Tip Of The Spear
Chap 3
Part One
The Best Days Of Our Lives
Dedicated to my Brothers and Sisters of Navy Squadron HCS-5
Without you and our shared times I would not have the knowledge to inspire this chapter. Long live the Firehawks, may they protect those they serve without fail.
Once the young couple had checked in at the receiving kiosk they were sent to a nearby cafe to get something to eat. They, along with few others, were shown to a large table in the back. The waitress mentioned that they could have anything on the menu, the meals were paid for by the Navy. In lots of cases they found out it was the only meal a lot of kids had until the next morning. When all were finished they made their way back to the kiosk and sat down to wait.
After a short while Naruto and Sakura, along with about a dozen other recruits were loaded onto a bus for the ride to basic training. The actual processing of the recruits was loud and fast, cultural shock at it's best. Keep the Boots on their toes with no time to think.
The longest part was filling out more paperwork. After that a mass urinalysis and then phone calls to let family know that their loved one had arrived safe and sound came an inspection of everyone's bags and other item's they had brought with them. More than once the call of 'CONTRABAND' rang out as someone else was discovered to have an item not allowed because of regulations. In some cases it was a cell phone or some other similar device, others as in the case of a girl next to Sakura, a 'personal pleasure device'. That caused a few laughs and comments from the Petty Officers in the room overseeing the afternoon's festivities that went into the late hours of the evening.
Once all that was done Naruto and Sakura went their separate ways to their new barracks buildings and into the machine that would make them Sailors.
Naruto grabbed his towel, fresh underwear, shaving kit and shower shoes better known as flip-flops and made his way to the head to get cleaned up. Knowing what was ahead of him and coming prepared he snapped a lock on the locker he had claimed to secure his things. Once he was under the shower head and it's streams of hot water he felt fatigue set in. According to his body clock it was close to ten PM back home but midnight here. Quickly finishing up he shaved and went to bed. As he settled into the lower bunk he was pulled out by a large young man slightly older than himself.
"That's where I'm sleeping punk, find another bed," the guy snarled.
Naruto looked at him an shook his head, it was too late for this, "I was here first so push off, the top one is free take that one."
"I don't think so Jap," he said making Naruto's eyes to narrow. While not prevalent at home, there were some older people that had lived through WWII and had never put away their hatred of the Japanese. So while it was annoying to him he considered the source. This time it was different, the slur was coming from a peer, a fellow recruit and for some reason it hurt. Distant memories of beatings and calls of Daemon surfaced. The man saw the look on Naruto's face and decided to add salt to the wound.
"Now what? You going to cry you little bitch?" he asked as he slapped Naruto hard across the face.
Seeing the brewing trouble another teen slipped out to find the duty officer and bring him in to stop things before they got...worse.
As they entered the bay everyone saw the larger man slug Naruto in the gut bending him over. As the teen straightened he caught the look of the uniformed man, a subtle nod of permission. No one likes a bully, his Shipmates because of his actions towards them and the leadership because of the negative impact to morale and unit performance. Naruto, because of his uniqueness as well as Sakura, had had his 201 file read and reread many times before and since his arrival to RTC. In it was flagged, Black Belt holder in many Japanese martial disciplines. Regional Teen Male title holder for not only San Diego, but Southern California and the West Coast as well. If there was anyone that could and would handle a bully it was Seaman Recruit Namikaze.
As Naruto stood back up his attacker struck out again with a left handed hay-maker. Naruto caught the punch, pivoted and gave the man a palm strike to the ribs. He then continued the pivot still holding the mans wrist until he had the offending arm twisted out of the socket and before he ended the fight he whispered into the guys ear,"If you continue to bully people I will end you, that is if you're still around."
Releasing the man he gave him a shove into the wall. The man had hit it hard and was sitting on the floor crying in pain as his dislocated limb hung uselessly at his side. The duty officer had two other men take the bully to the duty office and began to find out what happened. All the stories matched, SN Namikaze had just bedded down and was pulled out of his rack and assaulted. No charges against the victor then, the bully however, had won a trip to the hospital and then the brig. His Navy career over before it began.
After the last question had been answered the lights went out and the first day was over.
Morning came four hours after Naruto and the rest had bedded down at oh-five-fucking-hundred. The darkened squad bay came alive as the lights were turned on and four men strolled through blowing a whistle and beating the inside of a trash can with a billy club. "Revelie, revelie, revelie! All hands heave out and trice up!" came the call as almost eighty recruits jumped out of their skin.
Naruto lay in bed for a moment longer as one of the men yelled at him, "Wakie,wakie sweetheart! Drop your cock and grab your socks! Time to get up!"
Naruto rolled out with a groan, it had been a long day yesterday and it was too early for this he thought but he set about dressing himself. As he sat down he drew some looks as he put his feet into a pair of tabi socks, the split toed footwear the most Japanese wore. Even though he was raised in the US he and Sakura wore them as a way of staying in touch with the culture they had left behind. Putting on a black and red Whiskey Rebels tee shirt the Company Commanders or CC's noted the orange and black tattoo of a nine tailed fox with the tails displayed like a fan.
"Come on Foxie, time to move, the faster you dress the faster you get chow," one of the CC's told him.
"Yes sir," Naruto replied as he quickly laced up his Doc Martins. He and Sakura had been into the punk scene from the start of middle school and unless it was a formal or sports function, and later on JROTC, Docs were all they wore.
As soon as he was dressed he and the others ran down the stairs and formed a height line in the barracks courtyard. Once formed up they were told to count off by ten and soon the call of "One sir, Two sir, etc;" was heard as the men were formed up into a column eight men wide and ten men long. At the command they moved off as the CC's called a cadence to get them to at least appear to be seen marching.
At the same time Sakura was facing the same ordeal, while nothing had been said about her hair color as it took the shade of a light red or dark strawberry blond, it was the comments of her pink Kitsune with it's own nine tails fanned out on her shoulder but while Naruto's was plain hers had kanji above it reading, Naruto's Vixen. When she explained what the kanji spelled out the night before she was lightly teased and over time the girls began to call her "Little Vixen" as she stood barely five foot four. The ones that had seen her next to her six foot two husband thought it fitting. She explained that Naruto had a similar one without the writing. She got dressed in her boots, a pair of jeans and a black Cold Feelings tee shirt.
Going through the same routine as her husband Sakura was soon 'marching' to breakfast. As the formation stopped out side the base galley she glanced to the left and her heart stood still, Naruto was next to her, not more than five feet away. Knowing that it would be trouble to speak she began to move her left hand fingers in slight subtle movements, the ANBU sign language.
"I missed you, first night in forever that I didn't wake up next to you."
Naruto smiled wide and signed back, I know, it was hell trying to go to sleep with out making love first."
"You Baka"
"Yes hime, but I'm your baka."
Seeing the grin on Sakura's face one of the female Company Commanders walked up, "Any reason you're twitching your hand and grinning like an idiot Recruit?"
"No ma'am," Sakura replied, "Just happy to see my husband next to me," she told the woman still smiling.
"Husband? Which one?" the CC asked before holding up her hand, "Never mind, the tall blond one with the same grin right?"
"Yes ma'am, am I in trouble ma'am?" Sakura asked.
Looking at her and Naruto the woman had not heard a peep from either and there wasn't any waving or blowing kisses so as far as she was concerned they were good. "No, smiling is okay, you've been told the rules?" seeing a nod she continued, "You a newly wed?"
"Yes ma'am, about six months."
"Must've been difficult last night, so like I said, smiling is okay. Everyone should be happy about something, just don't break the rules," the CC told her but loud enough for Naruto to hear.
"Yes ma'am, thank you."
Soon the line began to move and Sakura and Naruto had their first Navy breakfast. Eggs any style, ham bacon, hash browns, hot and cold cereals and anything they wanted to drink. Naruto's appetite made itself known and he took a serving of every item, some he'd not seen before like grits, but he amazed his table mates as he wolfed everything down. Sakura frowned at his antics but kept quiet and ate her meal a little slower. It was painful for the two of them to be so close and not be able to talk or hold one another but soon that pain was pushed to the side as everyone finished their food and went outside to fall back into formation.
And so the couples nine week training period began. Over the nearly three month period they slowly became Sailors. One thing that stood out for both, since their arrival both Naruto and Sakura had shown themselves to be natural leaders. So much so than in the middle of their second week they were asked to be Recruit Chief Petty Officers or as it was verbally shortened to, R-Poc. While it made no rhyme or reason that was how it was spoken.
Now on top of their training they both had to learn to lead the Navy way. While not as strict or power mad some of the others were they both had standards and they were determined to ensure their fellow recruits lived up the them. Both companies had come out first in honors for male and female training divisions and Naruto's company lost by one point for the overall top for that training cycle to Sakura's.
As promised upon graduation the two were advanced to Seaman (SN) for Naruto and Hospitalman (HN) for Sakura. It also meant that they were beginning their actual career as E-3s making more than most of their peers. Upon graduation they would be advanced or frocked to SO3 for Naruto if he completes BUDS and graduates as a SEAL. Sakura would pick up HM3 when she completes her "A" school as a Corpsman. However, the rank had it's price, the couple had to sign a contract for six years and they had to complete it regardless of completion of their training. At any time they could by dropped and sent to the fleet without a specialty, for them, a fate worse than death as it would leave them wanting for experience before they returned.
However, that did not happen. Sakura was the first to graduate, her school was a mere 19 weeks and she was home every night by five in the afternoon. On completion she filled out her preferences for posting and instead of a combat unit at Camp Pendleton she was sent to the Marine Corps boot camp next door to San Diego's airport. Aside from duty days she was home with dinner ready for her Naruto when he was able to come home.
Naruto on the other hand was screwed, literally. His training was a minimum of 59 weeks not counting his three week BUDS training which was a weeding out process. Hell week was the worst, little to no sleep, uncounted hours in the water, fortunately it was still summer so it wasn't what it could be. Little time to eat, people shouting and firing machine guns in the air while others were tossing M80 fire crackers in maniacal glee.
To Naruto the worst was getting wet, not in the ocean, that was expected. No, it was when he and his group were on the concrete doing what ever exercise was yelled out as instructors with garden hoses wet everyone down. And as far as he was concerned the worst of that was taking the flow of water in the face. The next worse was being wet and told to make a 'sugar cookie'. At that command he had to run to the beach soaking wet, drop and roll until every square inch of his body was covered in sand.
Kurama was not happy during this time as he had to heal his host and dull his pain so the teen could pass. In the long term it meant that the fox would not get any sleep for the next few days. To him however it was worth it, as it gave him new ideas to help the kit later in life when he returns home. As for Naruto, well, this was far easier to deal with than his time trying to survive on Konoha's streets after he was kicked out of the orphanage.
This was the time that guys would break, the stress they were under was enormous. Naruto however shook it off and tried to encourage the ones flagging to hang in there. "Soon it would be over", he'd tell them but for the most part these were the ones that would get up and shuffle like an old man, ring the bell three times and set his helmet down. After talking it over with his instructors the poor soul would be whisked away never to be seen or heard of again.
At the same time Naruto just thought back to his days as a stray in Konoha with Sakura as they tried to survive on the streets before the Old Man found them. Looking back Naruto found it ironic that those days of deprivation and fear would be put to good use during this phase of his training. Soon the dreaded Hell Week was over and Naruto was helped to his rack by the guys that had already gone through the experience.
As soon as his head hit the pillow the teen was fast asleep. One of the others called Sakura and told her to go to bed, he passed. It was common knowledge that the wives would band together and some of the younger ones, like Sakura, would worry and not go to bed till late as the week wore on. Hearing the voice on the other end was all she needed and her head hit the pillow. She made sure to thank her Chief when she reported to work the next morning. The man had noticed that something was off when the girl was in class.
As he talked to her he found out that her husband was on Coronado undergoing BUDS. He told her to tell him when Naruto began Hell Week and he would see what he could do for her. As it was, the first days she was fine, it was the last day and a half that had her at her end. As she told the Chief what was going on he sent her home and told her to come back when she knew he had passed. He was granting her a 48 hour special liberty since she was useless as she was at the moment.
Flashback 24 hours
Going home she found Kurama waiting for her. "Uncle, where is he?" she asked.
The daemon smiled at her and said, "He's fine, he sent me here to see how you're doing."
"Ah, I was sent home for the next couple of days because my mind is on my baka."
"As I said Sakura, he's fine. In fact believe it or not, all that time you and the idiot were street rats is paying off."
"What? How is the worst possible days of our lives helping him?"
"Simple, this Hell Week, it's mostly a mind game, not that physical. If he gets hurt he keeps his mouth shut and I heal him."
"Okay, so he's doing fine otherwise?"
"Yes...oh for Kami's sake what did he do this time?" the daemon cried out before speaking to Sakura one last time," Be right back, he broke his arm," with that Kurama vanished in a shunshin.
Sakura walked to the kitchen and grabbed a bottle of sake and a cup, "I need this," she whispered as Kurama reappeared.
"He's fine, it was a green break, combined with my healing factor and his Uzumaki blood the instructors scolded him for crying over a pulled muscle."
Sakura giggled a little and offered her adopted uncle the bottle, "The little knucklehead has us both worried then, here, have a drink you look like you could use one."
"Thank you Sakura-chan, while I hate those that enslaved me and my family, I deeply care for you two."
"Ahh, that's sweet, don't worry, I won't tell anyone that uncle Kurama is a softy," she giggled.
"Only you and the kits children can know, I shudder to think what he would do if he knew."
"He does know and he cares as much for you as you do him, but yeah, he'd say something stupid if it was public knowledge. Anything else about my idiot husband?"
"Well...yeah there is," as he said that Kurama walked to Sakura and wrapped her into a hug and placed a kiss on her forehead, "That's from him, he only gets a little time to sleep but you are all he dreams of. Well, you and that ramen stand in Konoha."
"Figures, you going now?"
"I'm afraid so, they're doing rock landings with the rafts in a little bit. Have to keep him from drowning. Sleep tight, it's just one more day," and with that the daemon was gone.
End Flashback
At the end of the three week course there were thirty men left of an eighty man training company. Naruto Stood in his dress whites alongside his fellow graduates. In the audience were not only Sakura, also in her dress whites, but Kurama and Uncle Tetsuo in his Captain's dress uniform as well as several other 'family' members wearing either a Navy or Marine uniform. For one Sailor the amount of senior ranked personnel that were attending was amazing.
Sakura was grinning as she saw Naruto march out with the others. As each man's name was called their wife, mother or girlfriend would walk up and pin the SEAL Trident on their man's chest. Sakura was smiling and shaking at the same time. She was very proud of Naruto and gave him a very loving look as she pinned his badge on. Her husband was on his way to becoming one of the elite of their adopted nations military.
For the next two years Naruto was on the go with training detachments to the Island, San Clemente Island to be exact, NAS Fallon for desert warfare training, jump school at Ft Benning and other locations. The last school he had to take was twelve weeks of language training. Of all the languages he could have taken he had picked Portuguese. His reasoning was that he already spoke Spanish and Japanese as well as English and the next hot spots were looking like Latin America or Africa due to cartels trying to get more drugs into Europe and North America.
After that the now nineteen year old was assigned to a Team and began more specialized training. While hectic he and Sakura didn't feel stress on their marriage for one thing. The last night prior to basic training the two had made love and while this was a regular activity even before they were hitched, this time it was special..
At the height of their orgasms Naruto had allowed some of Kurama's chakra to leak out and then bit Sakura on the shoulder. The result was a mate mark that linked the two in more ways than one. The mark itself was the pink fox 'tattoo' on Sakura's shoulder. The kanji was actually a seal that stored some of the foxes chakra for healing and other purposes, just in case. At the same time Naruto's fox tattoo appeared. It was a link, that while not allowing for communication it did let the other know that their mate was okay and to a certain extent, what they were feeling.
At the end of Sakura's initial posting she requested and was granted orders to a helicopter unit on North Island. This particular one had only two missions, Combat Search And Rescue, C/SAR, and Special Warfare Support. Meaning that they flew the SEALs in and out of danger. This was what Sakura wanted and that's what she got. She even managed to wear down the command and got them to send her to Rescue Swimmers school.
When the teen girl came back she began to rack up hours in flight. She was the units Doc and the men were very protective of her. The one downside of picking up her Aircrew wings, her call sign. School was in Pensacola Florida on the Gulf coast. Since she was a girl that loved the water she would spend time at the beach. It was there that her classmates, two of which were in her home squadron, saw her mate-mark, her pink fox 'tattoo'. That was all it took, on her arrival home she found a pair of leather name patches that indicated she was an Aircrewman but it was what the Riggers had written on it that made her blush. Inscribed in gold leaf were the words, "HM2 Sakura "Vixen" Namekazi".
As mentioned her unit was very protective of the young girl to the point she was adopted by the weapons shop. In fact the first time she flew to the Island she was swept up into Naruto's arms it almost caused a scene. Two of the Ordnancemen that had flown out with her stormed over and demanded that Naruto leave their little sister and Doc alone. These were the guys that had taken Sakura under their wing and taught her how to shoot everything the squadron owned and they viewed her as their own family.
For her part Sakura just laughed and with a big grin introduced Naruto to her two pet Ordies. She explained that Naruto was her husband and they'd been married for almost three years. That day Naruto made two more friends. As that happened Sakura thought to herself 'why couldn't that have been that way in Konoha?'
One year later the Narco-war had heated up as the US and NATO began to deploy forces to counter the cartels and their influence. Naruto's team was sent to work with the Brazilian forces near the border with Columbia. Sakura's unit flew in support and Naruto was a frequent visitor to their spaces. Being a married couple they decided to share quarters in the barracks they operated out of. Even though it was on a 'male only' floor neither unit CO cared or bothered to say anything. Not only did Sakura's unit know Naruto, everyone on Naruto's detachment knew Sakura. She was as fiery as girls come and not shy about putting in her opinion and for that reason her husbands team accepted her.
Sakura's unit had the job of flying the Teams into and out of their patrol areas. On many flights would see the young couple sharing the same aircraft. On those flights there was a lot of kidding with Sakura sitting in her husbands lap or the two acting like a normal married couple on their way to work. Once the call that they were ten minutes from the LZ came things changed, Sakura began to rig the Fast Ropes and then to crew her weapon. Her favorite was the Mini-gun but for most flights she was behind the M240 since the other weapon would block the door that was the only way out. Just before they began the insertion of the Team Naruto would lean over and give his wife a quick kiss before he went out the door and down the rope. It was their ritual that no one interfered with as it was taken as Naruto's good luck routine. Most of the time the couples antics were accepted and joked about but they were never told to knock any of it off.
There was just one thing that annoyed both units, as mentioned, they all shared a barracks building that had two man rooms. Naruto and Sakura had a room near the center on the second floor. One of their rituals when Naruto returned from a mission was that they would get to their room as soon as they could and make love non-stop until they both dropped off to sleep. The bad thing was the walls were thin and both CO's shared a room next to them and on the other side was two of Sakura's fellow aircrew.
So with thin walls one would think that they would be a little...discrete and quiet. Not so, Sakura had a nickname in Konoha, the Banshee, because of her high pitched screams she would let loose when Naruto did something stupid. During their love making Sakura lived up to that name. The first time it happened the ordnance crew broke down their door, weapons drawn, because they thought she was being tortured and killed for the amount of 'OH GOD's" she screamed out.
When they realized that she was okay Sakura's boy's turned beet red. There, in full view was their little sister in all her glory. Without a word the 'rescue squad' slowly backed out of the room, all eyes glued on the girl they watched over. One of them cursed himself for not bringing a camera making Sakura blush and breaking the spell. Most girls would worry about the guys talking about what they had all witnessed especially since Sakura was seen as very cute girl in and out of uniform. Not her, she trusted her boy's to protect her honor as much as she trusted Naruto to protect her from other dangers. She was just glad it was the older guys that she viewed as big brothers and not the guys her age.
It was some of the younger members dreams to get a look at her unclothed. These lived up to the saying "all boys are dogs". Those youngsters that asked about the incident would find themselves receiving a slap to the side of their head and being told to drop the subject. The crew that had burst in were the older guys and they knew when to keep their mouths shut. Soon the noise coming from their room was ignored as part of the background, like the sounds of aircraft taking off and landing on the airfield next door.
Nearing the end of their second year being deployed Kurama made a visit outside of his host. Looking at the two he spoke, "Kits, the time grows close. You're needed at home, both of you have drawn blood and have honed your skills."
Naruto spoke up, "How soon uncle?"
"Within the month, arrangements have been made for you to travel back with your weapons and equipment. Not only that, I've made sure that you'll never run out of ammo."
"How?" the SEAL asked.
Some of the retainers will send what you need via the foxes. I had set it up so I could still get my coffee fix but then I thought it could work for other items as well."
Hearing that both Sakura and Naruto face palmed and rolled their eyes, only the most powerful of beings would do something so...childish.
Sakura now spoke up, "How are we to return without raising questions?"
"Easy, you two will have to die. Don't give me that look and don't worry, the mate mark will protect you and her with the same kind of chakra coat that was used when I took you kids away from that village. Remember, I will be binding your souls to mine so they can be transferred into the bodies you left behind in the foxes den. I've let your grandparents know that this has to be done this way. If done any other way you would be returning in these bodies and while these clones are durable and long lasting they won't survive the rigors of the return. No matter what happens you need to remember so as long as you're with in a hundred meters of each other you'll be fine."
Three weeks later Naruto was out on a simple patrol when they were ambushed. All signs pointed that today would be the day. Kurama assured the two that the technique would only work if the both of them were present. Even though he and Sakura would be going to their home soon Naruto kept his mind on the mission, As long as he was here he had teammates to protect as he slowly followed the soldier in front of him. Seeing the Brazilian soldier walking on point go down rounds popped and whizzed past him, Naruto called out," Contact to the front ! Contact to the front, get that fucking 60 up here!"
As Naruto went to help the fallen man more small arms fire began to come his way. Ducking down to make as small a target as possible he began dragging the man to safety. Rolling off the trail he let out a call, "Grenade out!" as he tossed the lethal ball of steel and explosive towards his foes.
With a loud 'CRUMP' the volume of fire slackened off for a moment. Naruto took that as his cue to fall back with the wounded man over his shoulder. Just as he made it to safety he felt a burning in his lower back, an AK round had found it's mark as his body armor was raised by the man slung over Naruto's shoulder.
Kurama was on it, the bullet had found the kidney but things were getting worse, as more rounds were striking the young SEAL before strong arms grabbed him and he was pulled to safety. Naruto was fading in and out due to the amount of fire he had taken. Finally as his vision began to blur he heard someone calling for a dust off.
Sakura was on edge as she sat in the squadron's ready room. Kurama had said that today might be the day just before her husband left for his briefing. So as Sakura watched the television in the ready room her anxiety began to grow. It had just began to get nearly unbearable when the speaker in the room came to life, "Scramble one, Scramble one, Scramble one. Team in contact, repeat, team in contact, launch the ready alert birds. I say again, launch the ready alert birds."
Sakura ran to her aircraft zipping up her survival vest as she did her flight helmet already on and her medical bag bouncing against her hip . Red Top, the Ordies pickup truck was already at the helos, as one crew fixed the M240's to their mounts another was arming the Hellfire missiles the birds carried.
As Sakura ran past one of the men called out "Vixen! Don't forget this!" running up he handed her her M14 EBR and ammo belt. Each member of a helicopter selected and inspected their choice of weapon for protection besides their pistol. They then gave it to the weapons shop and the Ordies watched over everything until needed.
Sakura was in her seat and doing her preflight checks before the pilots arrived. Within ten minutes of the call the pair of HH-60H helicopters were airborne and on their way. Sakura pushed her nerves to the side, she needed to be on her toes. This wasn't the first hot LZ she was going into but it was the one that held her husband. Kurama's assurances aside she was scared.
After ten minutes of flight the lead pilot called out , "Thirty seconds, lock and load, green up the missiles."
Sakura sat in the open door and began scanning for threats from behind her machine gun. Seeing some tracers coming her way she let lose a burst a, grim smile on her face. Those bastards down there hurt her SEALs and they would pay. Just as Naruto's team had claimed her as their own she did the same, they were family, they looked after her Naruto-kun when he was out in the bush and she looked after their health the rest of the time.
Going into a hover Sakura's pilot cleared her to be winched down to the small clearing the team was sheltering in. Hitting the ground she ran crouched down to the spot where the team had placed their wounded. With the team medic she began to triage the wounded. Most were minor wounds and they were patched up and moved further to the rear of the trail where an LZ had been set up. Looking at the 3rd class Corpsman next to her she yelled over the gunshots and rotor noise, "Naruto! Where is he!?"
For her answer the man pointed at the small group of men huddled over a pair of bodies one with with bright yellow blonde hair. Gasping she cried out, "Naruto-kun! No!"
The shock didn't prevent her from going to work on her husband and the man he had rescued. She began to stem the bleeding and assess his wounds. As she turned him over she saw the wound to his kidney. She also noticed that the bleeding wasn't as bad as it should be, "Thank you uncle," she thought as she continued to work.
In a matter of moments the Brazilian soldier was cleared to be sent to the waiting helo. In the ten to fifteen minutes she had been on the ground two more Navy Rescue Hawks, three Brazilian Army Blackhawks and two Army AS-32 Panther gunships arrived on scene pouring lead and rockets into the fray. One of the Panthers had placed itself in a hover over the last of the wounded, mini-guns roaring as the gunners cut into the jungle at four thousand rounds per minute. The pilots would on occasion pivot the nose to bring the rocket and fifty caliber gun pods to bear on a stubborn location. The bigger guns barking a staccato of half inch rounds a counter point to the higher pitched mini-guns.
Sakura barely registered the din as she worked to get Naruto's bleeding under control. Even with his near blood line healing factor coupled with Kurama's effort the bullet wounds bled a lot. The reason was that the bullets did far more damage than a knife or other traditional ninja weapon. The wound channels were more like ground and shredded beef than a nice neat cut or hole. Seeing the the wound to his kidney better after the wound was cleaned up Sakura realized that Kurama would most likely give up on the organ if the damage was too great. Pushing that thought the side she began looking for a vein so she could give her husband the fluids needed for him to survive having given him a sucker laced with a powerful pain killer that was placed under his tongue.
As she began to start an IV she saw almost too late the large IED sitting not more than 5 meters from her and the others. The enemy had set the trap and had caught not only a SEAL team but a medic and if their luck held, a helicopter that was sitting over the bomb. Turning to the others she yelled out a warning giving them time to vacate themselves and the other wounded to a safer distance.
Sakura saw her husband turn his head to face her, his eyes were red and slitted as he smiled at her. The next thing she saw was three men emerge and start to fire at her and her husband. Seeing his red eyes Sakura understood that this was their time to leave. Naruto's healing from the injuries he suffered would raise some very uncomfortable questions. Better to go out in a blaze of glory than languish in a secret lab watching your husband treated like a lab rat.
The men continued to fire as they advanced. Sakura understanding that these were sacrifices, a distraction to hide the team that was to fire the IED. Naruto by now had given control of his body to Kurama and the fox was making his hands fly into the different signs needed for the jutsu that would snatch both hers and Naruto's souls and place them with the fox's. As an AK round passed by her cheek Sakura brought her M14 up as she crouched protectively over Naruto. As she fired she felt herself being grabbed and pulled down. At that moment the IED was tripped just as her rounds struck home.
Kurama put everything he had into his jutsu. He had opened the portal just as the bomb went off and his earthen wall that he made deflected the blast to where it was not an issue for him and his kits. The bomb was made of an unexploded five hundred pound bomb that the Brazilian air force dropped years ago. It was stored in a hidden location and then muscled through the jungle to it's final spot. The blast wave not only went out but up as well.
A slit second after Kurama activated the jutsu the IED went off. With a bright flash that was soon lost in a cloud of black smoke and dirt one hundred and ninety-two pounds of Tritonal and composition H6 detonated. The kill zone was a little under forty-six meters owing to the fact the the bomb itself was semi-buried in the jungle floor. As the shock wave expanded it disturbed the column air the Panther had been hovering on. Not only that fragments of steel, dirt and other debris slammed into it's main rotor, buckling and snapping the fiberglass blades in the process.
The Brazilian Panther was knocked out of the sky. Between the blast and the crash there were no survivors. Naruto and Sakura's bodies were vaporized in the initial explosion and fireball. The other Panther made it's way in and began to strafe the tree line in revenge for the downing of it's partner. Overhead American A-10's circled like vultures before diving in like avenging angels their GAU-8 cannons sounding their angry calls as they spat their milk bottle sized shells on the men who had harmed their own.
The rest of the patrol were loaded on the Rescue Hawks, the wounded going into the first the rest of the team jumped into the second bird, the one that had dropped their medic, the air inside was tense. Finally as the machine began to take flight the remaining door gunner yelled to one of the SEALs, "Where's Vixen? What the fuck happened to Sakura?"
The man just looked at the smoking hole in the ground, "Gone, the fuckers took her and Naruto. Last we saw she was shooting at the bastards, defending his body. She took a few of them with her."
"And you fuckers just ran and left them?"
" No!" the man yelled shaking his head, "Naruto...Naruto was already dead he took one in the kidney and was nearly bled out when she got to him."
"Sakura was protecting him when she saw the IED," he explained, "She yelled out a warning for us to clear out, that was when we saw the fucking bomb. Two of the locals ran to get them but it was too late. They fucking blew them up man. The bastards just blew those kids up...my god Two Guns, there was nothing left."
With that the helicopter lifted continued to it's roost as more helos and troops poured in to secure the area of the IED and crash site.
/
Part Two
In The Flesh
Land of Fire, Location Unknown
Naruto was the first to awake, he felt like shit, he had been shot to hell and then almost blown up. Sakura-chan had been with him when it ble...Sakura! Sitting up he turned to see his beautiful Sakura-chan laying next to him. Thanking what ever gods were looking out for them he made his way to her and held her tight, tears leaking out of his eyes.
"About time you woke up, even I don't sleep that long," came Kurama's voice.
"So, judging from my squeaky voice and Sakura-chan's body we're back?"
"Yes, we're back, as soon as your princess wakes up and we all eat we'll get going."
"At least I'm not hurting from all the gunshots I took out there. I'm surprised she was able to function with all the lead that was flying around us."
"She was scared kit, she thought she lost you back there."
"Why? She knew the plan didn't she?"
"She did but seeing you there on the ground all shot up rattled her. But she did good, she was crouched over you shooting at the fools that showed themselves. She took out all three of them by the way so you're both fully blooded."
"How did you know?"
"Hmmm?"
"The IED, how did you know about it?"
"Well, since foxes and our relatives like coyotes and wolves are everywhere I had them looking out for you and her. I also called in a few favors from the big cats boss, those jaguars are something else. The bastards that didn't get killed by your friends were stalked and attacked by a large group of them," Kurama explained,
"Anyway back to the foxes, they told me it was there and while I didn't really want to be that close to the damn thing, your injuries left me no choice since you had blacked out and your teammates had put you what they thought was in a safe location. Too bad it was a few meters from that booby trap. By the way, sign this and have her sign when she wakes."
Naruto caught the scroll that was tossed to him, "What is this anyway?"
"Your family will be the sole holders of the fox contract, that's the summoners scroll. At some point I have a feeling that your grandfather will want you to sign the contract with the toads as well."
"Should I? Sign the other contract I mean."
"It's up to you, it's your father's legacy and I can convince the boss toad to let you sign if you like. If you don't get a chance to sign the toads scroll you and Sakura can sign this one."
"Ooookaaay? Who is that one linked to?" the boy asked.
"The jaguars and cougars, they were very impressed not only by your actions out in the boonies but Sakura's last actions as well. They were very happy when I told them that you two were still very much alive. At least have Sakura sign that since the cats wish to bond with a summoner once again."
Naruto gave his friend, teacher and surrogate uncle a puzzled look, "What do you mean 'once again'?"
"With the exception of the Tiger and Lion clans most of the cat families, even the house cat clan, felt that humans had become unworthy of their help," the fox explained, "Most of their feelings were well founded as most of their summoners had become corrupt and despotic."
"Yours and Sakura's actions impressed their matriarch and after much debate decided to give you two the scroll. Well actually Sakura but I told them you two are a package deal, they agreed so as to not lose an extremely promising summoner," the fox told Naruto but sighed as he saw the self satisfied grin on the kids face, "Not you moron, Sakura. They were very impressed at her devotion to her mate and the way she made those pricks pay for hurting you."
"Ahhh man, do you have to be so mean? Anyway Sakura and I will have at least two summons for our clan?"
"Yeah, the fox and jaguar summons will be forever linked to you and your descendants until such time that your line is deemed unworthy to continue the tradition. The toad contract is one that is bound only to Konoha so your clan cannot take it with them should they ever feel the need to abandon their village."
Naruto thought about what he was just told, sighing he bit his thumb and signed his name in blood. Looking to the side of the room they were in he saw a couple of backpacks and other items.
"What's that over there?"
"Your gear, weapons and other items."
"Like what?" Naruto asked.
"If you must know, everything you two had in San Diego such as your bedroom set and entertainment center and clothes. I would have had your motorcycle and car packed but where would you get the gas to keep them running? The red scrolls contain your guns and ammo By the way, Sakura-chan will have use the M4 for a while her EBR is just too big for her right now."
Naruto clicked his tongue at what the fox had said, " She won't be happy about that. She, Two Guns and Sleaze spent a lot of time getting that thing adjusted just for her. And the dark brown scroll? As if I didn't already have an idea," Naruto mumbled.
"Yes, the dark brown one has about fifty pounds of coffee. You of all people know we can't function without the stuff."
"Figures, I assume you had them pack that French vanilla creamer she likes as well?"
"And the Hazelnut, she'd kill the both of us if we let her run out," the Fox daemon replied.
"Yeah, at least we know what her comfort foods are, just make sure your relatives keep her stocked up. So anything happen after we vanished?"
"Yeah, Tetsuo said that you both got Purple Hearts and you got a Bronze Star for saving that local soldier, he made it out okay by the way. That wasn't the big surprise though.
"And that would be?"
"Let her wake up and you'll see," the fox said with a smile.
At that point a small groan was heard from remaining member of this strange family, "Naruto-kun..."
In a flash said young man was by her side, "I'm here Sakura-chan, how do you feel?"
"Like a truck hit me," looking up she saw her husbands face, it was amazing, he was back to being thirteen again, if that was the case, "Oh hell, where did my tits go? Shit, now I have to go through puberty again."
Naruto laughed and spoke to her, "The fox has some kind of surprise for you. He said uncle Tetsuo was given some things the Navy said we earned, isn't that right?"
"Well as I was saying to the idiot earlier, you both got Purple Hearts, he got a Bronze Star and posthumous promotion to SO1. But you, young lady, you got this," as he spoke he opened the presentation case to reveal the medal inside, "Evidently your actions were witnessed both on the ground and in the air. They gave you this..."
Sakura teared up as Naruto held her,"A Silver Star?" seeing her companions nod she gave a bittersweet smile, "To think that our vanishing act would earn these. I guess that we can use them to prove our experience and worthiness when we get to the village. Speaking of which, when are we going to go there?"
"As soon as you eat," Kurama told her as he placed a plate of fresh food before her.
/
Several hours later the three of them were standing in front of the gates of Konoha. The two chunin standing duty looked the young couple over as well as their adult companion. While the adult was wearing traditional clothing the children wore clothing that had not been seen before. Each was sporting a pair of boots that were made of black leather and green canvas they looked not only very comfortable but flexible as well. They both wore very tight dark tan shorts that showed the muscle tone of their legs. A brown tee shirt under a loose top that had four pockets and a pattern of green and black stripes resembling a tiger's stripes covered their torso. On their heads they wore a hat with a floppy wide brim in the same pattern as their shirts. To finish off their clothing they wore a wide green belt with suspender like harness from which pouches of different types were hung.
What drew the attention of the gate guards were the knives that hung inverted from the left riser. Although sheathed it was obvious that they were not kunai blades but something more unique. Slung across their backs were backpacks that were made of a green canvas with even more pockets on the outside, each one stuffed with all sorts of strange items. The only recognizable things were the clear water bottles sitting in one of three pockets on the center of the packs. Staring at the kids the one of the men spoke up.
"Don't we know you two?" he asked pointing to Naruto.
"Geezz, you two forget about us already? I know it was six years but how could you not remember us?" Naruto replied.
The other guard came up and looked the pair over, "N, Naruto? Sakura-chan? Kami, it is you two. Where have you been and who is this?" he asked as he pointed to Kurama.
"Well," the boy started to say, "You wouldn't believe us if we told you, besides Jijii would want to hear it first. As for him, Jijii made him our guardian and had him take us somewhere safe for us to train."
Sakura smiled at the pair of adults, they were some of the few in the village that treated them with kindness when they were both scared little street rats. "It's nice to see you two again. Don't listen to my baka husband, I think I hit him on the head one time too many."
"So, you went through with the contract then?" a new voice asked.
Turning Naruto saw a man in ANBU clothing with a mask covering his lower face and silver hair that resisted gravity. "Long time no see, Inu-san."
"How?"
"Sakura-chan and I knew who everyone in ANBU watching over us were, in or out of their masks," Naruto explained.
"Well, since you've arrived, I suppose I should take you to see the boss then," Kakashi drawled lazily as he turned to walk the distance to the Hokage's tower. On the walk over the pair noticed that they were passing by some of the citizens that wouldn't hesitate at calling them names or trying to harm them in some way. As they passed these people looks of realization would dawn on their faces, most likely because their shirts had a cloth strip over the left top pocket that read 'Uzumaki' in kanji. These people were bowing and giving respectful greetings to the children, not yelling for them to die. Both kids didn't know what was happening so they just followed Inu to the tower.
Once inside Kakashi took the trio to the Hokage's office, knocking on the door he began speaking to his leader, "You'll never believe what happened to me today."
Not seeing anyone but the scarecrow in front of him the elderly man replied with a question, "Oh? And what did happen to you Kakashi?"
"Well... I was walking on the road of life minding my own business and I found these two street rats," as he finished he stepped to the side to reveal two early teen aged children.
At that point two things happened, first the old man's pipe fell from his mouth. Second he was jumping over his desk and hugging both kids as tight as he could, "Naruto, Sakura-chan, you're back!"
Naruto was the first to speak, "Hey old man, miss us?"
The next was Sakura, "Hello Ojii-san, I'd hit the baka for but you're holding my arms."
Hiruzen Sarutobi didn't care that he was called 'old man' nor did he want Sakura to hit Naruto for it, he was just happy these two children had finally come home safe and sound. "So, I take it that your training went well?"
Naruto nodded his head all the while smiling, "Yeah, It was hard but we learned all we could there. Twenty years is more than enough for training."
Kakashi blinked at that statement, "Did you say twenty years?"
"Closer to sixteen or seventeen, but yeah, we learned everything Kurama-san and the Navy could teach us," clarified Sakura.
"But you look like you're only twelve or thirteen," looking at the fox he said, "It seems that your technique of transferring their souls to the blood clones worked after all."
"So it would seem, by the way, the blood clones were the ones that died in the other world. These are the kid's original bodies. The blood clones had a copy of Naruto and Sakura's mind and a half of their souls. While they were growing and training elsewhere my kin were doing the same in our world with these two." stated a man just stepping into the office, "Each month I would make a copy of their memories as if it were a shadow clone and send that copy to the kids. Mentally Naruto and Sakura are about twenty two years old."
Both the Hokage and his aid were shocked at the results of such an advanced technique, "So, you were able to learn over there and transfer the experience to your original minds and bodies then. Kurama-san, we, Kakashi and myself thank you for watching over them. Naruto's grandparents will be thrilled that he's back where he belongs."
"Yeah well, I kept my word and here they are, safe, sound, trained and fully blooded."
"I see, then we have many things to discuss. ANBU, leave us," the Hokage ordered as four hidden figures left the room, "So what do you two exactly know?"
For the next three hours the young couple and Kurama detailed all of the training they had undergone both shinobi and modern military. At first Hiruzen was disappointed that Naruto and Sakura had entered a sea going military arm until he heard about first Sakura's medical training and then all that Naruto had done as a SEAL.
The crowning glory was when the fox produced two scrolls. When asked what they were he informed all that they were translations of both teens' military and academic records. Both Kakashi and Hiruzen were amazed at what these two kids had done in a place that had no prejudice or animosity towards them. Both spoke multiple languages, Sakura three, Japanese, English and Spanish. Naruto, four, all of the ones Sakura could as well as Portuguese. While no one knew much of the other tongues, English sounded a lot like the language the Land of Snow used when dealing with merchants and traders from outside the Elemental Nations. If so, he would have these two teach their peers and juniors it so they have an advantage gathering info while scouting that country.
Once the discussion of their training was out of the way the Hokage told them of his plan to integrate the Namekazi couple back into the village.
"As you two know, for me to put you on the shinobi force without any form of long term evaluation would raise too many questions. That being said, while you were away I took your 'uncle's' advice and regained what the council stole from this office.
One of the changes made was extending the time one must spend in the academy by one year. As it so happens, this is the last year your peers are required to attend before taking the graduation exams. I want you to attend so you two can get to know the other clan heirs," the old man told his surrogate grandchildren.
"Do we have to Jijii? Sakura-chan and I spent twelve years in school already," whined Naruto.
Had the old man not known the boys abilities he would just taken him for a spoiled brat and that would be a mistake. Under that innocent facade both kids displayed were two battle tested soldiers. The look of their eyes showed personalities that were cold, calculating and a maturity that they should not have for kids just entering their teen years.
At this point Sakura sighed and slapped the back of his head, "Baka, we've been gone a long time, things must have changed so we need to get up to speed about this place. We also need to reconnect with what little friends we have and make new ones. Now where would we be able to get all of that in one place?"
"Uhh...the academy?" came the answer as Naruto was slapped on the back of his head a second time.
"Right my love, the academy. Are you sure you're a SEAL and not a jar head?"
At this Naruto turned to his wife and sighed at seeing her smirk. It wasn't his fault he hated being cooped up in a classroom. That was why he enjoyed his time not only in basic but BUDS and the rest of his time in the Navy. Then it struck him, the real reason they were being sent to school.
"This is a mission isn't it? A long term deep cover one at that, right?"
"Yes," the Hokage answered, "Even though you've not been there since the first year you were not dropped, just put into an apprenticeship status. You've been expected to return before graduation, it's just good timing that you showed when you did."
"As for your mission, it's the assistant teacher, Mizuki. Some of his actions over the years have been questionable at best and he's under suspicion of spying. For who and his target we don't know," the Hokage told them as he outlined their mission.
"One more thing," he added, "one of your classmates is a boy named Sasuke Uchiha. A few years ago his whole clan was wiped out by his elder brother for no known reason. Itachi was only to eliminate the plotters of a coup to overthrow the Hokage's office and council. Something went wrong and he killed all but his brother Sasuke, but what he did to the boy must have been many times worse. Sasuke was subjected to a powerful genjutsu that had him witness the murders over and over for three days non-stop."
Hearing this Sakura gasped and Naruto flinched as memories of Survival Escape Resistance and Evasion school flooded back to them. It was a requirement for all high risk of capture service members, Aircrew and SEAL Team members just two of the specialties on that list. The physical side of things wasn't that bad, it was when you got captured, and you would be captured, was when it got bad. The psychological torture part was the worst. Neither of them wanted to go through SERE again, but Sakura thought that at some point it should be part of a genin's training cycle.
She herself was worried for the boy, if untreated PTSD could be devastating. As a corpsman in a combat zone she was charged with spotting when one of her or Naruto's Shipmates were developing PTSD. The faster they could get the person treated the better the chances for recovery. This Sasuke should be fine if her was treated quickly enough, sadly as she was to learn that wasn't the case.
"Was he treated for the psychological trauma?" she asked.
"No," the old man answered before elaborating, "Any treatment I ordered was ignored by the boy. The reason he gave was he feared it would do more harm than good in having him relive and talk about his experiences."
At this point Kakashi jumped into the conversation, " Since then Sasuke has been consumed with the desire of killing his brother, who was a prodigy and in ANBU by the time he was Sasuke's current age. The kid is quite frankly power hungry to the point that he will try to bully his classmates to give them their family jutsus."
"He also broods and is quick to anger, in fact if you want to push his hot button just hint that he's a coward," the masked man continued, "and before you ask, no, he's not disciplined due to the civilian council's interference. Quite frankly he's not cut out for shinobi life but with the new council's meddling our hands are tied since the sharingan is a very powerful bloodline that would aid the village if the kid actually gave a damn. Until he becomes a genin and we are able to find cause for dismissal we have to allow him to attend the academy."
Both Uzumakis nodded in understanding as the Hokage spoke up, "I would like you two to not show your full knowledge and power lest Sasuke decide to target you for your techniques, he's not subtle and will challenge you to a fight if he thinks he can gain from it. Personally I never trusted his clan and I'm sick of this village practically worshiping him just for his name and calling him the 'Last Loyal' Uchiha when he's shown no loyalty or respect to his peers and elders."
At this Naruto spoke up, "Jijii, I want you to understand that I'll show restraint in a sanctioned spar. If he challenges or comes at me or Sakura outside of that venue I will fuck him up and put him in the hospital. If he continues I'll then put him down. I have no use for soldiers that can't take or follow orders or show any kind of disloyalty or disrespect."
After a long silence the young couple then acknowledged their mission orders and parameters the meeting turned to where the couple would live and how they were going to pay for things. At that Hiruzen turned to Kurama who had been quiet the whole time during the mission briefing.
"You told Kakashi and I that you would tell them everything before they returned, did you?"
The fox in human form nodded his head as he answered, "Yes, everything, who his parents were, why his father did what he did to him and his linage and true titles, everything.
The Hokage turned to Naruto next, "I suppose you have questions for me then?"
"Only a couple, why, why was I not told of at least my parents and why was I not allowed to be adopted."
"Your parents had made many enemies that were also very powerful. It is no stretch of the imagination to say that Iwa and Kumo would have tried to kill you in revenge for your parent's, especially your father's, actions in the last war," Kakashi told him.
"But the attempts on my and later Sakura's lives came from inside the village, not from another country, explain why I was hated so much, how the villagers knew who I was and what I held."
"When you were found, and I saw the seal I knew what had been done to you... so did my advisers at the time. One of them held a grudge against your father for being chosen as Hokage over him. He knew who you were and he also knew how much wealth and jutsus your parents and clans possessed and he wanted it all."
"It was he that leaked out your status and turned the village against you," Hiruzen told the boy, "He then managed to get the council to pass a law barring anyone, especially a clan, from raising you. I did all I could but they managed to steal more power than I realized at the time in the chaos following Kurama-san's attack."
"And I apologize for that," fox added, "while the events are still hazy for me, I assure you it was not my wish to harm this village. While I was held by Kushina she befriended me and asked me to take care of her child when the time came to seal me into a new host. I hope I have lived up to her wishes."
Naruto looked at his adopted uncle with tears in his eyes, "You've done a fine job Uncle, I think my parents would be happy with the job you did with both of us."
Turning his attention to Hiruzen Naruto locked eyes with the man. In those eyes the elder man saw the eyes of a warrior that has fought one too many battles.
"Naruto," he began, "I am so very sorry for all the wrongs did to you under my watch. You and Sakura-chan have been and always will be my grandchildren.
As you know I'm only warming this seat for you and I would give it to you now but I need you to get established in the shinobi forces first."
"That's fine Jijii, but I am afraid that Sakura and I will be treated as we were before we left. I pray that's not going to happen," the boy replied.
"Not at all," Kakashi said, "shortly after you left the Hokage took the foxes advice and warnings to heart and cleaned house. He also revealed your heritage to the village since you were gone and the need to maintain secrecy was no longer valid. In fact the village has been waiting for the son of the Forth Hokage to return."
"Most likely to kiss my ass like they do to that Uchiha kid. I may forgive but I and Sakura will never forget. Speaking of which, what happened to that shopkeeper that tried to rape Sakura-chan before Uncle saved us?" Naruto asked as his wife grabbed his hand at the mention of that memory.
"He was taken in for interrogation and was found to have assaulted other children of the village as well as trying to force himself on Sakura-chan. I assure you his death was as painful and slow as possible. The torture division set a record keeping him cognizant and in pain for nearly five days," the Hokage informed the pair.
"That's a relief since I would kill him outright had I seen him still walking the streets," Sakura said at the fear and tension the memory had brought her.
"One last thing, where are we to live and how will we make ends meet if we're in school?" Naruto asked.
Smiling under his mask Kakashi chuckled, "Oh, you'll love this. Your parents house was left to you as was everything they had. Part of their assets include nearly thirty percent of the merchant district, various real estate parcels and forty percent of the financial institutes of the not only the village but Fire country as well."
"So in other words in most of the places we were thrown out of Naruto was the actual owner?" Sakura asked in shock.
"Yes, and as executor of his parent's estate the one's guilty of mistreating you were informed of your status as their actual employer. Needless to say there were many people in this village that were sick for days. Now that you've been told I will hand everything over to you in the afternoon following your lessons tomorrow,"
"Now, I have to deal with this paper work. Kakashi will take you home, don't worry about food, it's been changed weekly since Kurama-san informed us that your return was pending. Now, anything else before you leave?" Hiruzen asked.
"Those elders and council members that put us through hell, what happened to them?" asked Naruto.
Looking up Hiruzen looked Naruto in the eye and spoke, "I had them killed them personally, in the most painful way I could, two of them at least. The ringleader Danzo escaped and was granted asylum in a new village called Sound. Outside of the name and the fact that bastard is there we have no real information on them."
As Naruto nodded Sakura spoke up, "What of my parents?"
"The second your name was placed on your marriage contract you became part of the Namekazi and Uzumaki clans. By throwing you out on the streets not only were they guilty of child abuse and abandonment but also of causing harm to a clan member, specifically the clan matriarch," Sarutobi informed her as he continued.
"Once I dealt with the elders and the corruption in the civilian council who they had asked to nullify said marriage contract, I put them on trial under the clan repatriation act since your father was head on a minor merchant clan. Since by now the truth about Naruto was made public and you were seen living on the streets with him it was easy to get a conviction. Their sentence was transfer of all personal and clan assets and banishment from not only the village but the capital as well, ANBU reports that they are living somewhere on the boarder with Suna."
Seeing the hurt look in her eyes Kakashi walked over to her and rested his hands on her shoulders, "If it makes you feel better they never apologized, and the reason they gave for kicking you out was their store was losing business because of your friendship with Naruto and your mother was worried that they would lose social status because of that. It's actually a good thing too since at the trial they found out that had they looked into it they would have found that they were by default Naruto's guardians with access to his assets by virtue of your betrothal. When your mother found out how much money they could have had she was livid."
Sakura sighed, "Figures, they loved money and their status more than blood. What about the rest of my clan?"
"They've been waiting for your return and have actually expanded the clans assets and invested most of the returns into an orphanage and shelter for kids on the streets. Seems like they want to show that unlike your parents they actually want to help at risk kids, not create more of them," Kakashi told them before showing them the way to their new home.
Naruto looked at the one-eyed ninja and asked, "Not to be rude but exactly where is our new home?"
"Follow me," was the only answer the pair got while just before Kurama faded back into the seal on his host while mumbling something about getting some sleep.
"One last thing jijii," Naruto said, "Until I actually take the hat Sakura and I will be using my mother's name. No use in letting any potential enemies know that my father had any children. Bad enough that you had to reveal my title of Godaime in Waiting and Jinchuriki."
"I know and I'm sorry for what we had to reveal because of Danzo's lies. I'll ensure your papers show you as Naruto and Sakura Uzumaki then, good to see you back you too," the elder Hokage told them with a smile.
With that the three left the tower and out towards the new Uzumaki-Namikaze residence.