Standing proud above the village hidden in the leaves, was a cliff. A cliff with five faces carved into its side, watching over the people the owners of said faces swore (and often died) to protect. Atop the fourth face was a man with deep garnet hair and eyes a blend of twilight and the ocean at night.
He didn't wear the vest of his rank, forgoing the uncomfortable thing for his favored garments- a navy yukata top patterned with the waves of his home, a matching obi, and the standard ANBU pants. A headband with the village's symbol loosely hung from his neck, but a seal held a different headband. A different loyalty- similar and friendly to each other, but vastly different.
This man knew pain the likes very few could even comprehend, held memories of a future never to come.
Not on his watch, at least.
The bingo book warned against fighting him. It gave a detailed description of him and his (few known) abilities (not that anyone realized just how little they knew) and classed him as an A-rank threat (the last time he checked, at least. Which was a couple of years ago, now, so it was probably out of date).
He was a shinobi of unprecedented unpredictability and strength, rivaled only by legends such as the First Hokage, Madara Uchiha, and the very Sage of Six Paths. However, he could not even use a third of his true strength- partially because he no longer held the chakra of all nine Tailed Beasts, but over half of that strength was directly tied to his other half.
A man he'd never see again. A man who had given his life for a war the Uzumaki would never let come to life, the yin to his yang because despite popular belief, it was the Uzumaki who held the darkness in his heart, the little light he had exaggerated and blown out of proportion. His other half was the light in their relationship but had simply let the small darkness within consume him for a time. To compensate, the Uzumaki had let the light within him grow even more exaggerated until even the Sage couldn't guess who was which in their relationship. It was one of the reasons their relationship was so out of balance, yet so heated and close. They knew who they were, but their respective situations changed what they were supposed to be. But even without that power, the red-head was a force to be reckoned with.
His name was Aki Uzumaki, and he was lying in wait for a day he hoped would never come.
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While most would train given the chance, Aki didn't. At least not to get any stronger. The only training he did was to retain his abilities, for he knew he hit a plateau. In truth, he had hit it long ago, when he lost both the Tailed Beasts and his other half. He'd never be back in peak performance, but he didn't need to be. Not anymore.
Everyone he knew in the war was stronger now than they were when it started, and he had always believed in his friends.
Naruto's friends, his mind corrected. He may not have strong bonds with everyone yet, but it's only a matter of time. And then... and then where will you be?
No more thinking like that, a familiar, booming voice echoed in his mind. Like it or not, kit, these people like you. They're friends with Aki Uzumaki, not Naruto.
I can't take what he has. We're not the same, and I won't be his replacement.
You're not replacing anyone. You're adding a new bond for the kit, and for everyone else who needs it. Like that hound kid, he seems attached.
I just remind him of Mom and his old team. Aki had sensed the deep grief when Kakashi looked at him and figured it was his relation with Kushina. Of what could have been. ... But I think I see your point.
A snort resounded in his head. Not nearly enough. Naruto wouldn't have made bonds with half the people you have without the war and you know it.
Maybe, but he should have the chance to create those bonds first. He deserves the chance to make his own way without my interference.
... You know you're not really making bonds. Not in the way you used to.
I know. They don't want to really know me- not when...
Do any of them even know you prefer popsicles, tomatoes, and eggplants over ramen now? Do they know your favorite animals are foxes and cats? Do they know you prefer darker colors now, rather than the loud orange you used to? Do they know how much you care about them? Do they know what lengths you'll go to to keep them safe? Do they know that when you look at them, you see all they were, all they could be? Do they know you had a habit of gambling, that you used to break casinos all across the world with the Slug Queen? Do they even know what's going to happen to you when the war is won? What happens to us?
With any luck, Aki thought somberly, eyes steely, they never will.
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Aki sighed, rubbing his forehead as he wrapped up explaining his plan to Tsunade in her office, having updated the seals all around the room so not even the spirit of the Sage himself could eavesdrop. The blonde woman sat back in her chair, a thoughtful look on her face as she mulled over his words.
"We can't help you if you do this. You won't be getting back-up," she said after a moment, face serious. A more and more common thing, especially after Aki revealed himself as a time-traveler.
"I know."
"Even I'm not stupid enough to wager with these odds. You'll probably die, no matter how overpowered you are."
"Most likely."
She frowned, standing with her hands flat against the desk as she leaned slightly over it. "I won't let you do this. If I have to order you to stay in the village, I will," she warned.
With a pained smile, Aki responded. "It's too late. I've already laid the pieces, and the dominoes are falling into place. Not to mention my status as leader of Uzushio." He paused, walking forward, and setting a hand on Tsunade's shoulder with a comforting smile on his face. "Trust me. We've already gone through all the other solutions, and this is the one where all of you live."
Her face softened, eyes looking straight through his. "What about you? This isn't just some random-"
"I've already lived my life," he interrupted, shaking his head and retracting his hand. "As it is, I should've died quite a few years ago. I'm on borrowed time as is, but none of you are. You have your whole lives ahead of you, and I won't let the same evil who took mine take yours, too." He smiled, walking over to the window casually and sliding it open. With a blink, he deactivated the seals and leaped out, his gentle words carried by the wind and sweeping through the office before vanishing as though he wasn't there in the first place.
Tsunade sighed, rubbing her forehead between her fingers. Like Hell I'm going to let my godson kill himself, she internally grumbled.
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Aki grinned, putting his hands on his hips. "You're getting better at the stealth thing," he called to the seemingly-empty road behind him. "But you're not quite there yet."
A second passed before the blond Uzumaki appeared, grinning. "That's just because no one can get the drop on you, Aki-nii."
The older Uzumaki smiled, ruffling Naruto's hair as they turned towards the same direction and started walking. "Nope! How else am I gonna survive the Prank Wars?" Aki smiled, hit with a wave of nostalgia. He had dressed the same at Naruto's age up until the war.
"By being awesome, as usual," Naruto confidently answered. Was that... smugness radiating off him?
Aki didn't get a chance to comment on it, as a different voice did. "Don't get cocky yet," a familiar voice stated from behind them. "You have four years' worth of Prank Wars to endure now that you're back."
The two young men slowly turned around, only to find Yuki with her hands on her hips. The girl had ditched the kimono top, choosing a dark red crop top over a sleeveless mesh armor top. Her shorts stayed the same, as did her tool pouches and sandals. But now a Konoha headband proudly sat around her throat, her bright red hair chopped short.
... Her look also gave Aki a wave of nostalgia, as it was very similar to what the Yuki from his time wore.
Yuki's smile was sharp and dangerous, her hands on her hips. Beside Aki, Naruto gulped. "Yuki-chan, so good to see you..." He chuckled nervously.
"Mhmm. You weren't thinking about escape, were you?"
"N-no, Ma'am," Naruto stuttered out, Aki trying to muffle his laughter beside him. A glare did nothing to stop the red-heads amusement, instead having the opposite effect.
"Don't look at him, he won't help you," Yuki stated, her eyes gleaming with... well, a few things. But the big one was love. Familial love, the kind Aki had to work his ass off to finally get only to lose so soon after getting it. Love he once again had, once again received. Love he could freely give now.
... Well, within reason, his mind whispered. Don't get close.
"When is Sasuke supposed to be back," Naruto interrupted- either sensing Aki's spiraling thoughts or desperate to change the subject before Yuki did something.
... Probably the former, as Naruto had long ago befriended Kurama and gained the ability to sense emotions. "Sometime next week," Aki easily responded as a clone poofed, giving the red-head a good judge on Sasuke's progress. "His ship's scheduled to leave next Tuesday, so he should get here around... Saturday, I'd say."
Naruto nodded while Yuki's nose scrunched. "No fair. He gets to train on Uzushio and I can't?"
"Not yet," Aki reminded, gently flicking her nose. "Not till you make chunin. That was the condition Lord Third set on allowing us to stay here while remaining loyal to Uzushio. We'd follow Konoha's rules and traditions until, at the very least, you get chunin and the island's habitable."
"When's Karin coming back?"
"Same time as Sasuke," Aki answered the blond. "She's teaching Sasuke about Uzushio's customs and traditions."
Aki didn't need to look at Naruto's face to see the scrunch on his nose. "Why? It's not like the teme really cares."
"You'd be surprised," Aki stated. "There's a lot of people curious about Uzushio- not just Sasuke. Well, in whatever places don't actively squash all traces of our people existing."
Those people had been taken care of- the people who stole from their home and denied the Uzumaki's existence. The stolen relics now sat in their proper places within Uzushio, and all had the warning engraved into their minds.
The warning not to mess with the Uzumaki.
"But, since you're back in the village, there's a kind of surprise waiting for you," Aki stated. He let a grin lift his lips at the blond's immediate change in tone.
"A surprise? What is it?"
"You'll see," Aki slyly said. "Hokage's orders. I'm not to tell you until after you get checked in with her."
"Done! Let's go!"
With a smile on his face, Aki watched as Naruto and Yuki raced ahead, smiles on their faces.
He idly wondered for how much longer he could watch them grow.
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The meeting with Tsunade went much the same way Aki remembered, with Kakashi pushing off the test until after he read the newest 'novel' from Jiraiya. Some things truly never changed, it seemed.
What wasn't like how he remembered was how immediately after, Jiraiya made up some excuse to stay with Aki, dragging the Uzumaki out of the room and towards the nearest...
Training ground?
What's this about? He never seemed so interested in me before... and going to a training ground is highly unusual for him.
When they arrived, Aki sent a puzzled look towards the Sanin. "What is it? This is quite unusual, Jiraiya-san."
"The best way to know someone," Jiraiya started, walking a few feet away, "is to fight them. And, Aki, I happen to be very curious about the kind of man you are." The man lifted a hand, the sign taking a moment for Aki to register its meaning.
The sign of readiness, shown before every friendly spar. A sign Aki hadn't seen since his Academy days, as funny as that was.
He sighed, shaking his head. "Guess I have no choice. Let's not use ninjutsu- we don't want to destroy this place." He mimicked the sign, waiting the appropriate moment before striking.
Block. Redirect. Counter.
Blows flowed between them like some kind of elegant, violent, choreographed dance. But Aki had the advantage of speed, strength, and knowing his opponent when the reverse wasn't true. Coupled with his endless stamina, Aki was one hell of a fighter. And someone you really didn't want to find on the other side of the battlefield.
After what felt like forever (but in actuality was only a couple of minutes), Aki leaped back, kunai vanishing into a seal. A smile decorated his lips as he asked, "Why don't we take this up a notch?" With barely a flicker of chakra, twin scythes appeared in Aki's hands, seals lining the weapons, similar to his other scythe. He spun the two smoothly before letting his arms fall, deceptively at ease.
"I couldn't agree more!" A moment of stillness and Jiraiya's features changed to be more like a toad's. "I assume you know what this is."
Aki nodded, his smile still in place. "Quite well, actually."
"Then let's get on with it."
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The spar was intense, even without the use of any ninjutsu or offensive senjutsu. Where Jiraiya was confident and wary and stood like a rock all at once, Aki was as fluid as water and as relentless as the waves. The Uzumaki moved like a ghost, never truly getting hit- despite the nature chakra attacking him. At one point, Aki had joined the two scythes into one, wielding both forms like a pro.
Idly, Jiraiya wondered what caused him to need to learn how. What danger had got even Aki afraid? For while the red-head had told his story, he never went into detail. And Jiraiya doubted Naruto remembered to ask about the missing pieces. Hell, he barely remembered- and not because he had research to occupy his mind.
The spar ended in a draw, with neither party particularly out of breath or spent. Though Jiraiya suspected it would have ended in his loss if they used ninjutsu, or if Aki had actually taken him seriously.
How did the Sanin know Aki wasn't using everything he could?
Not once did the red-head summon an impossible number of clones. Or even one. Not a duplicate Uzumaki to be seen for the hours they'd been sparring.
Jiraiya would have been offended if he weren't so proud of how far Aki came. The thought that this red-head and his godson were one and the same would have sounded outlandish (physical differences aside, the thought Naruto would grow up to be so powerful and calm was like a fever dream) if he hadn't seen the identical expressions of mischief, pleased guilt, and excitement on both Uzumaki- eerily similar to Kushina's.
Not to mention the (muted but still there) ticks. Laughter in seemingly-strange times, the determined gleam in their eyes, rubbing the backs of their necks, inhaling food like it was going out of style, the guarded way neither of them truly opened up to someone but made it feel like they were best of pals.
Yeah. Jiraiya could see the resemblance. He could see a future where Naruto grew up into someone like Aki, and he didn't know whether to be proud of the man or sad at the experiences to make him.
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When Naruto entered the Uzumaki compound, the first thing he noticed was a new face among the family pictures. An intimidating man with blue skin, gills, sharp-looking teeth along with a sharper-looking gaze. Something was scribbled in some kind of signature on the edge of the picture, but the squished thing was too messy to read. He could tell it started with an 'S', though.
He sighed, eyeing the other 'new family members' Aki had adopted seemingly out of the blue over the years. A teen with blond hair covering an eye and a half-ponytail thing going on. A woman with light purple/blue hair, amber eyes, and a soft, motherly smile. A man with silver/gray hair, a big smile, his tongue sticking out, and his hand up in a censored vulgar sign. Another man wearing a hood and mask, so only his green, white-less eyes showed. Then a young man with black hair and stress lines on his tired face. For some reason, Sasuke had teared up when Naruto talked about him. The only one who looked like he might have been an Uzumaki was a boy with vibrant red hair and dark eyes.
Uncle Glitter, Mom, Uncle Censored, Uncle Expensive, Dango-kun, and String-kun, in that order. Except, of course, for the newcomer, who Naruto was starting to realize was a shark-like man. There was one who wasn't shown, mainly because Aki-nii said he didn't have any accurate pictures. That was Uncle Complicated, the problematic one. Then he realized another newcomer who looked eerily similar to that crazy lady from the chunin exams. The one who threw them into the Forest of Death oh so long ago. "Hey, Yuki," he called, getting the younger's attention. "Who are the new ones?"
"Uncle Smoochums and Dango-chan."
Naruto squinted back at the signature, barely able to see 'Smooch-kun' in the squiggles, nodded, then moved on.
He'd probably see everyone at the dinner table again soon enough, anyway.
At that moment, Aki danced through the front door, happily humming something under his breath. Within a second, a new, silver plaque sat under the picture of Uncle Smoochums, reading 'Smooch-kun' in a fancy, flowing script. Engraved on either end of the thing were sparkles and flowers and hearts, obviously meant to be obnoxious and in your face.
Someone only got a plaque if Aki-nii either really liked them, or if they had some of the same values as said Uzumaki. Among those were Dango-kun (with bird feathers, dango sticks, and stars), Mom (lotus flowers, origami animals, and hearts), and Uncle Glitter (no engravings- just glitter. Everywhere). And now Uncle Smoochums.
"What did he do," Naruto asked, gesturing to the new plaque.
"He has a garden of trees," Aki easily responded. "He's an environmentalist, too. And he only gnaws on branches that fall off naturally or are too far gone to save."
Naruto nodded, then had to do a double-take. "Wait... what?"
"He bites branches," Aki repeated, as though that'd explain anything.
The two Uzumaki children just nodded and went along with it, too accustomed to the eldest Uzumaki's strange behavior to say anything.
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aight, it's here! part two!
also a quick explanation.
i'm not dropping any of my previous stories- i love them all, and i wouldn't have published them if i didn't plan to finish them. my muse is simply a cruel, cruel mistress.
i am working on their next chapters, though. i'm almost done with the death note one, and i'm about half-way through stream's based on word count. and i've been working on the rapierzel story's next chapter for- i kid you not- months.
the only reason it takes so long is because inspiration for those specific stories come and go- and motivation to write is in short supply. sometimes i'll write four chapters for one story in the span of an hour, sometimes i can't write a word unless it's for a Specific Character/Fandom/Series.
(god cursed me with the need to write, fickle motivation, and too much inspiration to keep me from dethroning him and making my favorite characters real. he just can't let a girl boss win, smh)
as for new stories, i simply have quite a few chapters already written and stockpiled from when i went into a creative frenzy with em, and figured they'd be a decent way to waste time till new chapters came out.
(tbh, at the moment, hxh has enraptured my Soul, my oc Kahara [who you can find on wattpad under 'shinobi in the dark'] has my Heart, and i always have naruto brain-rot, so i've been workin on a lil somethin somethin)
also i won't lie: this story is pretty full of angst. but i will put in the beginning of chapters trigger warnings, brief summaries of stuff you need to be aware of, and where it starts and ends so you can be prepared and stay safe. at the end of the chapters, i'll put a kinda summary at the end- like 'character x saw this moment in a flashback'- so you know what happened without any details if you decide to or needed to skip it.
anyway, that's about it for now. hope you enjoyed the return of aki and the babs! with any luck, the next update will be one of my other stories, but whatever happens, i'll see y'all next time ^^