And we have yet another chapter. Time really seems to be flying lately.
Thanks goes to ncpfan for his help.
Not much more to say here, so enjoy the show.
It was anger that she eventually settled on
Guilt lay heavy on her shoulders, sadness on her heart, but it was anger which allowed her to focus past her own mistakes and the suffering they had caused her son.
He was homeless because of her, but others could have taken him in.
He was hurt, but Tsunade could have healed him.
He was suspected of treason, but he should have been trusted.
He was at odds with the Yamanaka, but someone should have stepped in to keep things from going out of hand.
He forsook his name, but there should have been someone to guide him with clan politics.
He became an enemy of the Yamanaka, he should have immediately received support from some of the other clans.
When she could focus on the supposed failures of others she could overlook her own, for if she were to think of the ways her mistakes had harmed her son sorrow would consume her. She couldn't let that happen, couldn't surrender to misery after all her son had been through. No, now was the time to make things right, to show him that it really had been a series of mistakes and that she was willing to fix the damages they caused.
And so, when she directed her attention to the actions of others in her absence the guilt ebbed away, replaced by an unholy fury that threatened to make Hi no Kuni's namesake quite literal.
It would be nothing compared to the thousand suns that burned beneath her breast demanding to be freed as retribution for the suffering of her first born.
Had Yugao not pushed her back down in her seat with a reminder that she was in her son's apartment she would have gone on a rampage then and there, lashing out at everyone in the village in a blind rage that was likely to end with her either dead or locked away.
But while the flame had been temporarily snuffed, her rage remained. A grim cold was left in the absence of the suns, one that sapped away any thoughts of happiness and left her with nothing but a desire to cause pain to those who wronged her son, be it directly or indirectly.
The razor-sharp ice that filled her heart demanded blood.
And Kushina would be happy to spill it.
Of course, she was also intelligent enough to realize she couldn't be as impulsive as was she normally. It was such impulsive action that had led to her son's suffering in the first place, more could certainly do no good.
Uzumaki heat would not suit her in this situation, her wrath would have to be frozen.
The only question remaining, of course, would be where her wrath would be directed first. Kurenai came to mind but was quickly dismissed. Yes, the woman had failed her, but she had to admit that she had only requested that she check up on her son and offer help. She may not have taken him in, but she had no way to know if she had been aiding him. The fact that she knew of his apartment showed that they at least had contact, which was more than she could say for others.
Tsunade was one of those 'others', one that, as far as she could tell, never made contact with her son. Some might say she was jumping to conclusions but with Yugao mentioning that she rarely left her compound and a lack of updates from the woman it wasn't hard to see that Naruto had not seen his godmother. He could have gone to the compound but she had never told him of his godmother, knowing that there was a good chance he would never meet the nomadic drunk. She mentioned her in the letter she left for him but that really didn't help anyone sealed in the compound as it was.
Clan friends were next. The Uzumaki had always had good relations with the Aburame in Konoha and were pretty close to the Inuzuka whose pack loyalty was very much like their own belief that family was more important than anything else. She might be able to understand them not helping him with the Yamanaka after he had surrendered the Uzumaki name, but there was no reason they couldn't help him before things came to that.
He probably would have fit in well enough with the Aburame, though she had to grudgingly admit that while the two clans were on good terms, they weren't all that close. Going out of their way to help him after she had left with no prior warning to them wasn't a very Aburame action. They, like the Inuzuka with their pack and the Uzumaki with their family, were concerned primarily for the hive. Naruto was not a member of their hive, such a spontaneous act of kindness and goodwill towards an outsider wouldn't make much sense to them.
And they couldn't have thought about bettering their relations with the Uzumaki, either. As far as they could tell Naruto was unwanted. In fact, it may be because of that they stayed away, juts in case they might draw the ire of her and her daughter by aiding him.
The Inuzuka were likely to be of a similar mindset. After all, if the Uzumaki pack didn't want him, why would they want him in theirs?
Of course, whether or not that was even close to the truth remained unknown and trying to justify it on their behalf just made her more angry.
That anger had just one last target;
The Yamanaka.
It was they who caused him, indirectly as it may have been, to cast away the Uzumaki name and it was they who publically stood against him. Any enemy of her son's was an enemy of Uzumaki Kushina.
And that made them the perfect target for her rage.
Only the light scratching of a pen broke the silence of the room as Yamanaka Ino continued to work. It had been some time since she had finished telling her tale and yet Naruko couldn't bring herself to move. The Yamanaka heiress didn't seem bothered by it as she continued to make her way through the stack of papers on her desk, in fact, Naruko had a feeling the girl-no, young woman- was enjoying the company, silent as it was, while she worked.
Looking at the amount of work the girl had in trying to run her clan added to the career she was trying to start as a Kunoichi it wasn't surprising that she just didn't have the time for social interaction. Just being in the presence of someone else was likely a very welcome change for the heiress.
But it wasn't thoughts of the young woman's social life that had her unmoved from her seat, rather, thoughts of her brother's dealings with the clan ran through her head. Her heart may have called out in disbelief, but she knew it to be true.
Her brother had always been prideful, though avoiding most people it was seldom seen, and she had, at one point, liked to consider herself his pride. And while that may have changed, it would seem that his prideful nature had not. The Yamanaka heiress had struck at his pride and in retaliation he had crushed them.
He had built himself an army, the heiress had claimed, for the sole purpose of crushing his opponents into the dust. Kept in the dark as they were, most of Konoha's populace didn't even believe of their existence and claims of this shadow army had only served to lower the reputation of the Mindwalkers in the eyes of Konoha.
She had to wonder if he would have reacted in such a way should she have ben harmed in some way. Before she had left with her mother the answer was certainly yes, but now, after leaving him for four years, she had a sinking feeling that he wouldn't lift a finger.
From knowledge of his interrogation at the hands of Ino's father, leaked to the heiress by the man himself, to the suspicion that surrounded his bringing of Yamanaka Tatsuki's corpse to the clan head and the subsequent accusations of murder and cries for blood it was easy to tell she had missed a lot while she was away.
As much as she wished it wasn't true, one could not deny that it was all too easy for these things to change her beloved brother. Her own interactions pointed towards it being true.
And, admittedly, it scared her.
Just how much had he really changed?
What else had happened to him that the Yamanaka heiress didn't know of?
And for how much of his misfortune did he blame the family that left him?
Standing up, she thanked the Yamanaka heiress for her time before showing herself out of the compound. Her mother would need to know.
It took her a few minutes to get home, or perhaps it had been hours, maybe even seconds. Time seemed to have lost its hold on her as rampant thoughts pulled her mind in a different direction with each step.
She found her mother in the study, hastily penning a letter with a sense of urgency she hadn't seen in a very long time. When the Uzumaki matriarch turned to look at her there was a fire in her eyes. Not one that spoke solely of determination, but mainly one of rage and vengeance.
"M-mom?"
"Yes, sweetie?" The way she answered through her teeth was all the confirmation Naruko needed. Her mother was obviously struggling to keep her rage in check which meant whatever it was she was doing was extremely important.
"I-" Naruko took a deep breath to try and calm her nerves. "I learned what happened to Nii-Kun."
Her mother seemed slightly surprised by that but instead of asking what had happened simply inquired as to how she had come to learn it. Evidently she herself had recently learned from someone else.
"I talked to Yamanaka Heiress, Ino. She told me what's been happening." Her mother immediately scowled upon the mention of the clan of Mindwalkers.
"I'm sure the little bitch told you all sorts of lies." The venom in her words took Naruko by surprise. She couldn't ever remember her mother speaking with such hate and loathing for anyone.
"No, I'm pretty sure she was telling the truth. She didn't paint herself in a very favorable light-"
"Probably just wanted pity." Her mother interrupted.
"It didn't seem that way."
"The Yamanaka have always been manipulators." She said as she stood from her desk and gathered a small stack of letters. "You shouldn't believe them."
"But shouldn't we at least hear them out to decide for ourselves?"
"No."
"So you don't want to know what she said?"
"It doesn't' matter, the Yamanaka are going to be taken care of soon enough."
"But-"
"No 'buts'. I need to get in contact with a few people. I'll be back later."
And with that she was gone. The information she had gathered and her opinions on it dismissed, Naruko wondered if this was how Naruto first felt when they had vanished from his life. Of course, if that was the case, she would also have to wonder if her mother really would be back later.
Deep within the blackness she seethed. She had been so close- so damn close!
With great effort on her part she had been able to watch the spar from Naruko's eyes, was at long last able to gaze upon the young man who meant everything to her. Her warden had been there, within reach of the girl, and yet she was still trapped here unable to touch him.
It had been maddening to feel so oh so familiar chakra signature, but to see him to? Never before had she felt so frustrated.
Of course, that moment where he stopped to look at Naruko- look at her- had made it all worth it. His eyes hadn't been hard at that moment, filled instead with a slight respect at how well Naruko coped after the loss of her top, and to see that through the girl's eyes made her heart soar.
She had been so happy, in fact, that she ended up missing her host's use of chains against her beloved warden. There was rage and distress at the sight of his blood but a great joy when he used the chakra chains she had taught him to overpower his sister's.
Being a being of chakra, she was concerned with the sight of his black chains and the way they seemed to suck in light rather than glow as a chakra manifestation should have but she had no time to worry about it when her host began calling upon her chakra.
Refilling her reserves after her warden had stopped such a draining attack she could have understood, healing any wounds she may have received she would have been okay with, enhancing reflexes using her chakra like a small burst of adrenaline would have been acceptable, but the second her host dared to think she'd be allowed to access any form of the Biju cloak she brought upon her the wrath of the Kyuubi no Kitsune.
Her wrath was felt.
They had a simple agreement. Naruko would return her to her warden and she, in return, would not just allow access to her near infinite stores of chakra, but would aid her in using them. The girl had never before experienced the true might of her chakra until the moment she had stopped protecting her from it.
Hopefully it was a lesson the girl would not soon forget.
But, lesson learned or not, it did little to change the fact that this would make it harder for Naruko to uphold her end of the deal, and such a simple part it was, too! So long as she was back with her warden the girl would have unlimited, assisted access to the most powerful source of chakra available.
And then she pulled this shit.
She was stopped from using it, painfully, but that was not sufficient for her mistake. Proper punishment would serve as a motivator, and what better punishment than the one you inflict on yourself? She would continue to allow the girl access, of course, but no longer would she be aiding her. It would be painful, it would be difficult, and she would have no one to blame but herself each time she accessed the chakra of the great Kyuubi no Kitsune.
Maybe then she'd realize just how serious she was about being returned to her wonderful warden.
And if she didn't?
Well, Mito would just have to take a more active role in convincing the girl that this was important-
Not just for Mito, but for her own health.
After all, Mito could do some nasty things with her chakra.
It wasn't until three that afternoon that Naruto and Shizune went their separate ways. As soon as Shizune had disappeared into the crowds of Konoha's market district Naruto turned his attention to a nearby wolf. He shouldn't have been able to see them, which meant the Wolf intended to be seen. Such suspicion was confirmed when they pointed towards a nearby alley.
It would appear something had come up.
Making his way through the masses of people he slipped between two buildings and traveled back until the shadows hid him completely. It was only seconds until he was joined by the Wolf who promptly kneeled before him.
"Naruto-Sama, Mai-Taichou and Sai-Taichou await you in your office."
"And did they say why?"
"No, Naruto-Sama." The Wolf shook his head. "But they said you would want to know as soon as possible. I believe it might have something to do with the latest report from one of our global operatives but I don't know where the report came from or what it said."
"Very well, return to whatever it was you were doing beforehand."
"By your command, Naruto-Sama!"
With a bow he was gone and Naruto walked back into the light of the afternoon sun. If Mai and Sai thought it was important it was going to be important. In fact, if it was important enough to be brought to his attention like this than it was beyond important. As such he wasted no time in reaching the Den and making his way to his office where his two most trusted Wolves stood waiting for him.
"Naruto-Sama" they both greeted him, Mai sending him a faint smile as Sai snapped into a salute.
"Sai, Mai, I hear the two of you needed to speak with me." He took a seat behind his desk and gestured to the seats before it.
"That's right, Naruto-Sama." Confirmed Mai as she took a seat and turned to face Sai. "Do you want to start?"
"Might as well." Came his response. "We recently received a report from Keigo who we sent to monitor the situation in Kirigakure no Sato and Mizu no Kuni. While it has nothing to do with the bloodline purges or the rebellion yet, it does mention an opportunity we would be foolish not to look into."
"Oh?" Naruto raised a brow. "What did he find?"
"Nami no Kuni is currently under the control of a man by the name of Gato, a shipping tycoon. With his control over the ports there and his hands in all sorts of black market operations he's become one of the richest- if not the richest- men in the world."
"And how is this good for us? You are not suggesting we try to take him out, are you? You should know that would be suicide for the Wolves, the rest of the world would rip us apart."
"We understand that, Naruto-Sama." Mai answered. "Keigo reports that there is a bridge builder attempting to break Gato's hold on the country and might try to get in contact with Konoha for protection. If we were to help instead we'd have Nami no Kuni in our debt."
Scratching his chin, Naruto thought for a moment before shaking his head.
"You're looking at this from the wrong angle." He spoke. "While it's a good opportunity to aid the people of Wave, it's also a good opportunity to aid Gato."
The two Wolves shared disbelieving looks.
"I- I don't mean to question you Naruto-Sama, but while you have supported bandits and warlords in the past, do you really want to do that here when there's another option?" She asked him. Next to her Sai gave a nod, showing that he too shared her thoughts.
"My options here are help the people of Wave on the chance that we may be able to benefit from it or help Gato, start getting paid immediately for our services and eventually take over."
"It would be a bit hard taking over if the people loathed us. An iron fist approach like Gato wouldn't work for us; we don't have nearly as many friends as he does." Noted Sai.
"Part of taking over is undermining Gato. If our people are there under his authority then they can help protect the citizens from whatever other hired muscle he has. We gain the reputation of fair enforcers on Gato's paycheck and when we eventually turn on him the people will be more likely to accept our control. We can let them do as they see fit for the most part, what we really need is the ports. With them under control we have instant influence."
"There's also the matter of whatever funds Gato has with him at the moment." Commented Mai, bringing a smile to Naruto's face.
"That's just a pretty little bonus. We'll need to recall some of our operatives though, how go things in the Land of Lightning?"
"We're not making much progress, unfortunately." Confessed Sai.
"We're supporting two bandit groups at the moment over there, no?"
"That's correct."
"Well then, choose the weakest one, support him fully, wipe out the competition, and leave him be. We can come back later to pick up where we left off. If he happens to get wiped out, so be it. This opportunity is far more valuable."
"I'm sure the Wolves will be pleased." Sai knew that even with their current tasks the Wolves under his control were getting restless. They needed something big, something that would make full use of their talents. Being hired muscle for warlords and small time bandits was better than nothing but a far cry from what they wanted.
"They will certainly be well fed if Gato has even a fraction of his wealth stored in Nami no Kuni. So well, in fact, that we may have to have some more Wolves to keep any of it from going to waste. " He paused, looking at the two sat before him. "And that brings us to the next matter that needs attention. Sai, you now have complete control of the Wolves. You will answer to Mai, who will keep me informed."
"Of course, Naruto-Sama, but may I ask why?"
"I have recently come to control a second group, one which I will be referring to as the Flock. Their leader will also answer to Mai, who will manage both groups and report to me."
"And who is their leader?" Asked Mai.
"Hinata." The two of them stared at him as if he had told them he was going to become a hooker.
"Our timid little lamb?" Mai was the first to regain their ability to speak.
"And that's why I call it the Flock. It would seem my removal of her first seal and the subsequent disabling of her second has led some of the branch members to believe that fate itself has decreed that she was not to join the branch family. I admit, it sounds quite strange, but I can understand a group coming to such a conclusion. Of course, being Hyuuga, they've taken it farther and now believe that Hinata is a goddess."
Sai choked on air.
"A Goddess?" He managed to get out.
"Indeed. They know of her Wolf guards but not of us, I intend for it to stay that way. But, what that means is that I have new forces here in Konoha, so you can focus your attention outside our walls. I want you to begin recruiting more. Find a few of the Wolves who know the most about the training you yourselves went through and bring more into our packs. We'll have to apply seals to them but I should be able to replicate its affects properly."
"I understand, did you want all your guards removed?"
"No, leave a few, no more than four, but we should be able to stop watching Konoha now that we have new eyes."
"Of course, will that be all?"
"It should be, you are dismissed." Naruto turned his attention to Mai. "I need you to make contact with Hinata, inform her of what I said here. I would recommend waiting for her after tomorrow's team training so that other Hyuuga don't see you. We need them to believe their goddess is running things here or we may lose them."
"I understand, would you have anything else of me?"
"No, you're free to go. Just know that I've already given Hinata orders for the Flock which she should have passed on by now. She isn't likely to have anything else for you for quite some time, but ensure she maintains control. Having influence within the Hyuuga clan may prove to be an invaluable boon to us."
"Of course, by your command, Naruto-Sama." She gave a quick bow before leaving him in his office.
Leaning back in his chair, Naruto gave a deep sigh and massaged the bridge of his nose. The Hyuuga had been unexpected and the opportunity in wave provided a chance to start playing on a global scale far earlier than he had thought possible. He was done with the Yamanaka, they should serve to keep other clans dismissing him if he attempted to initiate contact but he still needed to choose one that would be able to benefit his pack.
Of course, then there was the mess with his returning family. Kushina wasn't going to give up, she was too damn stubborn, but he really didn't want anything to do with the woman. He had his own life now, his own family, and she didn't have a place in it yet.
Nor did he intend to give her one.
But she would no doubt try and he was absolutely certain it would end up causing problems for him in the future. There was nothing he could do about it though, save for having her killed, but not only did he lack any desire to end her life, he also doubted his ability to have it done. Sure, his wolves were just about equivalent to ANBU but Kushina was a highly skilled Jounin. The chances of losing some of his Wolves were too high and in the event that they did manage to kill her the leaf would be that much weaker.
And so he'd simply have to deal with her and whatever it was she did as it happened.
While she wouldn't be striking against him- at least not knowingly- and was certainly not what he would consider an opponent, he still loathed the idea of letting someone else have the first move. Not only did it give them the advantage but the wait was agonizing.
He'd need to find something else to occupy his time for a while until she showed her hand and hope that it wasn't at an inopportune time.
Though, with his luck, she was very likely to choose the absolute worst time to try something.
He gave another sigh. Things were starting to pick up and yet there was nothing he could do but wait.
He really needed a hobby.
Something was very wrong in the Hyuuga clan.
That's not to say things were ever normal within the clan, but as of late things just seemed off.
She was the heiress, the future head of the mighty Hyuuga clan and yet ever since her sister had been marked she had actually received less respect from the branch family. She would punish them, of course, but all they ever did was smile and accept it, as if there was some great joke she wasn't privy to.
And then there was her sister's mark. It had disappeared, for fucks sake! Seals don't just remove themselves and it had obviously taken hold because she herself had used it against her sister and yet it had simply vanished. They marked her again after that and punished her for its disappearance, but the very next day her new seal had stopped working.
There wasn't anything they could do at that point because there was no way to remove the seal and none of the Hyuuga were skilled enough with seals to attempt fixing the disfunctioning one already on her brow.
There had been some talk soon after of the Yamanaka heiress trying to make her sister do something –what, exactly, she was not aware- but the elders and her father seemed too frustrated by the odd seal to care. When one Uzumaki Naruto stepped in and forsook his name in order to go against the clan of Mindwalkers the Hyuuga washed their hands of the matter.
They were represented, in a way, and really didn't care who came out on top –though it was doubtful that anything would actually happen- but she was certain they hoped something would happen to the disgraced former heiress during the conflict.
Instead, they found themselves surprised when the Yamanaka were brought to their knees. Her father had warned her that day that while the boy named Naruto might not be all that powerful, especially after renouncing his clan name, he obviously had some powerful allies. That day's lesson had ended up focusing on alliances and diplomacy, one that her father claimed to be sorely tempted to allow her a chance to try it in the real world using the formerly Uzumaki boy.
In the end he had decided against it, not wanting to be publically against the Yamanaka. That, in turn, led to another lesson of the balance kept between the clans of Konohagakure no Sato. It was not one of the more enjoyable lessons she had been given.
But moving past that, recently the branch family-or most of it, anyway- seemed far more cheerful than they should have been and certainly more cheerful than was proper for any Hyuuga to show. Something had happened, or was happening, and judging by how content her sister appeared to be lately she'd be willing to bet she was at the center of it.
And Hyuuga Hanabi, heiress of the Hyuuga clan, was going to find out what.
It could have been left by anyone. Yugao had been hear earlier, Anko and Kurenai had access, and Mai could have easily had one of the Wolves leave it on her behalf. Despite that, he knew even before opening it that it had to be from his godfather.
Unfortunately, he still didn't know who that was. His only real clue was the mention of the Kusanagi in the letter that was left with Mōryō's Tooth and while there were plenty of references of it throughout history there was nothing about it recently. Or, at least, nothing about it recently that he had access too.
And that only made him more curious as to this mysterious godparent.
Opening the box that fit easily in one hand he withdrew a golden amulet. Tight rings were bent into a circle that reminded him of a coiled serpent. The middle of the medallion was empty space and it was attached to a simple black cord. At first glance, this was probably the simplest of gifts he had ever received.
A quick look at the note that accompanied it, however, would prove that wrong.
The Amulet of Aū first belonged to the high priest of Aū, the golden serpent god of the sun. When Aū's light shines upon it, one may offer their blood as tribute to the Great Serpent in return for the aid of one of his children. All who wear this representation of the Serpent God are protected from his kind, even against those commanded by a Snake Sage.
And it all clicked into place.
The picture of the snake, an amulet of the serpents, a sword considered cursed, trying to aid him by placing explosive corpses within the Yamanaka compound, and information blocked to those not high ranking enough to know. Who could have obtained the legendary Kusanagi but him? And who could have his information so restricted but the greatest traitor to ever abandon Konoha?
It had to be, then. There was no other option;
His Godfather was Orochimaru of the Sannin.
He really didn't know what to think of that.
But, quite curiously, despite having always signed his letter as his godfather, this one read 'Your loving godparent.'
How odd.
Thanks for visiting, I look forward to seeing you all at the showing of the next act.