the only human in a place filled with wolves of different colors. It didn't take much longer for them to reach the big wolves.
The three wolves watched him walk in with calculating eyes. One was black, one was white, and the third was grey.
"So this is who signed the contract? Naruto Uzumaki. You don't look like an Uzumaki." The white wolf spoke. Her voice feminine.
Naruto bowed slightly before speaking. "My mother is Kushina Uzumaki, the heiress of the Uzumaki clan, and I was recently able to return to my homeland. I have the magatama necklace, ring and bracelet to prove that I'm the new clan head."
The wolves all looked closely as Naruto showed them the jewelry. They all nodded and he sat on the ground. When he did, a small pup ran up to him and started sniffing and nibbling his clothes.
"So it seems. We are the Small Council of the Wolves. My name is Kagerou. This is Ichirou and Yoshirou beside me. If you hadn't noticed, we're triplets. I'd wager that you don't know of the alliance with the Uzumaki clan had with us wolves." The black wolf spoke. His voice masculine.
"Is it like how the Toads are allied with Konoha?" Naruto asked.
"Yes. Our alliance has dated back to before the East and the West were separated. Is it correct to assume you know of the West?"
"Yeah, I saw a map in the Clan Head office, and I made my voyage there. Once I made camp I signed and summoned Ayaka-chan." Naruto explained. He was now holding the excited pup, and petting it.
"You've ventured into the warzone? You truly are an Uzumaki. It seems we'll be able to rejoin the battlefield, again." Yoshirou spoke up, their voice androgynous. They seemed excited at the prospect of a battle.
Ichirou was about to speak up, but was interrupted by the pup in Naruto's arms. "Hey, hey! Were you a sage before?"
"U-uh, yeah!" Naruto answered, a bit concerned.
"Cool." Then the pup went back to sniffing.
"I'm sure you know this already, but before we fully accept you as our summoner, you have pass our test. We will not have a weak summoner, Uzumaki or not." Ichirou spoke as if she wasn't interrupted, making Naruto more concerned.
"Yes!" Kagerou exclaimed excitedly. "Your test will be-"
"You versus everyone!" The pup shouted, excitedly.
Now Naruto was confused. "… what do you mean?"
"We go to the Pit. You stand in the center, no weapons, no jutsu, just you and your fists. You will be surrounded and attacked by our clan for an unspecified amount of time. If you want our respect, then you will remain standing at the end. Then you'll be removed from the realm without us healing your wounds. If you survive, we'll acknowledge you as our superior." Yoshirou spoke.
Naruto blinked, then a grin slowly grew on his face. "Let's do it! I'll beat everyone!"
In a puff of smoke, a battered and bleeding Naruto appeared in the middle of his small camp. As he laid on the ground, he took notice of the rising sun, and smiled to himself.
"I did it." He muttered, not noticing a figure approaching his camp as he fell unconscious.
"Oh goodness! Is he dead?"
Naruto awoke tucked in a bed. He sat up and saw bandages covering his body. Looking around, he found himself in a shed like dwelling. There was the bed he was laying on, a table with two chairs, a desk, and a dresser.
He looked out all of the windows, and saw nothing but forest trees.
He removed his bandages and found that most the cuts healed completely, but some of them left scars.
"Odd…"
He looked to the side of the desk and saw all of his belongings there. He noticed that his jewelry stayed on. He put on his clothes and stepped out the home, and immediately bumped into an old woman. She wore a yellow kimono that had red flowers on it. Her skin was mostly smooth, the crows feet in her eyes, and the mostly grey blonde hair gave away her elderly status.
"Oh my! You're already up, young man?" She asked startled.
"Yeah, I heal quickly. Are you the one who bandaged me?" Naruto asked.
"Yes, that was me. I thought you'd be unconscious for a while longer with how much damage that was on your body." She directed him back inside.
"Thank you for your kindness, baa-chan." He bowed low, she tittered and waved him off.
"None of that young man. You needed help, so I helped you. Sit, sit. I'll bring you something to eat."
Naruto sat back down as she left and came back with a plate filled with fish and some fruit, and a bowl of rice. "Eat up, young man."
He gave his thanks, and dug into the food with gusto. "Thanks, baa-chan. This is really good."
"Of course, young man. What is your name? I am Yasaka."
"I'm Naruto Uzumaki, head of the Uzumaki Clan, a clan that I am the only member of for now. I came here for a new life away from the discrimination I faced in my old home."
"U-Uzumaki? Oh, dear. What happened to your clan? I thought they were the strongest? And I don't think this country is a place where you'd be able to raise a proper family." Yasaka seemed to be in shock.
Between bites of his meal, Naruto told her of his clan's demise. "Why wouldn't I be able to raise a family here? Don't tell me the centuries old war is still going on!"
Yasaka sighed. "It unfortunately is. This country, you see, is divided into three, and is ruled by three brothers. Cao Wei, Shu Han, and Sun Wu. The Immortal Demigods."
Naruto raised an unimpressed brow. "Why are they called that? Seems incredibly arrogant."
Yasaka sighed again. "This country was once whole, with a king running the entire place. The king fell in love with a shrine maiden and married her. She later revealed herself to be a goddess. She gave birth to three boys, triplets. They were raised with love and affection, but they all had a darkness in their souls. Their father refused to acknowledge which boy was the oldest, choosing to have his successor be the man who he feels follows the proper ideals. Unfortunately, when they all grew in both power and knowledge, they discreetly poisoned their father and set a trap for the goddess to be sealed."
Naruto was enthralled with the story. "Well, what happened next, baa-chan?"
"The brothers succeeded to poison their father but only managed to seal the goddess's power, while she fled, completely ill prepared for an attack from her sons. They infused the goddess's godly essence into three weapons: a staff, kama, and a liu xing chui (meteor hammer). Once these weapons of equal power fell into the hands of the brothers, they immediately turned on each other. Their fight began the war. They split the country into three factions in their everlasting war. Soldiers dying needless deaths, nobles kissing up to their rulers to stay in luxury, while each citizen is treated like slaves. The remaining clans were either forced to remain in service, or has gone into hiding. You asked why they are called the Immortal Demigods? It's because they kill any sons their vast number of concubines and slaves give birth to, drain the baby's blood, and use that blood in a ritual to remain young."
Naruto looked a mix of apoplectic and horrified at this. His fist kept clenching and unclenching, his fury barely being held in check.
"Tell me, Uzumaki-san, do you have a dream? Something that drives you? A reason for living, besides just to live?" Yasaka asked.
Naruto thought for a moment at this. "Besides marrying my hime, no, not really."
"Can I tell you mine?" Yasaka asked lowly. At Naruto's nod, she continued. "My dream, a fool's errand really, is to see this war torn country reunited. To put down those monsters in human flesh that have ruined this country. I even made moves to accomplish this goal. In that desk drawer is a folded map of this entire country with detailed places where the clans are currently residing, where all the towns are, and where the home of each brother is. In another drawer is papers detailing each clan and what their values are."
Naruto had already had the map opened on the desk and was glancing through the clan papers. "Just how long did it take you to do all of this, baa-chan?"
"Decades." She released a hollow chuckle. "Decades of my life wasted gathering all of this information, only to grow too old to do anything about it."
"Hm. Then I'll be inheriting this dream of yours."
Yasaka blinked. "What?"
Naruto turned to her with a grin. "I said, I'll be inheriting this dream of yours. I'll bring this country back together. I'll kill those monsters that brought this place down."
Now Yasaka was gaping, tears pooling at the corners of her eyes. 'Maybe it isn't a fool's errand after all…"
She returned his smile with her own.
Naruto reverse summoned himself to the land of the wolf summons. Without hesitation, or fear, he walked straight through the den all the way up to the the Small Council.
"I've returned."
"So we see. Well done, Naruto-sama. You are now officially the new summoner of the Wolves, though, you still have to meet the Boss." Yoshirou spoke.
Naruto chuckled. "But I've already met them, haven't I?"
The wolves seem to look impressed and amused as another wolf grew behind them.
Naruto really had to crane his neck to see the massive black beast. It was almost as big as Kurama.
"How did you know?" A gruff, yet still feminine voice asked.
"You interrupted the Council twice, and they ignored it completely without scolding you." Naruto answered truthfully.
The massive wolf huffed. "Something so small gave me away? That's annoying. Anyways, my name is Hana, and I am the Boss summons of the Wolf clan."
"Nice to formally meet you, Hana. Now I'll be needing the help of quite a bit of your stealthiest wolves." Naruto stated.
"Of course. For what reason?"
"To prepare for war."
Naruto was sure if wolves could smile, these wolves would be grinning.
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