Naruko Uzumaki Namikaze Musume no Kyuubi

by hiddenwarrior29

Naruko Uzumaki, pariah of the Leaf, was forced to live on the streets of her village after she gets thrown out of the orphanage. But when the villagers go to far and a mysterious man saves her and takes her away to reveal things of her past and abilities she could not have dreamt of. Will she be able to see past her hatred or will she destroy the Leaf with the powers she has?

16. Chapter 13

A/N: Hey guys, I am finally able to write again. I know it is very rude of me to keep you waiting. But I had valid reasons. I started university, I had to get housing sorted and financing sorted and all the BS. On top of that, getting a new Laptop having problems with getting it set up and synching it with this one. But the past is in the past, and I will try to hammer some words down.

On a brighter note, I have been gifted a story from a friend who wants to have it published so that will come on as well at the end of the month, hopefully.

Well you know the drill R/R

The Clan Grows

Naruko awoke from her sleep. She looked around and noticed she was in a hospital room. Triala was lying at the end of the bed. She looked up and noticed her Mistress was awake.

"Mistress, you're finally awake," she exclaimed.

"Finally, you have been sleeping for more than a day now. Tsunade-sama said, that she sedated you in order for you to completely heal. She also said that while you may not need it, she would still do it to calm her own soul."

"I see. What of the others? How are they fairing?"

"Choji-sama has been healed and fed, he will make a full recovery. Neji-sama was the most critical along with Kiba-sama and Akamaru-san. They both had to have intensive care and surgery, but will both also make a full recovery. Karin-sama is uninjured and has helped Haku-sama greatly with the treatments of our kin. Tayuya-sama, Nagai Ha-sama, Mara-sama and Shikamaru-sama are uninjured as well. Lee-sama and Gaara-sama, have been treated for minor injuries and mild Chakra Exhaustion. Sasuke-sama is still in an artificial coma and is not expected to wake up until the end of the month. The Cursed Seal has taken quite the toll on his body and was sealed until it can be cleansed or removed. Other than that, there are the four special guests that are still sealed away in their respective Stasis Cage Seals. Those four are still in need of treatment, but are being held in the Sealing Shrine of the compound."

"Very good. Thank you, Triala-chan. Now then, could you lead me to the rooms of the others? I still have to hand in my report, as well as theirs."

Triala nodded and leapt off the bed. Naruko got up and dressed herself in her standard attire. Then she walked out behind Triala. Room after room, she visited her comrades and told them to hand their reports in to her the next day. After that she made her way home, her clan members following soon after. At the compound, she created a clone to write her report, while she walked to the Sealing Shrine.

She entered the shrine and saw the four scrolls that held her potential new members to her clan. She unsealed the first and saw it was the strong man that had first stood in their path. Using her Orion'aigan, she quickly healed him and woke him up.

"Urgh… Where am I?" he said sitting up.

"Safe, warm, healed and still very much alive, though the latter can change rather quickly, if you act rashly. You are in my home, I have healed you and I am interested in your abilities. I can offer you protection from Orochimaru by adopting you into my clan. However, your Cursed Seal must be cleansed so that he may no longer have a hold over you. The choice is yours to make. Life in freedom or death in slavery. A new beginning or the end. A new life or a swift death. What do you choose?"

"Hah! As if someone like you could rid me of this mark."

Naruko released her Henge and stared at him.

"I am the Kyuubi no Kitsune, do you really think an insignificant worm such as Orochimaru, has the power to overpower me? If you wish, I can get Tayuya and have her show you the result of my powers. Her mark has already been cleansed. So, what do you choose, answer now or I will make the decision for you."

Jirobo looked up to her and nodded.

"Then my path is clear, I will follow you and join your Clan."

"Very good. Please give me some of your blood and prepare for a world of pain."

He nodded and let her cut his palm. After a few minutes of pain, worse than he had ever experienced, he was thriving on the floor twitching in pain. Another brief moments later, the pain subsided and he relaxed. Naruko created another clone and had it carry him to the sleeping quarters, where he would be guarded by one of the clan.

She looked at the remaining scrolls and unsealed them one after the other, doing the same procedure as she did with Jirobo. The result of her time spent in the shrine were four new members to the Uzumaki Clan. She was feeling rather good about the outcome of the events. She exited the shrine and walked into the kitchen. She made herself some tea and sat down with a deep sigh.

"Ryu for your thoughts?" came a voice from behind her.

"I would appreciate that very much, Holy Mother. Please take a seat. Can I offer you some tea?"

The Holy Mother nodded and Naruko poured some tea into another cup and handed it to her. The Holy Mother took a sip and sighed in content.

"I heard from Mara and Hogo-sha about your mission. You showed true excellence as a leader. They were both very impressed by yours and your mate's strategy. And I must say I am too. You made a wise choice picking him, Naruko-chan."

"Thank you for your kind words. I am glad that the mission turned out the way it did, and it is only thanks to luck, that we did not suffer any losses. I did not take a number of factors into account, which could have helped in the outcome of the mission. But in the end, it worked out fine."

"Correct, so there is no need for you to trouble yourself with the 'what ifs'. The mission has passed and was successful, all you can do now is learn from the experiences. I hope that this helped you a bit."

"It did… Thank you. Is there anything else you need?"

"Yes… What is to become of the one of the Spiders. His clan has betrayed us in the past and our customs dictate that their bloodline has to answer for the actions of their ancestors."

"Yes. And I do agree with our customs, however, I am also against eradicating the bloodline completely from this world. That would put us on the same level as Uchiha Madara and I am never going to stoop that low. Also, I believe he has suffered enough for the sins of his ancestors. Here are a few droplets of his blood. Drink and I am sure you will see the same."

The Holy Mother nodded and took the small phial of blood. She drank the contents and her eyes widened slightly.

"You are correct. The Man of the White Snake has made him suffer enough. He shall be allowed to live amongst us again."

"Thank you for this kindness, Holy Mother. Is there anything else that I can do for you?"

"No, but I can do something for you. The hunters that Hogo-sha sent out to find your lost kin have returned. They have found all three of the remaining Biju. All of them are sealed away inside a human, which makes your plans go ahead as scheduled. This scroll describes, where they are and what they are capable of. I wish you good hunting, young huntress, I bid you fare well."

She put a scroll on the table and left the room. Naruko opened the scroll and began to read the information the tribe had gathered about the three remaining Jinchuuriki.

Nanabi, Chomei, Fu. Young girl, orange eyes, mint hair, dark skin. Residing in Takigakure no Sato. Seems to have a strong connection to the village head Shibuki, but other than that is rarely seen in the company of people. She seems to enjoy solitude and prefers to avoid human contact. She seems to be still in the academy but knows how to defend herself, likely due to the village head teaching her techniques. She is above average in the Shinobi Arts for an academy student and seems able to communicate with her tenant. Also, she has been seen awakening her youki. Contact has confirmed interest in leaving her village and joining the Uzumaki, but wishes to speak with Chomei-sama and Kurama-sama as well as Naruko-sama first.

Gobi, Kokuo, Han. A tall man wearing red armor. Residing in Iwagakure. He is inheritor of the Futton. All interactions observed indicated a strong distaste for humanity. The reason likely being the way he was treated ever since he was sacrificed. He is calm and collected, but can also fight with great ferocity. His fighting abilities center around Taijutsu, which he has demonstrated great prowess in. Han has full control over his tenant and communicates freely with him. When contacted, Han displayed little interest in hearing us out, but when told we were sent by the heir of Kurama-sama he was willing to listen to the offer and told us that it is to be made to him in person by the heir, Naruko-sama.

Yonbi, Son Goku, Roshi. Identifiable by his red hair. Not an Uzumaki. Residing in Iwagakure for a few more months before leaving again. He is inheritor of the Yoton. Roshi is stubborn and hard headed. He seems to tolerate the humans around him and is often seen taking difficult routes to avoid human contact. He has been the holder of Son Goku-sama for the better part of thirty years and has full control over the powers he was granted. He can talk freely with his tenant and is often seen smiling when talking to him. His fighting capabilities are to the point. He does not play with his foes, but puts an end to the fight quickly. He carries a curved Kunai which he can use with great proficiency. When we made contact, he agreed to a meeting in person with our superior, Naruko-sama.

'So, it seems all three of them are willing to join our family… I'll have to see what I can do. Son Goku-sama is the main priority as he will be leaving Iwa and we'll have to track him down once more. While I get Roshi, I could also get Han leaving only Fu… Taki ehh. Well let's see what we can do there but first I need to get to Iwa.'

Nodding to herself she left the kitchen and walked to the Hokage Tower. There might be a mission to be done in the Land of Earth. As she walked through the streets, she saw Uchiha Mikoto walking towards the hospital. The Uchiha Matriarch was looking distressed so Naruko walked over to her.

"Good day to you, Mikoto-san. Are you on your way to visit Sasuke?"

"Yes. Naruko, I cannot thank you enough for what you have done. You and your platoon have done something truly remarkable. The Uchiha can't thank you enough."

"I thank you for the kind words, but it was a team effort and we managed to succeed. We were able to prevent a comrade from being taken and that is all the thanks we need. So, do you know anything in particular about Sasuke's condition?"

"Not more than the doctors, I am afraid. Lady Tsunade herself has tried everything in her power to try and reverse the effects of the Cursed Seal, but as the seal was forced into maturity in a matter of a couple of days and used to such an extent in a mental collapse, and the amount of damage he suffered in the battle with you, all she can do is slow the effects to a stop and nothing more."

The Uchiha Matriarch sighed in distress.

"If you wish I could have a look at him. My Dojutsu allows me a detailed view of someone's body, giving me the power to assess injuries of the person I am looking at."

"I would greatly appreciate that, Naruko."

"I have to do a little errand and then I will come by as soon as I am done."

Mikoto nodded and they split ways. Naruko started to walk with a little more power to her step and in no time, she was at the Tower she entered and walked straight to the Hokage's office. One of the benefits of being a Jonin. She knocked on the door and was beckoned to come in. Tsunade seemed to be surprised to see her.

"Naruko, what are you doing here. You're on leave for the rest of the month and you should still be in hospital, not requesting missions."

"I have not come here to request missions, Hokage-sama. I came here to ask that if there is mission in the territories of Tsuchi no Kuni, it is to be reserved for me."

"And why should I reserve a mission that is at least to be ranked A to a rookie Jonin?" Tsunade asked curiously.

"I have personal business there and it would be a lot easier for me to do, if I had a mission to allow me into the lands of Earth. Especially now that my heritage has been revealed. And judging from rumors, the Namikaze name is still something that causes some difficulties. I hope it is not too much of a bother for you, Tsunade-sama."

"I will think on this, and may reserve a mission for you, if one as such comes in."

"That is all I ask. Thank you for your time, Hokage-sama."

She bowed and left the room. She exited the tower and headed towards the ANBU HQ. She entered the small complex and went straight to the elevator. Putting on her mask, she stepped out of the elevator. She went straight to her captain's office to talk with him.

"Washi-taichou, I request a reservation for a mission to Iwagakure no Sato, or anywhere within the borders of Tsuchi no Kuni."

"And why are you requesting such a mission, Kitsune?"

"Personal reasons, Taicho."

"Very well, your request is granted, though I cannot guarantee to hold the mission for too long if you are not within the village."

"I understand."

She bowed and left. She returned to the surface she made her way to the outskirts of the village. In an uncompleted house at the corner of an abandoned building project. She opened a hatch in a back room. She dropped down and landed without a sound a couple of feet down. She made her way down the corridors that stretched below. She walked down the paths and soon was at the center of ROOT. While not easy, she had analyzed what little traces there were of the Security Seals in place and had managed to create a seal that kept her hidden from those seals. The only reason she didn't tell Danzo about it was that it had taken thousands and thousands of clones studying the smallest details of each seal for months, to create the seal she now had and that it would take a seal master of Jiraiya's level a few centuries to recreate or create on himself, so the entirety of ROOT was still secure. Other than that, she amused herself with his reactions, when she appeared apparently out of nowhere behind his back. She silently walked into his office.

"Shimura-san, I hope I am not interrupting anything too important," Naruko said with a smile.

Danzo turned with a Kunai in hand. Naruko dodged the first strike and lazily blocked the follow up. Danzo calmed down and stepped back. With a deep breath, he relaxed completely.

"You really have to stop doing that, Naruko. I may be keeping up with my training regime from half a century ago, but even I am starting to feel my years. Why are you here? Do you need information?"

"Actually, I came to ask a favor of you. I need a mission inside the borders of Tsuchi no Kuni. Preferably a target within Iwagakure."

"It is not my business to ask why you want this mission, just assure me that it will not endanger the village."

"Trust me, it will put me closer to my goals and will be an incentive for enemy shinobi not to attack. You have my word."

Danzo nodded and Naruko left again. She made her way back to the village center and from there towards the hospital. When she got there, she was greeted with smiles. She instantly tensed, smiling civilians meant something was up and it usually wasn't good. She walked to the main counter and told the nurse why she was there.

"Of course, Uchiha-sama is in room four hundred and seven. He is being guarded by ANBU so I do not know if you can go in, Uzumaki-sama," The nurse replied with a polite tone.

"Thank you for the information. Have a nice day," Naruko said, returning the smile.

She walked up the stairs and along the corridors until she came to the right room. There were two ANBU posted at the door. They tensed and stood at attention when they saw her approaching. She pulled out her mask and they nodded. One of them gave her a piece of paper and she took it with a stiff nod. They let her in and shut the door. Mikoto was in the room with Shizune discussing the chart.

"Excuse me, Shizune-nee. I hope you don't mind if I have a look at Sasuke-san?"

"Of course, not Naruko-chan. Lady Tsunade and I are at the end of our rope, maybe you can get somewhere with the abilities you have."

Naruko nodded and activated her Orion'aigan and looked at the body of the unconscious Uchiha. She saw the damage she had done directly to him. A few fractures, multiple bruises all over the body, his left arm was charred and had suffered extreme trauma. But what seemed to be the main issue was the Cursed Seal itself. As it had been forced into the second stage without prior maturing, the seal had started to eat away at the chakra pathways themselves. Orochimaru would have probably calmed the seal down when Sasuke got there but right now all that could be done was study the seal. Applying chakra to her hands, she touched the seal and then put it on an empty piece of paper. Instantly the seal appeared on it.

"I'll analyze the seal as quickly as I can, but for now keep him like this and concentrate on healing the fractured bones and that arm. That is all we can do until I can find a way to either seal or cleanse it."

"I will do that, thank you, Naruko."

Naruko nodded and left the hospital. She started to make her way to the compound. Something was off with that seal. Normally its only purpose was to change the chakra structure of the bearer to make them more compliant with the one who cast it. A welcome side effect was the alteration of thought processes. The bearer would start thinking similarly as the caster often times bringing the bearer to the wielder. This version however forced the changes immediately as well as implanting a fragment of the casters soul into the seal, and by follow up the bearer, forcing them to start thinking like the caster by force. On top of that the short time it uses to reach its maturity makes the corrosiveness of the 'curse' grows exponentially. She had finally made her way to her home and instant locked herself into her study.

She looked at the seal and created a clone. She applied the seal to it and watched what happened. After a short scream of pain the clone collapsed and dispelled. She created a Time Clone and applied the seal again. The clone gave a pained cry and collapsed riving in pain. Naruko monitored the vitals and after a few hours the clone awoke, laughing madly as it tried to leave. Naruko had place a Siege Area Seal in the room and had prevented the clone from moving by placing a Paralyzing Seal that could stop even an Elder Dragon of the Mountain Dragons. Her father had not been pleased to find himself on the receiving end of that seal.

"Calm yourself. We need to find a way to seal this."

The clone stared at her and tilted her head to the side.

"You know what has to be done."

The clone kept staring and Naruko sighed. She raised her Killing Intent so far that she feared it might leak through the seal and into the house. The clone thanks to the modifications Naruko had done was looking fearful.

"You will do exactly what I say, will you not?" she asked menacingly.

The clone nodded quickly and stood as calmly as it could. Naruko released the KI and brought out a note pad. She started analyzing the seal and scribbled down notes and ideas. After a while she applied a seal around the Cursed Seal.

"Try awakening the seal."

The clone did. After a few seconds the seal evaporated from its skin and black marking in the form of scales appeared on her body.

"Okay, reign it back in."

The clone struggled a bit but soon the marks receded. Naruko scribbled down a few more ideas. Again, she drew another seal and let the clone awaken the Cursed Seal. This time the marks spread a lot slower and the seal held. Naruko wrote down her observations and scribbled down a few new ideas. After a few hours of devising and theorizing she applied a new seal. The clone awakened the Cursed Seal but the seal seemed to be struggling. Naruko wrote down this breakthrough and scribbled down more ideas. And so, through trial and error she drew seal after seal until she finally had a seal that did exactly did what it should. She had managed to make a seal that completely sealed off any and all influences from the Cursed Seal as well as stop the bearer from using the seal willingly. But she had to make sure there were no side effects, she had the clone dispel itself and went over its memories. Once that was done and she was pulled out of her musings by a knock on the door.

"Naruko-sama? Naruko-sama? Are you in there?"

She walked over to the door and opened it. In front of her stood one of the Silent Stalkers. Their all black uniform and the red Uzumaki swirl on the shoulders were the only thing identifying 'The Phantoms of the Clan' as some of the children called them.

"Yes, what can I do for you?" Naruko asked with a smile.

"I was sent here by Ameyuri-sama. You have not been seen outside of your study for more than two days and I was ordered to come and get you out of the room and into the sunlight."

"I understand. Please tell her I will be outside shortly, I just need to finish up on some research."

The Stalker bowed and left. Naruko returned to her study and created one more clone. The clone waited for the seal and the counter seal to be applied and then tried to force the Cursed Seal to awaken, but try as she might, she could not even get the seal to glow. The clone dispelled and Naruko found there were no side effects. Immediately she left the room.

"Gaara, Yugito on me now!"

The two were on her tail in an instant and followed her.

"What is going on, Nee-sama?" Gaara asked.

"I finally figured out a way to seal that Cursed Seal on the Uchiha. I want you to give me back up in case there are difficulties with the seal."

"Alright, we will have your back, Naruko."

"Thank you."

They raced to the hospital and went straight to Sasuke's room. After a brief preparation Naruko started to apply the counter seal. After an hour, it was finally done and with a burst of chakra she activated it. Sasuke rived in pain for a second and then relaxed. Naruko let out a sigh and went to find Shizune. After a few minutes, they found her.

"The Cursed Seal is sealed and it should not be able to do anymore damage. I will see if I can't cleanse it, but it will take time."

Shizune nodded and they left. Naruko made a clone to inform Mikoto. She and her escorted made her way back to the estate. She wisely decided to bring her notes to the garden, before risking Ameyuri breaking open her study. She had a clone make her some tea and started reading over all the notes she made over the last couple of days. After a few hours, she sealed it all away and decided to get some shut eye. She let herself fall asleep in the chair she was currently in and rested her mind.

The next day she awoke inside on the couch in the living room. She looked around and found children playing around in front of her. When they noticed that Naruko was awake they stopped and bowed to her. Then they returned to their games. Naruko got up and made a clone to take the documents to her study and begin doing further research on cleansing Sasuke's altered seal. Once she did that she walked to the training grounds on the far side of the Uzumaki Clan grounds. When she got there, she was not surprised to see a few of the older young ones go through the first Katas of the Uzumaki Taijutsu style. It was the base of all the styles of the Uzumaki. When she had been announced clan head she had been given the entirety of the elder knowledge of the Uzumaki. And as clan head it was not only her responsibility, but her duty to master this knowledge and pass it on to the next generations of Uzumaki. She smiled when she saw some of the parents in her clan sit on the sidelines and give pointers.

"You are doing very well, young ones. It brightens my heart to see you train so vigorously. But are you ready to join the academy? Can you fight one of the higher circle? Can you hold your own against me?"

The young ones looked at her with determination. She smiled. Normally Zabuza, Bee, or the other more experienced Shinobi of the clan dealt with the challenges of the next generation, but she had done a lot of thinking in the last few days and she felt like a nice mellow spar would do her good. There were five children on the field, which meant for her five challenges.

"You all know what this means," she started calmly.

"By challenging me, you wish to prove to me and the clan, that you are willing to take the responsibility of being a Shinobi of the Uzumaki and the Village Hidden in the Leaves. If you succeed you will be considered on the path to adulthood and you will be treated as such. If, however you don't succeed, I expect you to stand tall with pride, even though you were defeated. It does us good to experience defeat from time to time, for it teaches us humility. Now who is willing to challenge me?"

All five of them stepped forwards. Naruko smiled. She looked at the parents and nodded. One of them stepped forth and stood between waiting to begin refereeing the match.

"You have been taught the ways of this ritual, even if you do not best me, you will be evaluated by myself, the referee and the spectators," Naruko said in her usual calm voice.

The five nodded.

"You are allowed to use all of the skills you have acquired up until this point. Ninjutsu, Taijutsu, Genjutsu, Kenjutsu and Fuinjutsu are all allowed. The only restrictions are that they are not to kill or permanently harm your opponent. If you do, your chakra will be sealed forever and you will forever be marked as Ataishinai. A member of the Uzumaki unworthy of succeeding the Ladder of Leadership, forever to stay on the lowest step. Do you understand this?"

Again, the five children nodded.

"Good. Put all of your weapons down and wait for the challenge weaponry to come."

She nodded at one of the parents, who stood up and hurried to the house. A few minutes later the man returned with a scroll. Naruko unsealed its contents and revealed everything from Kunai to Broadswords. All the weaponry was made of wood. On top of that the seal work on the items themselves allowed them to act exactly like their lethal counterparts. Any injury suffered, would be mimicked by in in the form of how the injury should look like.

Naruko picked up two Ninja-To and a large survival knife. She was going to limit herself to only Melee combat. While she would also limit herself to the skills she had before she was gifted with her eyes. In short, she was going to imitate a high level Chunin. She walked to her half the training field and waited for the young ones. When they were ready the one on the far left stayed while the others stayed at the sideline. Naruko nodded to the referee and he drew out the rules for the matches.

"The challenges have been made and accepted. These will be clean fights, that means no killing or crippling blows. The battle is won by either knockout, submission, a killing blow, the time runs out, one of you is pushed out of the battle field or whenever I say before your time is up. Other than that, you are tou only use the practice weaponry. Do all of you understand this? Good. Naruko-sama, do you wish to add anything?"

"Yes, remember that this is a spar. You may use any and all ideas you have, but do not endanger yourself or your opponent. Do your best and keep in mind that even if you are defeated, you can still be allowed to enter the academy."

The young ones nodded and the boy in front of her got into his fighting stance. He was wearing baggy beige pants and a dark gray t-shirt with the Uzumaki crest on front and back. He had a very peculiar choice in footwear, wearing the same type of sandal as Jiraiya.

"Hajime!"

And he was off. His speed was impressive for one his age, being able to run at speeds that rivaled a fresh Genin. He struck swiftly throwing one punch after the other flowing in and out of each attack with well-practiced ease. After a high roundhouse kick Naruko spun around low and swiped his leg away from under him. He was on the floor stunned.

"While the speed of your attacks is impressive for one of your age, this is a battle and not a dance. Stand up and try again."

Shakily the youngling got up and pulled out a Kunai. Naruko countered by bringing forth the survival knife she had on the small of her back. The boy charged, this time with well-placed strides he attacked swinging slashing and stabbing, but never succeeding in cutting her. After a few more minutes Naruko had slowly let herself be pushed back to the edge of the field. She was baiting him to go for a wild charge so she could dodge and he would disqualify himself, however the boy did the exact opposite and jumped back. He threw the Kunai and then, using the Kage Shuriken no Jutsu, faced her with a wall of pointy objects coming her way. An impressive strategy, seeing a trap and using it to aid himself by giving her little to no room to dodge. However, she still had one more ace down her boot. She pulled out a Ninja-To with her free hand and began to spin with speeds rivaling a small whirlwind. After a couple of seconds the ground was littered with kunai that dispersed a moment later. Naruko stood on the same spot she stood and charged. She had thirty seconds left, and she would use those to test his defenses. Still holding the two weapons she began her attack. Again, the boy surprised with the ability to adapt and counter. He had pulled out another Kunai and was deflecting and dodging the slashes where he could. He took several cuts that were all non-lethal and did not prevent him from fighting. Then when she let him have an opening, he dived away and threw the kunai at her unprotected back. Naruko noticed the Kunai coming towards her and spun around, deflecting it with her survival knife. Then the timer rang.

Both combatants sheathed their weapons and bowed to one another. After that Naruko tossed him the two kunai and gave him her observation.

"You have talent. You are ferocious in your attacks and kept a cool head on the defense, however that ferociousness is both your greatest strength and your greatest weakness. While you were attacking, I had numerous opportunities to end the match, however you proved yourself resourceful enough to make the best out of an opportunity many would have taken the bait in. You have my permission to enter the academy."

The boy bowed and walked to the sidelines. Just when the next child stepped onto the field, she felt her clone dispel. Her eyes widened and she smirked. Her clone had cracked the seal and had started to devise a way to cleanse it, however it was interrupted by an ANBU bringing her a note.

"I apologize, young ones, but I am needed by Hokage-sama immediately. I will send someone over to continue this, please forgive me."

She smiled and disappeared in burst of speed. On her way, out she sent Zabuza to the children to continue the challenges. She raced to the Kage Tower and made her presence known by greeting her leader, standing outside of the window on the roof.

"What can I do for you, Hokage-sama?" she said in a polite tone, dodging a sake bottle.

"Gah! Gaki, don't ever do that again. Can't you use a door like normal people?"

"I came here as fast as I could and I did not want to chance it by having to wait in line outside of your door. In any case, what is it that you need me for?"

"Your Uzumaki luck, Gaki. It seems Squad Nine is in trouble escorting a relative of the Fire Daimyo to a gala in a city near Iwagakure. It would seem that, Iwa is not allowing them passage anywhere within a twenty-mile radius of the village. The problem is that the city lies within that twenty-mile radius."

"I see, so what am I supposed to do?"

"Two things actually. Gai has managed to slip by and inform the host of the dilemma and has sent another invitation, the turtle stated it should go to someone with a high standing internationally. I can't go and none of the clan heads wish to go either."

"So, we send someone who is classed as one of the most dangerous people alive, with a status high enough that any incident, no matter how minor, could cause large amounts of problems on an international level. Someone like me. Heir to the Uzumaki and the Namikaze, an SS Class threat wanted by more than half the world. On top of that Heir to Uzushio no Kuni and the Summons of the Uzumaki. I accept the mission. What of the other scroll?"

"This one is from Danzo. He said it is best I don't know so I will trust him. All he said that it will go perfectly with the mission you just have from the FRU. Both of these missions are A-Rank and will take up to two months to complete."

"When and how long is this gala?"

"In one and a half weeks. It will be about three to five weeks. It is hard to say however as this gala is a collection of multiple festivities and gatherings for the nobles."

"In other words, it is one big excuse for nobles to get drunk during the day," Naruko deadpanned.

Tsunade nodded and gave her the scrolls. Naruko took them and turned away from the window.

"And you owe me a bottle of Saki."

Naruko raced off. She knew exactly how she was going to do this. She ran to the estate and gathered the ones she would bring along. Once they were there, she looked at them and told them what they were needed for.

"We have a golden opportunity before us dear brothers and sisters. I have just received a mission that brings us close to two more of our kin. Soon, very soon we will welcome Four and Five into our midst. We have been invited to a formal gathering among nobles. We will be representing the Uzumaki Clan, So I expect your best behavior. While the festivities are going on, I will take two of you to Iwagakure and meet up with them. Once we have convinced them to join us and our cause, we will rejoin the festivities and spend some quality time relaxing."

Everyone nodded and grabbed a scroll and packed for the time they would be away. When they returned a few minutes later, they were all in their royal garbs. They left the compound after leaving Ameyuri in charge. Naruko sent a clone to Tsunade with a bottle of her own special Saki. She called it Spirit of the Mountain Dragon. It was so powerful, it managed to get her tipsy after a few cups. Then she left a clone to continue the study of the Cursed Seal on Sasuke. After that the group left, heading straight to the location of Squad Nine.

After two days, they managed to find them in the maze of canyon walls. It had been an easy travel seeing as the border patrol knew her reputation, along with the invitation, they were granted access to the Land of Earth without a problem. Soon both parties had set up camp and were talking by the campfire.

"So Gai-san, you are not being allowed into the premises of Iwa, are you? So, what seems to be the problem?"

"The Ninja of Iwa are cautious of me and my team. They have no problem with letting the Daimyo's grandnephew pass, however they are not willing to let me or my team pass."

"I see, this is what we are going to do. You will take your team and try and go to the gala. If they stop you try reasoning with them. The Uzumaki will come along by coincidence and I will take everything from there. They wouldn't dare act out in the face of the Uzumaki. Not with the reputation we have."

"Alright, we will give this idea a shot."

The next day Gai and his entourage left straight after breakfast. After a few minutes the Uzumaki left as well. They walked at a casual pace following Gai and his team. After a few more minutes of walking they caught up to Gai and his team.

"But you must understand, we need to pass in order to bring our escort to his destination?" Gai was saying.

"And we told you time and time again that he can pass, but we will not let the Leaf get so close to our village."

Just then the Uzumaki rounded the corner.

"Oh my, what a surprise to meet you here, Gai-san. And you are here as well, Ukarohi Tatsuna-dono. What seems to be the problem?"

"Ahh… Uzumaki-dono what a surprise meeting you here," the noble said picking up on the act.

"I have been invited to the Family Festivities in Bushang City, with some of my clan. Why are you here?"

"What a coincidence. I have been invited to the same festivities. However, it seems my guard is not being let through."

"I see… Well let me see what I can do about that shall we?"

"Good morning, Iwa-san. I hope this little misunderstanding will not interfere with the passing of my clan. And of course, Ukarohi-san and his escort. Now are we allowed to pass or not?"

The Iwa Nin tensed at the underlying message.

"What are we going to do, captain. She clearly just threatened us. Should we attack?"

Thanks to her demonic hearing she heard every word the Iwa Nin were whispering. She smirked hoping they would be foolish enough to attack.

"Are you crazy? Those are some of the strongest members of the Uzumaki Clan and the girl in front is none other than Uzumaki Naruko herself!"

"So, all she is, is a spoiled brat with impressive heritage.

"Fool, she was an S-class threat in the Bingo Book before she even entered the academy. That's the Shinku Hantoresu you're talking about attacking."

"What, that little brat."

"Yes, we will let them pass. She is an SS-class threat now, do you know what that means?"

"It means, is the money really worth your life?" Naruko cut in calm as an oceans breeze.

The Iwa Nin gulped.

"Now are we going to have any further delays? I would like to be at my destination in a timely fashion."

"Of course, Uzumaki-sama. You and your group can pass. And allow me to offer you an invitation to Iwa. I am sure Tsuchikage-sama would be delighted to meet you."

"I will think on it. And thank you for understanding. Have a safe trip back to your village?"

The Iwa Nin nodded and shunshined away.

"And that's all she said. Shall we continue onwards?"

Everyone nodded and continued towards Bashong City. After a few more days of travel they had reached the city and were greeted with honors and escorted to the palace. Other the nest few day, the other guests arrived and the festivities were started. Naruko took the chance to study the scroll from Danzo.

'Well, well, well… So, this is what had you so giddy? Normally you send me missions with those ink animals of your agent, for you to give me a scroll, whoever this is, must be very important. So, let's see. Not much known about her. Only characteristics are her completely black eyes, and charcoal black skin. Special abilities… Oh… Interesting… With those abilities, she might even rival those two. On top of that her skin has never been penetrated. Very interesting… And from the reports she gets about as much attention as an Jinchuuriki. This could be very beneficial and if I could get some blood…'

She burnt the scroll with her chakra and prepared. She had to attend the festivities as her absence would rouse suspicion. So, during the first few days she applied herself to the menial tasks of uninteresting small talk. She couldn't have been more wrong. Over the course of a few day, Naruko had made connections and contacts across the Elemental Nations. The most interesting thing though was that there were quite a few guilds represented. Mostly thieves, but also assassins. What was most interesting though was that even with the peace that was currently happening, many of the merchants and higher business executives were waging wars behind the scenes, pushing for monopolies, territories, suppliers; you name it. It was practically an entire war even more hidden from the civilian knowledge then the skirmishes of the Ninja. It intrigued her, through manipulation and timely strikes in form off hiring someone to frame a competitor or have them eliminated, to take over their spots in the market. If she could do the same in the ninja world, then maybe… She'd have to meditate on the matter.

A few days later she placed a Time Clone in her stead and made her way to Iwa. A short sneak and nineteen miles later she was just outside the gates. With the skills of a huntress and charm of a half-naked woman she coaxed the guards into letting her enter the village. Once inside she created an army of Shadow Clones and learnt all she could. After a few hours, she had the locations of her three targets. Her family was in a house in the north of the village, her target on the other side of the village. She decided to go to her target first. Dispelling the rest of her clones she instantly knew every back alley in the village. And in a matter of minutes she was in front of a rundown apartment. Despite its looks, she noticed a rather large amount of seals hidden among the friendly phrases of graffiti that dotted the walls. Phrases she was all too familiar with.

'Demon Spawn.' 'Monster' 'Death is too much of a compassion for your kind' were among the friendlier notes. Knowing that barging in and charging straight at her would only result in a messy fight and her eventual discovery, she decided on a more diplomatic route, giving her target the chance to come voluntarily. If she chose not to come, she was willing to call this mission off. Danzo had stated that she should not endanger the Leaf in any way. She had already left all her personal belongings at the festivities, but she had also donned on an entirely new outfit. She wore baggy, ripped and tattered brown pants, she had found in a dumpster some time back in Konoha, tattered straw sandals, old shades, a ripped bandana and a tank top, jacket combination that had more holes than fabric all of which was stained, reeked of decay and had dark shades of brown. She had stuffed her hair in mud hiding its color and decided to communicate through writing on a stained note book. All in all, she passed as a very believable, mute, homeless orphan with little to no money. Her clones had cleverly used this guise to obtain critical information from both Shinobi and Civilians. After all, how much of a threat could a half starved mute young girl be. Many of the citizens had offered her a place to stay, which she all declined writing she did not want to seem ungrateful.

In any case, she wrote a note and after making sure there was no one around, she placed the note on the doorstep, knocked once and left. She headed to an abandoned shack a few minutes away. She would wait there for two days, and if her target hadn't shown up by then she would assume she held no interest and move on in her priorities.

A day later she saw someone enter the shack. No one noticed her as she was sitting on the other side of the street begging for food and money. She got up and entered the shack herself. She saw her target looking around.

"I am pleased to see you have chosen to hear me out on this matter, Miss?"

"Sekitan, Sekitan Kurozuisho. And you are?" she asked suspiciously.

"A messenger," Naruko said with a smile.

"That doesn't answer my question."

"Uzumaki Namikaze Naruko no Hanyou, at your service."

The woman stared wide eyed. Though her features were hard to see do to the tone of her cells. She was for lack of a better term, drenched in black. Seemingly one with the shadows.

"And why does the head of one of the most influential clans in the world dress up and parade like a common beggar?"

"Hiding in plain sight gives one the opportunity to learn, without the fear of being suspicious."

"Alright, now why are you here, can you really hold these promises?"

"I can grant you a safe home and family within my clan. I can offer you a place in society free from open attacks because of your appearance. I can offer you a steady paid job with one of the many acquaintances I have across my village. And I can offer you the chance of a second start."

"And what must I do on my part of this generous offer?"

"Come to the Leaf, be trained as a Kunoichi and give an acquaintance of mine the knowledge for which you are feared by your council."

"And why should I give up the secrets of one of the most dangerous weapons in existence?"

"So, we can destroy it. There were a lot of mistakes done in the past by the earlier generations and some wish to see those mistakes are not made again. Whatever that weapon is, was used once before and it cost everyone dearly. So, in order to prevent a mass genocide by some fool who thinks war is the only path to peace, that weapon must be destroyed."

"Alright. I will think upon what you told me and will give you my answer in a couple of days. I want your word, that whatever my answer is, I will not be harmed."

"You have my word. Meet me back here in five days."

The woman nodded and left. Naruko made a Shadow Clone and sent it to retrieve Gaara and Utakata. The clone would lead them to her. It would take a few days, but that just gave her time to prepare accordingly. She made her way around the village and walked towards the North. She scouted the area closer and soon found a spot behind an abandoned mine. She set up a few seals and waited. Two days later the clone arrived with Gaara and Utakata.

"So why are we here, Naruko-sama?" Utakata said with some disdain in his voice.

"I know this is going against what I had promised you, and I understand you displeasure, but I have brought you here so we can retrieve two more of our kind. I promised you our own village with all of our members, away from the misguided and ignorant. All I ask you two to do is convince them of our cause. I will talk to them briefly, but you will do the convincing. I set up a meeting in a few hours and After that we will rejoin the festivities. Do you understand what you are supposed to do?"

"Yes Nee-sama, convince our kin to join our side to break this accursed circle."

"Good. Gather your thoughts and prepare. I will lead them to us."

A few hours later she felt two powerful presences walking towards her. She started to walk towards them meeting them a few hundred meters away from Gaara and Utakata.

"So, you are Nine?" the one in red armor said.

"Yes, and you are Four and Five."

They nodded.

"Good, follow me, please. I trust your seals don't cut off your tenants from the outside world."

Again, they nodded.

"Excellent. Kokou-sama, Son Goku-sama, the time has come. I would like you to talk with them afterwards. Now you two, I brought along One and Six. They will be talking to you about the closer details, but for now I'll be blunt. I want you to join the Uzumaki and help us break the cycle of Jinchuuriki. Together we will build our own village and reclaim our rightful place on the apex of the food chain. I hope you will accept the offer, fools that shun us for the beings we hold do not deserve us. So, we will honor their wishes and leave. Let them fight with each other over things concerning their petty pride."

"So, that is what Goku meant. Sure, I will hear them out."

"The same goes for me."

Naruko smiled and lead them off. She activated the seals and waited with an army of clones. If worst came to worst she would capture them and reseal the Biju into her clan. She hated having to think about doing such actions, but she could not allow the likes of Uchiha Madara the power of even one of her kin. She readied her bow and took aim. She waited for the talk to end. Gaara and Utakata were a splendid choice for the task. Both of them had a unique view on simple minded fools, which were shared with both of the Iwa Nin. After what seemed like a rather heated debate she caught a smile in her direction and she relaxed and sheathed her weapon and dispelled her clones. The battle was won, and soon the war would be as well. She smiled and rejoined her kin.

"I hope you have made your choice."

"Yes, we will join the Uzumaki. We hope to see the promises made fulfilled."

"Just stick with Utakata if you wish to see the beauties of solitude. The Hanyou will respect your wishes for privacy. However, when the need arises I expect you to do all in your power to protect the clan. Are we at an agreement?"

They nodded.

"Good we will stay her for the rest of the week, we have one more person to accommodate for our travel. She should be at the meeting spot at the end of the week. We will camp near the southern gate. I will meet with our final member and then we will head back to the gala and enjoy some free time. Only a few days, then we will head back to the Leaf. Now get some rest."

They all returned to their sleeping spots. Naruko, Gaara and Utakata went to the abandoned warehouse and waited. The next day Kurozuisho came and accepted the offer. In a flash Naruko and her companions were at the apartment of her new family and in another flash of crimson they stood in the room of the palace. It was midday so Naruko dispelled her Time Clone and rejoined the gatherings.

Through her clones' memories she had made a very promising acquaintance with an Information Gathering Organization in the territories of Takigakure. She immediately went to them and started getting information. She made a rather powerful business partner with the leader of the organization. She promised to make a few business competitors disappear, in return for detailed information on interesting events in the territories of Taki. Both sides agreed to the terms and once again Naruko's battle plan was moving with a lot more smoothness. After a few more days of relaxation, Naruko and her clan said their fare wells and left back for Konohagakure. It was a rather dull journey. Nothing happened and everyone wanted to return to their home. A week later they were entering the Leaf.

"Halt! State your business in our village," Kotetsu said.

"Calm yourself, Kotetsu-san," Naruko said.

"They're with me. I need three more documents for people under clan protection."

Kotetsu handed her the documents and she filled them out. She handed them back and was allowed to enter the village with her new family members. She sent away the others and headed to the Hokage Tower with her three new clan members. Soon they stood within Tsunade's office.

"Ahh… Naruko, I was just wondering where you were. Gai's turtle just said you'd be arriving sometime."

"Well I was growing bored of the political banter of the nobles and decided to return as the mission was completed. Please forward the check to the Uzumaki Clans bank account. Also, I would like to register these three as members of the Uzumaki Clan."

Tsunade gave her the documents and after a few more minutes Naruko and her latest additions to the clan were at the compound. She gave them a quick run over of the rules and then met up with Danzo at the market.

"Good afternoon, Shimaru-san. I trust you have read the report I gave you, concerning the mission," she greeted the only rational thinking elder on the council besides the retired Sandaime.

"Yes, I have," he replied in his monotonous voice.

"I must say, I was surprised by the willingness the target had towards deserting her home village."

"As surprising as it is to see for you, it was rather expected. If I had gotten that offer at any given time before I revealed my heritage, I would have left as well. Though I would have made sure those that wronged me were adequately informed of my absence."

The dead look in her eyes and the icy cold undertone were enough to make Danzo thank Kami that the enemies of Konoha were not as fast thinking as he was. Having her as an enemy was a sure-fire way to a premature end.

"Yes, and I cannot thank the gods enough for making sure that did not happen."

"Actually, it did happen, however the messengers were driving my nerves through a grater, so I killed them. I didn't leave, because one, I enjoy the freedom I have, and two, it would have been counterproductive, if I went there with the remains of the messengers. But in any case, I asked you here to make certain we understand each other perfectly. Kurozuisho is part of the Uzumaki Clan, and therefore under my direct protection. You wanted her to be here to reveal the weapon her family has hidden so we can destroy it. The Uzumaki will make certain that she is up to our standards in terms of combat. ROOT is a possibility that I will reveal to her once she has been trained. It will not be forced upon her."

"Of course, I actually was going to pass this on to you. It would seem that whatever this weapon was, it helped in the destruction of Uzu. That is why I want it destroyed."

Naruko nodded.

"I will talk with her about the location as soon as she is comfortable in her new environment."

Danzo nodded.

"On an interesting side note, there have been rumors going about a group of hunters."

"I am already aware of the Akatsuki and am already gathering information through multiple sources."

"I was not talking about them. I was talking about a group of civilians and Shinobi alike. Right now, all my knowledge is limited at best and what little I know is nothing conclusive, but apparently, this group is out to 'Purify the World'. What exactly is meant I do not know, but from what little I gathered, they do not leave a trace and do not distinguish. There have been multiple cases all over the Elemental Nations of third degree homicide, bordering genocide."

"I understand, I'll have my people look into it."

With that Naruko left. Just as she passed the hospital her clone dispelled. Immediately she entered and walked straight to Sasuke's room. She entered the room and went to work. After a couple of hours, she was done. Thanks to the coma, Sasuke was not assaulted to maddening pain. The seal had vanished and a few minutes later the comatose boy woke up. Naruko sent a clone to fetch Mikoto and another to inform the Hokage. After a short debrief Sasuke was cleared to go home and Naruko headed back to her estate.

She walked back to the Uzumaki Clan Compound and continued on her research. Once she had completed the theoretical aspects, these three Jutsu would mean doom for her enemies and she wouldn't even be held accountable for the ensuing destruction. On top of that her draconian parents were at long last teaching her the final steps for the ultimate techniques as a summoner.

After a night's worth of work, she was taken from her musings by a knock on her door. She opened the door and saw one of the Hoshoku-sei Neko members of the clan. Judging from the fact that he was wearing armor, he came from the gate.

"Naruko-sama, one Uchiha Mikoto is requesting your presence at the gate immediately, she says it is of utmost importance."

Naruko nodded and followed the guard to the gate.

"Mikoto-san, what brings you here so early this morning?"

"Well… it is very embarrassing. But…"

Flashback

It was starting to grow dark and Mikoto was currently preparing the evening dinner when Sasuke came in and sat down at the table. He was reading a book and seemed rather invested in it. *-

"Good evening, Sasuke, how was your day?"

"It was quite relaxing. Kakashi-sensei did a few teamwork drills with us, but nothing too physically challenging, as he wanted to give me some time to recover. I also bought a book about seals."

"Now why would you buy a book about seals, Sasuke-kun?" Mikoto asked surprised.

"Well seeing how I was saved by them, I thought I might as well read up on them." Sasuke replied with a smile.

"Alright then, but be sure to ask for help on anything. I was friends with Naruko's mother, who was a Seal Master. You could also go over to the Uzumaki and have Naruko help you with your studies. I hear she is already above Lord Jiraiya's level."

"I will. So, what are we having for dinner, Kaa-san?"

"We'll be having a dish Naruko created. It's called Ratatouille. She says it is very delicious. But it is rather difficult to make at first. So please enjoy."

The two ate in comfortable silence and after they finished, they went to their rooms.

"ARGH!" came a pained scream early the next morning.

Mikoto rushed to the scream. It was coming from Sasuke's room. She crashed against the door, but was unable to open it.

"Sasuke! SASUKE! Open the door Sasuke!" she cried.

"I can't… Argh! Get Uzumaki here. Now!"

Flashback end

"After that I just grabbed a coat and ran here!" Mikoto explained.

Naruko took in her appearance and saw that she was still wearing her pajamas under that coat as well as morning hair. Naruko sighed inwardly and made her way to the Uchiha Compound with Mikoto. Once there she immediately felt the presence of seals. One in particular seemed very unstable. She sighed and made her way to the room.

"Let's see. Fuinjutsu: Ribiru."

After a couple of hand seals, the markings shown through the wall.

"This is a Class One Barrier Seal… What was he thinking, trying to replicate them without someone there who knows what to do…? Well, all that needs to be done is switch the flow of Chakra and connect these two lines… Add a circle here… And then the key should appear… And then turn the key."

The seals vanished and Naruko pushed open the door. She stepped into the room and looked around for Sasuke. At first glance the room was looking like a warzone. She smelled the air and knew immediately something was wrong. The air had two scents two it, both of them were uniquely similar but completely different. She heard some whimpers coming from a closet on the far side of the room. She cautiously made her way over.

"Sasuke, are you alright in there?" she asked carefully.

Some sobs were heard.

"I'm going to open the door now okay."

She heard a few sniffs and slowly inched the door open. When the door opened the form of Sasuke was revealed. Naruko's brows shot up at what she saw. Huddled together in back of the closet was Sasuke. But his form was too slender. The air around him was filled with the scent of a female. She froze when she finally realized what the unstable seal had done. After a few moments, her brain had rebooted.

"Alright Sasuke… Come out… Let me have a look at the seal and I'll see if we can't negate it."

Slowly he came out of the closet. His hair had grown to the small of his back and kept its onyx color. His face became more slender as well as his overall figure. On top of that he had started to grow breasts.

"No wonder he was in such pain whatever seal he made, made a complete workover of his physical structure. By the looks of it his very bone structure was changed…" she murmured.

"Now then where is that seal?"

She looked and saw it in between the shoulder blades.

"If that moved over the skin then kudos to ye who are still sane, that had to hurt."

'Alright from the basic set out, I believe this was supposed to be another barrier… but there are quite a few mistakes in this one… If I am reading this correctly, then this seals effects are latent and slowed down… The basics of the seal was changed because of this line… And that caused a gender switch… And this constellation was supposed to be the safety release… Which got messed up by not connecting those points… And are now a part of a bigger constellation… Which is there to do a complete remodeling of one's psyche… And this here is what is causing the biggest problem… It was supposed to be the parameter input for the barrier… But now it is a kill switch… It increases the metabolism… But is completely connected to his chakra system and the rest of the seal… In other words, … If I remove the seal he dies… Boy, Sasuke you really stepped into the puddle… But at least you'll be thinking this was always you in a few days… By the looks of things your experiences and memories are being altered to fit your new personality…'

She put the Sasuke into a forced sleep and then put him into bed. Slowly she walked out of the room and closed the door. Outside she walked to the kitchen and sat down in front of Mikoto. Then and only then did she allow herself to laugh. After a few short moments, she regained her composure. She looked at Mikoto and gave her the rundown of the seal and what would be the best option from this point. Needless to say, Mikoto didn't know how to react. In the end, she just decided to accept the fact that she now had a daughter.

"By the way… I hope I will not offend you with this… But in recent years the civilian council has been pushing for more power and have managed to secure say in internal political matters. Now that Sasuke is female, they will not be able to profit as much from him as they could before, so the possibility is there, that they will push for a forced marriage with one of the sons of a council member. They might even push for the same with you. The problem is that in the eyes of the law, women in this situation are not entitled to do much on their own behalf. And as the only male Uchiha out there is Itachi, there isn't really much you can do about it. Clan Matriarch or not. What I am offering you is the protection of the Uzumaki Clan. I could protect you from the attempts and grant you immunity towards those kinds of advances."

Mikoto was shocked. She knew the civilians were corrupt and had grown quite bold over the years, but this was very disturbing. At the same time, she was glad that Naruko was looking out for her as much as she did. So, she did the only thing she could do. She accepted.

"Thank you Naruko. I really appreciate it."

"Think nothing of it. Sasuke should be waking up in few days. I'll come by in two days, if he wakes up before then just come over to the compound and I'll help him get accustomed."

There was an evil glint in her eyes. Oh, sweet revenge shall be served. Sasuke had once pranked her in the first year of the academy. Kurama had taught her a very important lesson in life that day. Don't get mad, get even. Life will present you the opportunity for revenge if you are patient. And as always, she was correct.

She returned to her home and continued with the finishing steps of her new Jutsu. She continued her studies for the next day, having finally completed the Jutsu after countless weeks of theorizing, mathematical equations and practical testing, she had finally done it. Three Jutsu that were absolutely devastating and would ensure her homelands survival in the future. She got up from her desk and walked outside. On the street, she walked into one Uchiha Mikoto and Uchiha Sasuke. The latter looked a lot better than he had in the last couple of weeks.

"Naruko, we were just about to head over to you. I was just delivering Satsuki-chan over to you. She was quite anxious to spend the day with you," Mikoto said with a mischievous smirk.

"Oh, is that so? Well then, shall we get on our merry way then? We are going to buy you a completely new wardrobe."

The grin on her face did little to reassure the young Uchiha. Sasuke, or rather Satsuki, was not as arrogant as before. On top of that she seemed to have a little shyness to her. She couldn't wait for Satsuki to face her fan club. But right now, she allowed herself to have a girl's day out. So, after parting ways with Mikoto, they hit the stores. After a few hours, they were returning from their shopping spree. Just as they were rounding the corner to the clan compounds when they saw a horde of extremely angry fangirls approaching.

"There she is!"

That was all the warning the two kunoichi got, when doom descended upon them. Naruko was immediately blasted away. She got up and decided to see what would happen. Right now, poor Satsuki was being ganged up on by dozens of fangirls. They were throwing insults at her at the same rate they were throwing punches. Naruko stayed back and let things sort themselves. That was until she heard a whimper. She stepped in and with a push of wind she forced the horde of fangirls away, far enough that they would not be able to reach the girl.

"Back off, if you value your pitiful existence," she growled threateningly.

She turned to the sobbing form of Satsuki and embraced her in a hug.

"There, there… I'm here, they won't lay another finger on you."

Turns out that, while Satsuki had been able to keep all of her experiences, skills and memories, even though they were slightly altered, she was far more sensitive than Sasuke. Soon enough the girl had calmed down and stood up again. The fangirls took this as a sign to continue and started to scream at her.

"Why are you protecting that whore?"

"Only Sasuke-kun is allowed to wear the Uchiha Crest!"

Those amongst others served to make the poor Uchiha want to shrink into herself and vanish. Fortunately, Naruko's patience had all but dried up.

"Uchiha Sasuke never existed," she said calmly, looking around the crowd.

"That identity was thought up to protect the heiress to the Uchiha Clan from people like your parents."

She pointed at the daughter of one of the wealthier council members. Of course, this was met by a wave of cries of outrage and screams of murder.

"If it had turned out that the heir was female, your father would be the first to immediately turn her into a breeding stock. As it was not well known that the Uchiha main family had a second child the gender was disguised in order to protect her from the greed of people like your parents. I should know, your father tried to do the same with me."

In a cry of fury, the fangirl horde charged. Naruko grabbed Satsuki and jumped over them and ran straight to the Uchiha Compound. As soon as they were inside, she closed the gates and walked to the main house wants inside the two relaxed. Seconds later Mikoto came and greeted them. She saw the relieved expression of her daughter and turned to Naruko.

"What happened?" she asked with slight worry in her voice.

"Well Satsuki-chan just met the full force of her fan girl army… And not in the good way. They were not friendly to her and frightened her to death. Poor girl found herself surrounded and beaten before she knew it. I was forced away and waited to see how things would turn out. Poor Satsuki was frozen in fear and was being beaten badly. I stepped in and thought out on a cover story. Satsuki was always female and her male persona was created to protect her from forced marriage and being turned into a breeding stock. After that I retreated here. By the way you should be expecting the council to summon you in the next few days. I ask that you schedule a meeting and let me accompany you to that meeting."

"Of course."

Naruko smiled and left. She made her way to her compound and immediately set to work rereading Konoha's laws about the Clan Extinction Act, the Clan Creation Act and the Clan Restoration Act. All three of these and dare she say it, laws gave the council authority over any and all persons with special abilities. They were allowed to force breed all available females and gave the ability to order females of the councils choosing to be bred. All in all, it reminded her of how pets were bred. In all rationality, pure bred pets were the result of forced incest. But in any case, she would not allow the family of one of her mother's best friends, be forced into such a thing.

As she was reading through the texts she found what she had been hoping for.

'Finally, … There's that loophole I was needing… Aha… I see… Well it would seem that Akatsuki must deal with the wrath of the Biju… Time to talk with Tsunade…'

She left the study and made her way to the Hokage Tower. As it was mid-morning she knew the Hokage would be assigning missions to the Genin. She entered the room and walked to the desk.

"Tsunade-sama, I ask for permission to leave the village."

"And for what purpose?"

"Bringing home someone who has long since earnt the right to return."

"And who are you talking about?"

"Uchiha Itachi."

"WHAT!? You want to bring that monster back here? Are you insane?"

"Yes, yes, no. Uchiha Itachi acted on orders and then went rogue to scout out an organization that calls itself the Akatsuki. I wish to return him to Konoha. Here is the file."

"Fine," she sighed, as she read through the file.

"You can go I leave all the details to you. You have free reign."

"Thank you, Lady Hokage."

She walked outside and made her way to the Uzumaki Compound. Once there she started preparations. From the files Itachi had sent her, the Akatsuki needed to hunt the Biju by the number of their tails. The first target had to be Gaara. She knew that Gaara was not targeted by her two spies. Itachi gave her the list with the hunters and the prey. Gaara's hunter was a man named Sasori. Yugito's hunter was a man named Hidan. Yagura's hunter was Kisame. Roshi's hunter was a man named Deidara. Han's would be hunted by the only female of the group, o woman. Fu's hunter was a man named Kakuzo. Killer be would be hunted by the leader. Her own hunter was none other than Uchiha Itachi himself. Itachi had even given her the list of how they operated.

As she was going through the files a battleplan soon formed. Going by the files their game plan was simple, yet effective. They would catch the target alone and then attack in with an ambush. Then they would be overpowering the target with two on one battle. On paper, it was a great strategy, however, if one were to interrupt those battles by interfering and taking the Akatsuki by surprise. By shifting the balance, the tide of the battle. If she were to Ent the fight and take them out quickly, she could eliminate a few members of that organization. And going by this list she could take care of six of the nine members.

She had a plan and started sending disguised clones to spread rumors of Gaara's, Yugito's and Yagura's banishment. She would have them walk around the Land of Fire shadowed by an army of clones. One by one the three would move farther away from the Hidden Leaf, tempting their hunters to come after them. This ensured that Naruko could kill one pair before moving on to the next. She gathered the three and told them of the plan. They accepted the mission. A few hours later Gaara, Yugito and Yagura set up camp ten minutes outside of the Leaf, far away from each other.

It had been a few days since the banishment of the three Uzumaki Clan members. Nobody knew what had happened, but rumors spread from simple disagreements to assassination attempts. It was safe to say that rumors soon spread across the borders of Hi no Kuni like a wildfire. It didn't take long for Itachi to let her know that they were to capture on sight, when Zetsu discovered the location. Naruko moved out and was close to Gaara when she made her way to the border. It took two days for the prey to come and when they came they were met with resistance they were not expecting.

Gaara vs Sasori and Deidara

Gaara had sensed the two coming miles away and decided to ambush them. Thanks to her enhanced senses she knew exactly where they were. She jumped into one of the many dead trees and waited. They were heading straight for her. When they were a few yards away she fired a barrage of sand at them. They dodged it, but it gave her time to land in front of them and engage them in Taijutsu. The blond one tried to make his way to the sky while the small one got ground between the two of them.

Gaara focused on keeping her blond opponent grounded by using sand to consume every single clay figure he threw to the ground. The sand from her gourd made sure to block the puppeteer. Soon it became clear that the blond would not be leaving the ground and he started throwing explosives at her. She made sure to keep her gourd sand and the natural send separated from each other with subtle hand movements she maneuvered her sand to attack the blond. She was forcing him to move into an overhang that was shadowed. Once he was there she sent a wall towards him blocking him from view. She immediately pulled it back and sent it flying full speed to the puppeteer. The sand destroyed the body, which turned out to be a puppet.

She identified the puppeteer as Akasuna no Sasori, Sasori of the Red Sand, the grandson of a Suna elder. He seemed to have made his entire body a puppet. Out of a scroll he summoned hundreds of puppets. Suddenly the sky turned dark, so dark that you could barely see your own hands in front of you. They heard sounds of destruction amongst the army of puppets. Seconds later the darkness lifted and the entire army of puppets was disassembled to its separate parts. Sasori was still focusing on his decimated army and Gaara's sand. He didn't even notice the eight arrows flying at him and piercing the eight points of the Silent Killing Technique. Sasori collapsed with eight shafts protruding from his body. A small pool of blood was leaking to the floor. Naruko swiftly sealed the body and left a few body parts on the floor to act as decoy. She had done the same with the bomber. Sealing way the puppet body and the bomber's head, she and Gaara vanished and reappeared in the hidden clearing of the tribe.

The tribe would keep her safe while she took care of the others. Next up was Yugito. She made her way to Kumo. It didn't take long for her to find she was being followed by two strong Chakra signatures. She walked to an abandoned trading post and waited. She hid in one of the underground storage halls.

Yugito vs Hidan and Kakuzo

As soon as they entered the large storage room Yugito attacked them with her fully brought out Biju form. She attacked them relentlessly. Naruko stood in the shadows and was preparing to send one of them to the Hunting Realm. After watching for a bit, she chose the man from Taki. Swift as lightning she struck and sent him away.

"What the fuck? You aren't supposed to be here be here!"

"But I am and now you're going to die."

Faster that he could react he saw the world spin and then hit the floor.

"You bitch! I'll get you for this. I'll tear your entire family to bit! Jashin-sama will be feasting on your blood when I'm done with you!"

"You may try… In the next world.

Akuma Shuho: Shatai Kaso no Jutsu!

Shinigami-sama will be glad to have you in his realm."

With a pulse of heat the body disappeared leaving only a scorched patch on the ground. The Jashinist didn't even get the chance to scream. After that she teleported herself and Yugito to the Hunting Realm.

Hunting Realm

"So, you are finally returning. Quite rude of you to just leave me standing here," the Taki Rogue said.

"That may be, but I know a fight with too much to lose when I see one. I do not know what your organization wishes with the powers of my kin, but I know that I will not let you get your hands on even one of my kin. Prepare yourself, I shall grant you a swift death."

She charged and struck ramming her survival knife straight through his heart. He grunted and collapsed when she pulled out the knife. She jumped back, she still felt a heartbeat. This was no normal Shinobi. He had at least one more heart. She struck again, but this time her strike was blocked. She struck again and again, with no effect. Growling, she jumped back and waited her turn.

The Taki Nin bent over and seemed to be writhing in discomfort when three masked creatures shot out of his back. They all started attacking instantly. Dodging the no doubt lethal Jutsu, Naruko and Yugito made quick work, working in tandem and singling out one of the masks. In a flash of speed the managed leave two deep gashes inside its chest. What made the two demon heirs halt was that both gashes healed almost instantly. Growling they attacked again only to be cut off by the other two masks. Naruko and Yugito dodged and weaved through the attacks throwing Kunai and Shuriken. They noticed that while the beasts manly ignored them they did dodge when the projectiles cam too close to the heads. That gave them an area to attack. And they used it, striking from the front and back they managed to take out the mask throwing fire at them. The beast dissolved into a black puddle. Using the moment of calmness, Yugito and Naruko disappeared, falling back to plan a new strategy. They had learnt from the man that he could transplant someone own organs into his own body, therefore lengthening his life. The good thing about the hunting realm was, that only a hunter could actually take spoils of the prey. So, if the Taki Nin decided to gather more hearts it would prove a fruitless endeavor.

The Taki Nin walked about the plains. He was not happy, first that pesky container of the Nine Tails sent him here, then she destroys his heart and his fire heart, and now she left him again. On top of that he had no idea where he was and in dire need of two new hearts. And that would be the least of his problems. He couldn't sense anyone at all, and even his own chakra felt weaker than it should have, even before the little clash with the Kyuubi and the Nibi. Things were not looking good for him. He kept his masked familiars out, scouting for the two demon vessels. As he was walking he couldn't shake the feeling of impending doom. He looked around and then to the sky. He saw thousands of arrows shoot towards the sky and when they reached the peak of their momentum, they split and plummeted to the ground. The sky was filled with thousands of thousands of arrows, he let his skin become as hard as stone and watched as the arrows started to spin, creating a small drill like shape of Chakra.

He ordered his familiars to cover him overhead and waited for the incoming onslaught. His Water mask was taken out almost instantly, blocking a large portion of the hail. The Lightning mask took care of the rest; however, it was taken out as well by a stray arrow. Growling in anger and frustration the Taki Nin looked around. He knew he was in trouble, he was in unknown territory, he couldn't track his opponents, he was running low on chakra, even though he was not using it to such extents, he was outnumbered, his enemies could attack from concealment, and he was on his last heart. Things were definitely not looking good for him. And to top that off, he was now on his Wind heart, which was his weakest one, seeing as he was a natural Earth type. He growled again and started walking, making sure to switch directions at random intervals.

Somewhere nearby, Naruko and Yugito were preparing the last step of their plan. Naruko had identified the Jutsu the enemy had used to protect himself from the arrows, it was a Doton technique, meaning Yugito would could melt him with her Katon and while he was distracted, she would pierce his heart with a Raiton charged arrow. They agreed on attacking a few minutes from where they were now, their opponent had made quiet some distance, while moving in different directions, it was clear that he was following the sun. Making use of the fact that the Hunting Realm cut of a living persons senses, unless directly engaged or willed by a hunter, they raced forth and past the opponent in seconds. Once Naruko was in position behind the man, Yugito engaged him in some friendly conversation.

"I see you have finally found me… Tell me, what do you want with my tenant and mother?"

"Mother?" the Taki Nin asked confused.

"Yes… The Jinchuuriki in the Uzumaki Clan have all been adopted into the royal bloodlines of our respective demons. I am heir to the Throne of Felines. Now I am going to burn you alive. Katon: Gureto Akuma no Hono!"

Blue flames shot from her mouth towards her opponent. The heat was so great the ground itself started to melt. The Taki Nin seemed unfazed and stood where he was. Yugito stopped her attack and started her act.

"H… How are you still alive!?" she asked shocked.

"Foolish girl. You are a few dozen years too young to kill me. Now I will be taking you w… URK!"

He looked down and saw an arrow extruding from his chest. The tip was sparking. He struggled to stand and turn, what he saw made his eyes widen. Behind him the Nine Tails had taken a knee and was still holding a bow pointing at him. He cursed and toppled over.

Naruko walked over to him and retrieved her arrow, making sure to lick off the blood. Her eyes widened in the revelation of the memories this man had. Somehow his ability was similar to her own. He could take other people's hearts and other organs and in turn got their abilities and Chakra Natures. Impressive… And now the secrets of that ability were hers. Very, very interesting. It seemed Kami was favoring her, she'd have to talk with one of her siblings. If she played her cards right, this could turn out to become very profitable. But in any way now that the self-proclaimed immortals were out of the picture. All she needed to get now was her two spies and the rest would be back on track in no time. She secured the Taki's head and a Blood sample from her claws from the brief encounter she had with the Jashinist and left.

Real World

"Yugito. Meet up with Gaara and wait for me to return. I have a plan on how to get you three back into Konoha without the civilians trying to be heroes. But until then stay out of sight."

The Feline Heiress nodded and disappeared into the forest. Naruko sighed and started for Yagura. Luckily, he was not as close to the village as Gaara or Yugito, so by the time she had caught up to him, Itachi and Kisame had started to fight. As soon as she got there she could see that all three of them were using their most destructive techniques on each other. On closer inspection, however she saw that the Jutsu were easily avoidable, they were making the battlefield look used. She made a small platoon of clones and had them attack with Jutsu. While that was happening, Naruko was reaching out with all her senses. Itachi's reports were very accurate on operating procedures of Akatsuki. While she was fighting against the Jashinist she had felt a Chakra signature that was not quite human. Going by reports that signature would have to be Zetsu. She concentrated and soon enough the signature appeared and it wasn't far off from the fight. That was all she needed she through a large amount of smoke bombs and created two Toki Bushin and put transformation seals on them so they looked Itachi and Kisame. She sent the originals to the Hunting Realm and waited for the smoke to clear.

"Are you alright Yagura-kun?" Naruko asked concerned.

"Hai, Naruko-chan. But why are you here? I thought I was exiled from the clan, though I don't know why," Yagura replied panting heavily.

"It would seem one of the villagers managed to steal from one of the members and managed to gain access to the compound through one of the stolen items and then proceeded to steal and place items in yours, Yugito-chan's and Gaara-chan's rooms. I personally did the investigations and have found the real culprit. I am here to bring you back. I hope you forgive me for my actions."

"Of course, Naruko-sama. Now what are we going to do with these?"

"They have bounties in their home villages, I think I'll collect them."

She cut off the heads and destroyed the bodies.

"Akuma Shuho: Shatai Kaso no Jutsu!" = Demon Technique: Body Cremation Technique

The bodies vanished in a pulse of red and soon after the supposed Chakra signature vanished. Naruko stayed alert and brought Yagura to the others and then she returned to the compound via Hiraishin. It took a while, but Naruko had managed to play the story to the public of Konoha, with the helping hand of a stray thief. The public was outraged once it learnt from the act. Needless to say, the Konoha public banded together a lot and security grew tighter around the village. Naruko had no doubt that Akatsuki would not be having a good day.

After a good night's rest Naruko had one more thing to do. Reunite Itachi with his family. He sure was in for a surprise. It would seem she would be getting her revenge prank after all. She was walking through the clan district to the Uchiha Compound. She knocked on the door and was let inside.

"Naruko-chan, what are you doing here?" Mikoto asked.

"I am here to reunite you with the final member of your family."

Mikoto's eyes widened in shock.

"Yes, I have Uchiha Itachi currently in the Realm of the Hunt. He is quite anxious to see you again. Also, when I sent him there, it slipped my mind to tell him about Satsuki-chan and your current situation. I wish to take you two to them," Naruko explained.

"Them?" Mikoto asked confused.

"Yes. Itachi joined a group of rogue ninja and I offered him and his partner a chance of a new life. They both accepted and I am now just working on some minor details to cover up who they are."

Mikoto nodded and called Satsuki. After a few minutes, the you Uchiha heiress came out of the house. Naruko took them to the Hunting Realm.

Realm of the Hunt

They were standing on a plain, in front of them towered a huge mansion surrounded by high walls.

"Behold Gevild do Stin, the Castle of the Free. Mother and Father are both there as well as Itachi and Kisame are there also."

She walked over towards the main gate and pushed it open. The group continued on towards the mansion. The two Uchiha women were awed by what they saw.

"Naruko-chan, why is there a castle in the middle of nowhere?" Satsuki asked.

"Well, I had my parents build it in order for them not to be in danger when I am sent here to punish those, who committed unspeakable acts in their lives. Mostly I punish those who betrayed their people, rapists, thieves and those, who desecrate an item of any god. And before you go on about the teachings of our customs, remember that those teachings are as stated, originating from our customs. There is a hierarchy of gods and goddesses, demons, demonesses, angels, fallen angels, devils. Every culture, every religion, every belief, all of these create new omniscient beings, or they take over those of old.

Shinigami-sama, Kami-sama, Yami-sama, that trident of power is the pillar of Our culture, nothing stands higher than them. And there is truth in that, those three beings have waged a battle long before our time on this plain of existence began. And by right of conquest they claimed the very apex of the godly realm. They won the battle with abilities that are known to us as Ninjutsu. Everything must end, must die… Gods, demons, devils, angels… Immortal as they are, they can still be defeated. Their reigns of rule over man have ended with their defeat, eons and eons ago. Kami-sama in her eternal mercy has allowed for the defeated to continue on, underneath her throne in the Eternal Kingdom of the Divines.

Many are still rebelling against their rule by allowing their followers to be hateful, but even then, our trident is merciful and lets the problems in our realm be dealt with by their emissaries. I am one such emissary. I am a huntress, a punisher of the Shinigami. And this is my realm.

Here I decide the fate of those who did wrong. I had this castle built for my parent's safety, yes, but also for those who wish to repent. In this realm, laws, rules, ethics, morals, only exist to those who wish to follow them. Here in this castle, those who are here and wish to repent, can do so through worship and labor… I gave my parents the position of overseers. They make sure that peace is kept. Also, I here that there are plans in motion to build a city around this castle. It would seem that there are quite a few who wish for forgiveness," Naruko explained, pride clearly showing in her voice.

"But why? If this place is for the lowest scum of mankind, then why offer them a chance at paradise?" Satsuki asked confused.

"Multiple reasons. Yes, this realm is for eternal punishment, however as powerful and all-knowing as our gods are, nothing is perfect. Those who are sent here are labeled by mortals, however mortals views are biased. So, some who are here, are here undeserved. So, those who are being punished without having done a crime worthy of this punishment can come here and repent. Yami-sama has agreed to come here once a month to evaluate a group of fifty people and take those she deems worthy to paradise. However, you must have been here for more than three months to be allowed the chance for paradise. Kaa-san and Tou-san are here to make sure that and other rules are held."

Satsuki nodded in understanding and kept following Naruko. They walked through the main doors of the mansion and were greeted by none other than Uchiha Itachi himself. His eyes widened when he saw someone he recognized.

"Kaa-san, how have you been?"

He came rushing towards her preparing for an embrace.

'SMACK'

That was the only thing that could be heard. The echo reverberating throughout the halls of the mansion. Itachi looked at her in shock, only to back away in pure terror. Naruko did the same pushing Satsuki behind her. Her instincts were screaming at her to run and hide from the furious Matriarch. Mikoto was surrounded by a black hazy aura. Behind was a Hanya Mask, glaring menacingly at the male Uchiha. Poor Itachi was backed away into a corner.

"You have quite some explaining to do mister!" Mikoto said, tearing into her son.

"Have you any idea what pain you have caused not only me, but also your sister. Leaving her alone the way you did, for whatever reason. Making her see you kill us and the clan for whatever reason. Itachi, I knew you were wayward, but what you did is unacceptable. And I don't mean killing the clan, your father or even me. Do you know how much your poor sister suffered, because of your actions? At the very least you could have stayed and helped her through the times ahead. But you had to go and play rogue. I oughta tear you to shreds for your actions. Your sister was broken down mentally. It took me weeks to get her back to normal. She was even considering to join that good for nothing pedophile of a Sannin Orochimaru. Letting her get marked not once but twice. Itachi what do you have to say for yourself? I DON'T WANT TO HEAR IT! You will go back to the village and go to the Hokage and ask for forgiveness and to be reinstated as a Shinobi. You will do so and even if I have to drag you there, do you understand me, mister. You are going to give every single bit of your abilities towards training your sister and I will never here any excuse as to why you couldn't do so each and every single day that she is a Genin. Have I made myself clear? And if I ever hear of you doing something even remotely fishy, I will make you wish you had never been so foolish. I will make you experience pain even Kami couldn't bear. Now apologize and start making up your actions to your sister."

Poor Itachi was cowering in the corner in the fetal position. After a few more moments, he calmed down and straightened up again. He looked at his mother and bowed deeply.

"I fully understand, Kaa-san. Please forgive me. I won't ever be so foolish again."

Mikoto nodded and all returned to normal. Within seconds Itachi was tackled to the ground.

"NII-CHAN! I missed you so much!" Satsuki yelled.

Itachi hit the deck and locked at the person squeezing the life out of him.

"And who might you be, young one?" he asked confused.

Satsuki giggled and looked up at him.

"Silly Nii-chan. It's me, Satsuki. Don't tell me you forgot me, after all those years."

She pouted at him. Itachi freed himself from the grasp of the girl and quickly walked over to Naruko.

"Naruko-chan, what is going on here? Who's that girl? And where's Sasuke?"

"Why, he's right over there," she replied, pointing at Satsuki.

"You're joking, aren't you?"

"No, poor Sasuke-kun was experimenting with some seals and accidentally created a rather amusing one. You see, the seal our little Satsuki has on her back is an absolute gender switch seal. Her genetical structure, skills, memories and experiences, even her brain processes have been switched to that of a female. Her entire life has been overworked and she has no idea she has ever been a male. So, in other words, you now have a little sister."

Naruko was grinning in amusement at Itachi's facial reactions. As the seconds ticked by a grin grew on his face, then he started giggling and soon he was rolling on the ground uncontrollably in laughter.

"Nii-chan, why are you laughing, did Naru-chan tell you a funny story?"

"Why yes, she did, and I am also very happy to be able to go home again."

"So, where is Kisame?"

"I am right here."

Out of a room came Kisame.

"Good are you ready to begin your new life?"

Both Nuke Nin nodded. Naruko looked at Satsuki and Mikoto and motioned them to follow her. They sat in the outer courtyard. Naruko pulled out a folder which she gave to Mikoto.

"Before we go, read this."

"What is it?" the Uchiha Matriarch asked in confusion.

"I had always wondered why of all people in ANBU BlackOps, Itachi, one of the firmest believers in Sarutobi Hiruzen's teachings would kill the entirety of the Uchiha Clan. I grew even more suspicious when I stumbled upon the scent of an unknown person, as well as with the news of Tsuki-chan's survival of the incident. So, when I had the chance I took it and swiped the personnel file of one Uchiha Itachi. Quite an interesting read, especially as this is the one original that has never been censored. All mission reports, evaluations, performance statistics, mental evaluations and an entire section of pages outlined with some high-class encryption seals. It took me quite a while to decode the seals and what I found was most interesting. I hope you will find the results not too shocking. I hope you can forgive him when you meet again."

Mikoto read through the file and all the while looking up at her son. When she came to the aforementioned section her eyes widened and she dropped the file in shock. She started sobbing and then cried. Itachi walked over to her and embraced her. After minutes of being comforted they heard a shocked gasp. They looked to see Satsuki staring at the file. Naruko quickly took her in her arms and held her. It took a while, but soon enough both Uchiha women were standing tall once again.

"Thank you, Naruko-chan. Also, I am willing to accept you offer to be a splitter clan inside of the Uzumaki Clan. The protection you offer is most generous. And with the limited number of members, the Uchiha will not be able to fend for themselves. Having the protection of a powerful clan like the Uzumaki."

"Of course, We wouldn't want the council to do as they please now, would we?"

"What do you mean, Naruko-chan?"

"What I mean is that the civilian council has managed to get a say in clan matters specifically in clans with a low number of member. You should be familiar with the CRA, CEA, and CCA. Those three acts allow for male members of a clan, or a male with special abilities is allowed to take multiple females in order to create a new clan, restore a clan, or save a clan from extinction.

Normally this is no problem but seeing as Uchiha Itachi is a rogue, Uchiha Sasuke never existed and Uchiha Mikoto and Uchiha Satsuki are female respectively, turns things to a bad angle. The moment you turned rogue Itachi, you were no longer valid as heir or a legal member of the Uchiha. And with Satsuki and Mikoto being the only Uchiha alive, the Clan Extinction Act is put in place. In a basic rundown, it states that if there are less than five female, or two males and three females, or three males, that members are to cease their Shinobi duties and are to find mates immediately. If this is not done by a, from the Hokage given time frame, the council is allowed to choose suitors themselves.

Now comes the trap door in this dilemma. The Uchiha are a clan with high prestige, a powerful Dojutsu, high social standing and cofounders of the Hidden Leaf, and as such the Leaf can't afford to lose you so the council has the power to strip you off your rights to your own household. In other words, they say, you do. However, there is a loophole in this system. It's an option that normally no clan would even think of, however as clan head to both the Uzumaki and the Namikaze I have clan rights, one of which allows me to become a vassal of other clans. The Uzumaki offer protection, and in return we get a splitter clan. The splitter clan is still a clan in its own rights, however if the vassal clan gives an order, that order has to be fulfilled to the latter."

"So, in other words we become soldiers under the Uzumaki?" Itachi asked.

"Yes, in a nutshell. However, the chances of me calling for aid are slim. Plus, I like to solve problems myself, so basically the being under my command part is just a formality."

"I see. So, what is to become of me and Kisame, now that we are both quite dead?"

"Well, our darling Tsuki-chan solved that problems for us with her seal."

Itachi nodded stoically and revealed his back, Kisame followed. Naruko drew the seal.

"Before I activate these know there will be excruciating amounts of pain. I pray you will keep your sanity. I will help you by putting you into a weeklong sleep. We will be back in a week, so prepare yourself. ACTIVATE!"

The seal glowed and pulsed, Naruko quickly put them into a forced sleep and had clones bring them to a spare room. She turned to the two remaining Uchiha and left with them.

Real World

"I hope you can forgive your husband for his foolishness, but it matters not, if he regrets it, sooner or later he will repent. Now in order for Itachi to return, I need you to make sure people know of the return of a young female Uchiha of Itachi's age, who ran away from the clan before the academy. That way she is considered a civilian and is not classed a rogue. Make sure to bring some evidence of this person to the Hokage tomorrow. By the way, Mikoto, I believe the council will request your presence in the next few days, be sure to have me notified immediately when they do."

The two nodded and left. Naruko turned towards the training fields and started walking. It had been a while since she had a day to relax. She walked towards Training Ground Forty-Four, she had heard a few childish ideas from the younglings of the Hoshoku-sei Neko Clan. The idea was quite ingenious if you thought about it. Some of the clan had taken the younglings to the Training Ground for a camping trip and they had seen some of the tigers that inhabited the area. So right now, she was looking to see if she could find any abandoned cubs.

As sad as it was many tiger cubs are orphaned by ignorant Shinobi who kill the adults for training. It pained her but life was life and every creature deserved a second chance. She had talked to the elders and they agreed for her to see if the tiger clans were willing to form an alliance with the clan as familiars and partners. So, when she arrived she made a platoon of clones to hunt for offerings. While her clones were busy she was gathering all the tiger clans she could find.

For the better part of an hour she covered the forest and had gathered all the tigers she could find. Most of them were irritated but did not attack. Naruko stood in the middle of the clearing surrounded by the felines. She got down on her knees and put down a scroll and unsealed an item of prey for each cat present. The cats accepted, which meant that they would hear her out.

"Speak, Hanyou. Why have you called us here?" an old male asked.

"Honorable elder, I have come here to request a partnership with your kind. We have among us people who have the traits of a feline and I was hoping to be granted permission to take in abandoned and orphaned cubs, to see if they can form a bond of partnership on a mutual level. I ask you to allow me this experiment, you have my word that none of the young ones will be harmed."

Naruko put her head to the ground waiting for a response.

"Your scent is full of authority… You know of the Hanyou ways, yet you are human. Tell us your name young one?" the elder tiger asked.

"My name is Uzumaki Namikaze Naruko no Hanyou, Musume no Kyuubi no Yoko. I am the heiress to the Throne of Demons and Clan Head of the Uzumaki and Namikaze Clans. I am also the princess of the Four Heavenly Rulers Alliance and Queen of the Hanyou," Naruko said, putting her head back to the ground.

"So, we are in the face of royalty. Well Naruko-dono, I am delighted to see that royalty has not set you adrift to arrogance. While I may be the eldest male here, what you are asking is a matter of our entire species. So, we will make this decision by means of a council. All who wish to join in an allegiance with the Uzumaki stand."

Every single tiger stood. All the while Naruko never looked up, doing so would be a sign of disrespect, something she could not afford at the moment.

"The decision has been made. Hanyou, we accept, sit up, there is no need for your submissive behavior anymore we are now equals. You have permission to take five cubs with you. I am sure they will be delighted to see the outside world. Please, if you happen across our Queen Matabi-sama, could you please send her here. I am sure you have a means to contact her, seeing as you are her niece."

"Of course, I will send her here right away. And thank you for accepting my request."

She got up and was jumped by a handful tiger cubs. They were holding onto her while she walked.

"Alright little ones, calm down. There is no need to be too excited, you'll have the chance to run around soon enough."

And with a Shunshin, = Body Flicker she left the forest and appeared in her back yard. The cubs jumped down to the ground. It was very fortunate that the Hoshoku-sei Neko Clan had just gotten five new offspring a few weeks prior, so the eager cubs would not have to wait.

"Come along now young ones. You each can have a partner, follow me."

She walked through the house and lead the cubs to the young ones. Once she was in the room she had the cubs choose their partners. Needless to say, there was a lot of excitement going on.

The next day she walked up to the Hokage's office. She entered and found Uchiha Mikoto talking rather enthusiastically.

"I'm telling you Hokage-sama. I was just as surprised as you are when I received this message. A runaway Uchiha is basically unheard of, but going by the files I found in Fugaku's study, the story adds up. He left a note about a runaway girl around Itachi's age. He didn't really care about it, as the family had not awakened Sharingan for a few generations. Ironically it would seem that the girl has achieved not only Sharingan, but also Mangekyo Sharingan. I came here to ask, if it were alright for her to return to the clan."

"Of course, I am more than happy to see her in the village. But in any case, I would have no say in this matter anyway, as this is a clan matter. By the way, the civilian council has all but demanded your request, though I do not know why…" Tsunade said.

"I can explain that." Naruko put in.

"It would most likely have to do with the current situation of the Uchiha Clan. The thing is that Satsuki has now been revealed, the council has lost a very beneficial position. Seeing as most of them have daughters her age, they had thought they could have married them off to the supposed last Uchiha. The first problem they had to get past was you, Mikoto-san. With you having recovered from your coma after a few years, you held the authority over the Uchiha Clan and by extension over Sasuke and its funds. Now that it turns out that Sasuke never existed, enforcing the C.R.A. on him is impossible. So, with some political maneuvering during Sarutobi Sandaime's rule, they now hold absolute authority over the C.R.A., the C.C.A. and the C.E.A. In other words, they can put any one person or people under one of those three, dare I say, laws, regardless of title and position. Which is why I, as Head of the Uzumaki, have adopted the Uchiha as splitter clan of the Uzumaki. So, when is this meeting being held?"

"Tomorrow first thing in the morning. I'd say be here at eight."

Naruko nodded and sighed heavily.

"Before I leave, I have some terrible news I have to relay to you. A few days ago, when I was bringing back my exiled kin, I came across six rogue Ninja. I have here in this scroll the puppet body of one Akasuna no Sasori, the head of one Kamizuru Deidara, a blood sample of one Yugakure no Hidan, the head of one Takigakure no Kakuzo, the head of one Hoshigaki Kisame and the head of one Uchiha Itachi. I request the bounty of one Uchiha Itachi. On top of that, I will be collecting the bounties of each of their native villages respectively.

I apologize for this, Mikoto, if you wish, I will give you the bounty of the kill as sign of my condolence. I truly am sorry for the turn of events, please forgive my action."

Mikoto nodded with tears in her eyes and slowly walked out of the room. Naruko sighed and turned to her leader.

"Now that the official paperwork is done. The real story is this. Both Uchiha Itachi and Hoshigaki Kisame are alive and well. As per your parameters for my mission, I am bringing them both into the village under new identities. One of those is the new Uchiha coming returning to the village. I already hold Samehada, in preparations of the arrival of Hoshigaki Kisame. Just so you know beforehand, if you find some aspects of their identities and personas familiar."

Tsunade nodded and Naruko left via Shunshin. She appeared in one of the training fields of her compound and decided to relax by going through the katas of some of her Taijutsu styles. She did this for hours, until she was disturbed by one of the Hoshoku-sei members of the clan. The young girl bowed and presented a letter to her clan head. Naruko nodded and took the letter.

Honorable Uzumaki-sama,

I am writing you as per our agreement. There have been a number of recent events that I thought should be brought to your attention as soon as possible. I have confirmed rumors about an expedition to the ruins of your native homelands of Uzushio no Kuni. The expedition has returned a few hours prior to me writing this letter. I have had my men look into the results of this expedition and it seems that they have discovered an Uzumaki family Jutsu scroll. Going by what my men have found out, the scroll is to be the main prize of a talent competition that is to be held at the birthday festivities of the Taki Daimyo's daughter. The festivities are going to be held at the Daimyo's Palace in two weeks. I have already started to contact the Daimyo to make him aware of the existence of your clan, as well as secure a few invitations for the festivities.

I hope you are not too irritated by my writing you a report out of the agreed upon schedule. Do with this knowledge whatever you will. Expect my next report to come by schedule.

Best regards,

Urame Tokido

Leader of the Broken Fangs

Naruko read the letter and sighed deeply. She would be very busy in the next couple of weeks. Luckily this presented her with the perfect opportunity to go to Takigakure no Sato. She could visit Fuu, who was currently the only member of the royal demon blood lineages, still under the control of bigots. It made her blood boil, thinking back to some of the reports the tribe had sent to her. She calmed herself and went to bed. She really needed sleep right now.

After a good night's rest, she sent a group of clones to deliver the proof of death to the respective villages of the Akatsuki members she killed. After that she walked downstairs to be greeted by the entirety of the clan. Triala walked to the children table and kept an eye on them as she usually did, while Naruko and the other adults ate at their own table talking about clan matters. Everyone agreed that the Uzumaki scroll currently residing in Taki was something that had to be returned to the clan, one way or another.

After breakfast Naruko went to her study to write a strong worded notice of her clan's participation during the celebration. Though she was very irritated, she kept the politeness up, when addressing royalty of other nations. She herself was royalty and so proper doctrine had to be upheld. Disrespect could lead to international disaster. That was something she had to avoid. As much as it riled her up to show respect to someone who had clearly disrespected her ancestors and by extension herself.

Honorable Daimyo

I am writing you to inform you that I and the Uzumaki Clan will be attending the festivities of your daughter's birthday. It has come to my attention that there has been an expedition to my ancestral homelands. This expedition has retrieved a scroll from the ruins of Uzushio. While I understand your desire to strengthen your country with the wisdom of my people, I cannot allow you to claim my people's secrets as long as there is still an Uzumaki breathing on this plain of existence. The scroll no matter what it contains, is property of the Uzumaki and we will make sure that our way of life is secured.

I humbly request that the scroll is given to me on our arrival at the festivities. I am sure we can reach an agreement on a decent alternative to present the victor of the competition. I hope you understand my position and will respond kindly to my request.

I thank you for your time

Uzumaki Naruko

Shinku Hantoresu no Konoha

P.S.: Please give the scroll with your reply to the summons once you have thought this over. It will wait until you have decided.

Naruko rolled up the scroll and walked outside. She was contemplating on how she should show her power and bring across just how serious she was about the incident. The nerve some people had, desecrating her ancestors, digging around the remains of a power far greater than any of its rivals. And what do those insolent insects do. Scour around and disrespect the dead. She went through all the knowledge she had on Taki to decide who she should send.

'Taki sits in the middle of a large lake. The water is not an option as it could contain traps. No one has ever gone there and survived. Most died with being killed, however the cause of death wasn't natural. According to Kurama-kaa-san the only way into the village is through system of caverns and tunnels called the Waterfall Caves. The tunnels connect the outside with the lake inside of the center of the village… I could send a Sea Serpent… No, they have evolved to live in water… I guess I could send a Mountain Dragon… Their size and presence is more intimidating than that of a Sea Serpent.'

Having made her decision, she stopped in a training area.

"Kuchiyose no Jutsu: Funrahiik!"

In a large cloud of smoke a dragon appeared. With a roar, it looked around and found it's superior. Messengers weren't the biggest among the reptilian alliance but their guild was one of the most important. This one was dark navy blue and about the size of a human. Its glistening black eyes were barely visible among the scales of its head.

"Kriist tum! Zu'u lost bel hi het fah ahsod. Hi los nol faal Funrahiik Tokah, los hi ni? Fun zey hin faan!(Stand down! I have summoned you here for a task. You are from the Messenger Guild, are you not? Tell me your name!)"

The dragon stared at her then bowed its head low.

"Frolaaz zey, Shulmah Kulaas. Nii los dii diist tiid nahlii bel wah daar suleyksejun. Zu'u los faan, Vokun Viing. Fos los nii tol hi praag do zey? (Forgive me, Sunset Princess. It is my first time being summoned to this realm. I am called, Shadow Wings. What is it that you need of me?)" the large dragon said.

"Zu'u praag daar dey kelnat wah faal Daimyo do Taki. Wundun wah Takigakure wah mindos do ok nizaag. Ont hi lost kelnat dey hi los wah saraan fah faal Daimyo wah fahraal. Drun fahraal wah zey ahrk Zu'u fen urid hi voth freshly krii driin. (I need this scroll delivered to the Daimyo of Taki. Travel to Takigakure to learn of his location. Once you have delivered the scroll you are to wait for the Daimyo to reply. Bring the reply to me and I will reward you with a freshly killed deer.)"

The dragon took the scroll and bowed. Then with a jump and powerful wing beats it was off. Naruko had an evil grin on her face, the Daimyo will be surprised. Naruko walked back to the compound. She was humming merrily she changed into her Royal Garbs and teleported herself to the council chambers.

She checked the time and was relieved to see that she was still on time. The council meeting was at eight, so she still had a few minutes to kill. It didn't take long for the two councils to show up. The civilians seemed rather surprised by the presence of the shinobi but brushed it off as a must. It didn't really matter, this time they held all the cards. Naruko was already planning ten moves ahead. It didn't take long for the charade to begin.

"Honored Council members, this meeting is to determine the extent of which the C.E.A. and the C.R.A. are to applied. As the Uchiha Clan is without a male heir, the survival of the clan is in danger. In fact, as it stands there are only three remaining members of the clan, Uchiha Itachi being the last male of the clan, was killed sometime last week by Uzumaki-sama."

This made Naruko narrow her eyes.

"Hence with no males in the clan, the council has decided to enact both the Clan Restoration Act and the Clan Extinction Act. We hereby strip all three Uchiha females of their Right of Household and will marry them to selected males within the next few weeks."

The shinobi sighed and shook their heads. This was a waste of time.

"Uzumaki-san, could you please end this already, most of us have more important things. So, could you please bring this charade to an end."

Naruko nodded and stood up.

"To keep this short, the C.E.A. and the C.R.A. will not be enacted on the Uchiha as the Uchiha Clan head, Uchiha Mikoto, has accepted adoption to the Uzumaki as a splitter clan. In other words, the clan as a whole is far from being extinct or threatened by dwindling numbers. Also, the entirety of the Uchiha funds are now managed by the Uchiha Clan head, which leaves you with nothing to gain. The Uchiha are under Uzumaki protection, and are hence untouchable by all, even the Hokage. If there are problems with the Uchiha, they are to be brought to my attention."

She gave a quick bow and exited the room, being followed by the shinobi. After that she returned to her home, she had a feeling that the next few weeks would be very hectic. But until that time came to move fast, she would appreciate the calmness right now. She changed into her usual outfit. She walked outside and swiftly made her way to the North Gate. She raced silently through the trees along the branches. After a while she found worthy prey. A large wolf, twice the size of even the biggest she had ever seen. She readied an arrow and waited, observed. She drew back the arrow, aiming for the base of the skull, targeting the weakest point. She took a deep breath and then slowly let the arrow slide forward. Putting the arrow back into the quiver, she dropped down and bowed to the wolf.

"Forgive me, I will not harm you or your pups. Please accept this meal as a pardon for my intended actions."

She took out a scroll and unsealed the meat of roughly five deer. The wolf stared at her then howled. Slowly the pups appeared out of the shrubs. Then the rest of the pack. Behind her she heard the steps of a heavy member. She kept her head down waiting for the alpha pair to excuse her. The steps passed her and walked to the female.

"We accept this gift, Hanyou. You have my gratitude for being as observant as you are. I and the pack are grateful to you. You may leave, or eat with us, it is your choice," a deep voice rumbled.

Naruko slowly got up her eyes still on the ground.

"I must sadly decline your offer, it would seem I am needed somewhere else."

Just then Nagai Ha landed next to her.

"It would seem our queen has met the royal line of the Northern Pack. Good day to you Hokkyoku no Kiba-sama."

The name couldn't have fit the alpha male more. His coat was the color of ice itself and his gaze sent shivers down her spine. She gulped. The Northern pack was the oldest wolf pack in existence, going by the ancient stories of those who share the blood of the wolf, the Northern Pack was one of the first four packs to walk these plains of existence. The pack hailed from the North, the others hailed from the other three directions, each with their own customs and laws. Out of the four the Northern pack was easily the one with the most fighting prowess, and the only one to still be around. The other packs had split up or were torn apart, however the ways of the Northern Pack were so successful that they not only survived the test of time but they prospered. The pack having reached numbers that had forced them to make packs within the pack. Each pack having the same responsibility as a single wolf in a smaller pack. The pack in front of her was the Alpha Pack, the royal blood line. Once again, she owed her life to Nagai Ha for his teachings. Had she let off that arrow her entire clan would have been in jeopardy. If she had killed the Matriarch of the pack the entirety of the Northern pack would have descended upon her and the Uzumaki. And to add to that, her clan would have not even been allowed to do anything, as hundreds of wolves tore them apart. Those were the customs of the Northern Pack. And as the murder of the Matriarch, her and those she called kin, would have been forced to live by those customs.

"Ah good day to you too, Kage Hogo-sha. It would seem you have trained her well. Her manners are as one would expect from one of her station, on top of that she has the true mind of a predator. Say, just to sate my curiosity, has she reached the fourth stage of presence."

"No, just like me, she still is at the third stage. However, knowing her, achieving the fourth stage would not surprise me. However, I am afraid we must go, there is prey waiting to be hunted."

"I presume you mean the Centurial Stag of Nightly Dreams… I would be honored if I were allowed to spectate this holy ritual. I would truly love to see the Queen in action against a creature with millennia of experience."

"Of course, The royal family can watch. As experienced hunters, yourself, I am sure our queen would appreciate the view of accomplished hunters such as those of the Northern Pack."

"Of course, On top of that our eldest has reached the time for her first hunt, we plan to have her participate in our monthly hunt later this month."

"I see… If you wish, I'm sure the queen wouldn't mind her tagging along. She is quite experienced for her age and I must say she has surpassed most of the tribe already, which is why the Holy Mother has chosen her to hunt the Black Stag."

"I accept the offer. Mikadzuki, accompany them, follow and partake in the rites. This shall be your test to see if you are worthy of leading this pack."

Out of the cluster of wolves a young female appeared. Her fur was white with highlights of grey along her spine and legs. The right of her face was covered in grey as well forming the crescent of a moon. She looked at her father and nodded.

"Good, follow me, the cleansing ceremony is about to begin."

They made their way to the hidden clearing of the tribe.

"Stay in the Ritual Circle and do not move."

Naruko sat down on her knees and waited. Mikadzuki did the same. It took a while before Nagai Ha returned to them. He had with him two scrolls one he put down by his side, the other he gave Naruko.

"The ritual has not yet begun, change into this so we may commence the ceremony."

Naruko nodded and took the scroll. Swiftly she went into her tent and changed, when she reemerged all of the hunters were present. She stood tall with what could only be described as a goddess. Many of the present were releasing the one or other hint of their apparent state of body. Her clothes were made of Draconian Leather. While it was in small amounts it was made after the depictions of Nahvon Ah, the dragons hunting spirit.

According to legend, Nahvon Ah was the first to hunt and succeed in killing the Black Stag and it is in her honor the stag is hunted. It is said that when Nahvon Ah killed the stag the spirits of the forest were so impressed by her skill as a huntress, that upon learning of her death, they reincarnated her and gave her the form of the stag. As the legend goes, the one that delivers the killing blow will come face to face with the greatest of all hunters.

Sadly today, not many succeeded in bringing down this prey of legends, so most of the tribe dismissed the legend as just that, a legend. She however knew that there were always true roots in any legend, especially among legends of dragons. Dragons were eternal beings killing one results in the soul being reincarnated into an egg. That's why dragons were so protective of their eggs. Once the soul had chosen its egg, it would start to develop. This of course was only part of the bigger picture of the dragon life cycle and mainly focused on the dragon's belief and faith.

Coming back to the armor as is with physical depictions of deities, there was a lot more emphasis on the esthetic rather than the practicality of the armor. Her midsection was exposed, showing off her toned stomach. Her chest was covered with a toughened piece of Draconian Leather. Her shoulders were covered by an extension of her upper arm armor. Her upper back was shielded with a sheet of leather. She wore bracers on her underarms to which she attached her Hidden Blades to. She wore a Miniskirt with toughened leather at the sides. Her boots were also made of toughened leather. Lastly was her helmet it framed her face with the form of a dragon's skull and jaw.

She walked back into the circle and waited.

"The ritual is about to begin," Nagai Ha said.

"Huntresses, you have been chosen to hunt the Black Stag. May your aim be true and your arrow deadly. From this point on, we will no longer recognize you as part of our realm. You are on your own with your prey. Now let the Cleansing begin."

The circle started to glow as wisps of Chakra flew around them. A pillar of light shot into the sky.

"As the centuries pass us by,
all that reminds us are the stories
of hunter and of prey
two constants in a cycle,
we once again stand
ready to stalk
once again we stand
ready to kill

We await the coming of the prey
the hunters are ready
Show yourself
Prey of Legends"

With the chant done Naruko tensed.

"Get ready," she whispered to the young wolf.

"Once the Black Stag acknowledges us, it will dash off. Once it does, the barrier will fade and we need to be on its trail."

Mikadzuki nodded and tensed. After a few minutes a large shadow peeled out of the darkness of the forest. The Black Stag was huge. Naruko quickly did a few calculations in her head. She estimated the chest girth at about sixty inches, that would put her preys weight at about three hundred and ninety pounds. Meaning that following a trail should be relatively easy. The stag walked up to them and tilted its head forwards akin to a nod, then it dashed off. The barrier faded and the hunters followed.

Naruko and Mikadzuki raced through the forest, but soon they lost their prey. Naruko called for a stop. They were getting nowhere with chasing, they had to stalk the stag. Naruko looked around orientating herself.

"Look here, there is a ravine not far from here with a great spot to take a shot. Now if we could chase it into that area, I'll be able to put an arrow through its neck. So, this is what we're going to do."

The stag was currently nibbling away at some leaves. It had shaken off its pursuers and was enjoying some leaves. Suddenly, a pack of wolves burst from the underbrush. The stag turned and ran only to change directions to avoid a trio of wolves. Again, it was forced to change direction as another trio of wolves. After a few more close calls the stag stopped skidding to a halt inches before a steep ravine. It turned and lowered its antlers to fend of the wolves. Then all it felt was darkness.

Naruko jumped down from the tree she was hiding in and landed next to the fallen stag. She checked the body to be sure it was dead when a flash of chakra shot from it. It swiveled around and formed a humanoid figure. Seconds later a blueish figure of a human woman appeared. She was wearing the same armor that Naruko was wearing. Mikadzuki was tensing to jump, but got the all clear signal from her hunting partner. The goddess turned to them and fixed them with an appreciative glance.

"Well met huntresses. It has been centuries since last I have been taken down by an arrow. Very good to have used the surroundings to your advantage. As per tradition I shall grant you the Gift of the Huntress. I give you the Voice of the Dragon. And you, wolf. You are from the Northern Pack, are you not? I gift you the Symbol of Alpha, may it provide wisdom in your times of need."

With that the presence vanished and Naruko sealed the body. It was going to be a feast for the clan. Naruko turned to Mikadzuki and grinned. The wolf was just as giddy as she was, laughing, they walked back to camp.

During the hunt, Naruko had sensed the entirety of the tribe along with the alpha and his mate. As per ritual rules only the hunters were to engage with the stag. Observers are allowed but are not to engage in the hunt itself at any time, no matter what may happen to the hunters. So, when they returned to the tribe, the headhunters and the alpha pair would part on some wisdom for them to learn for the next hunt. they arrived at camp and walked to the center tent. Inside the Holy Mother, Nagai Ha, Mara, Hokkyoku no Kiba and his mate were sitting around the Viewing Stone. The two of them sat down and waited.

"That was a spectacular hunt," Hokkyoku no Kiba said.

"Using your surroundings, utilizing your abilities to be at numerous places at once to increase your party size. And herding the prey to a place of death, very well thought out. I must say, Young Queen, I am impressed, not only do you honor The Way, but you improve upon it. I am looking forward to be notified of a new summoner of our pack from your clan."

Naruko was stunned. The Northern Pack was easily the most influential pack among the wolves. For the alpha to give her clan the privilege of a Summoning Contract meant that she had impressed him to a far greater level than she could have ever imagined. She bowed deeply.

"Daughter, you have shown you are capable of participating in a hunt. I grant you privilege of joining our next hunt. Now you both are young and you both are still inexperienced, as such, this council will share some of its wisdom with you. Naruko, you are a strong planner and can think of a beneficial solution very quickly, however, your greatest fault that I see is not your inability, but your insistence to keep things interesting and entertaining to you. Such arrogance will lead to an unpleasant ending in a hunt. Be more efficient on your hunts and utilize all of your resources. And you my daughter, you still need to work on your speed, you are still too slow and fell behind on some occasions during the chase," The alpha male finished his part and waved on to his mate.

"I agree with my mate. You have the prowess of a true predator, you only have to motivate yourself to use your full capabilities. Daughter, we will be working on techniques to strike once an ambush is sprung."

"I'm no friend of many words so I'll keep this short. If you truly want to succeed as hunters, you will have to attack up front and not rely on ambushes and distance."

The harsh words of Mara rang true in both young huntresses and they nodded with new found confidence.

"I will follow that sentiment, while ambushes are key tactics during a hunt, they can go wrong and you will get injured and in the worst of cases, die," Nagai Ha added

Naruko and Mikadzuki nodded.

"You both have shown true prowess as a predator. Refine your skills and knowledge and you will be at the apex soon enough."

The Holy Mother finished the meeting with an ancient chant and everyone was sent on their way. Naruko stretched her body and left the camp. She walked through the village in search of her mate. She took to the rooftops and headed towards the Nara Clan Compound. When she dropped down to the road and stopped after racing through the clan district, giving the guards a heart attack. Unfortunately, Shikamaru was away on a mission so she had nothing to do. She wandered round town when a roar thundered through the sky. She looked up to see a dragon fly overhead. She started sprinting to a training ground and made sure to beacon the dragon to follow her by flaring her Chakra. The civilians were already panicking as well as some Shinobi. Most however readied themselves for battle. That was until the dragon started to fly back to the outskirts of the city. ANBU were dispatched to minimize collateral damage.

When they arrived at Training Ground Forty-Three they saw a disturbing sight. The dragon was lying on its back wyes closed with its tongue hanging out and in front of it stood none other than their very own Kitsune cooing and giving the reptile a belly rub. It was clear that there was no threat and they left, agreeing to never bring up what they had just witnessed.

"Tol lost pruzah nep. Nox hi fah hin freyend, Vokun Viing. Lost hi drun fahraal nol faal Daimyo? (That was a good laugh. Thank you for your assistance, Shadow Wings. Have you brought the reply from the Daimyo?)"

"Geh, Zu'u lost nii voth zey. To Zu'u korah dii nuvah aal lost kuz vogaan eruvos vau do ok lifespan. jul sizaan ok consciousness getiid rok nok miin nau zey ahrk didn't vopraan fah avok sul. Rok etaak hin maldey ahrk frum mindin vorey sul rok wrote fahraal. Mindin rok gave nii wah zey, Zu'u vahlut wah kelnat funrah wah hi. (Yes, i have it with me. Though I believe my presence may have taken a few years off his life. The man lost his light, the moment he laid eyes on me and didn't wake for over a day. He read your letter and fainted once again, after another day he wrote the reply. After he gave it to me, I left to deliver the message to you.)"

"Zu'u nox hi, Zu'u fen fid driin wah hi ahst sulro oblaan. (I thank you, I will send the deer to you at day's end.)"

"Do rahlo. Zin wah hi Kulaas. (Of course, Honor to you Princess.)"

The dragon dispelled in a huge cloud of smoke, leaving Naruko with the political chaos that was going on with Taki. She walked off to the Hokage Monument. At the base, she readied herself and ran up the cliff-. Once she reached the top she sat down on Minato head and read through the message.

Honorable Clan head Uzumaki Namikaze Naruko no Hanyou

I have received your message and was quite shocked by your blatant self-invitation to my daughter's birthday festivities. While I understand your desire to safeguard your family's heirlooms, however I will not be intimidated by some rumors regarding anyone's strength. If you are serious about joining the festivities, I shall be looking forward to seeing you there.

Hamashiri Gotaru

Taki no Daimyo

Naruko burnt the letter in her hand. She was not happy. She was going to have to make sure her clan was going to win. And to do so, she was going to swamp the competition. And if all else failed, she was a Kunoichi for a reason. She raced to her home and gathered her clan, as well as a few members of the Hanyou. After going over the plan they left. If they couldn't retrieve the scroll through diplomatic means, they would just make sure that they would win, by having more competitors than any other group.

A week later the Uzumaki entered the Daimyo's palace and were greeted personally by his daughter. She was wearing Royal Robes and her black hair in a high ponytail. Naruko stared at her for a few moments and saw that the smile she was greeting her guests with was as fake as the trust in the civilian council.

"Good day to you, honorable Uzumaki Clan. How wonderful of you to join these celebrations."

"The honor is ours, Gotaru Atzuya, however, by the scent of your chakra I can tell, that you are not very happy with the situation. Let's have a walk, I am sure we can fix your mood."

The girl agreed as they Uzumaki were the last to arrive. After a couple of hours, divulging in pleasantries the competition began.

Everyone was gathered in one of the many courtyards in front of a stage. First of were a few of the Uzumaki young ones, calling themselves the Uzumaki Corps, with a sing and dance number.

(Check /watch?v=o-Qu8-ZGL14, for the performance, just ignore the last 30 seconds or so)

Hit It!
Nah, na na na nah

Here comes the hot stepper, murderer
I'm the lyrical gangster, murderer
Pick up the crew in-a de area, murderer
Still love you like that, murderer

No no we don't die, yes, we multiply
Anyone test will hear the fat lady sing
Act like you know, Rico
I know what Bo don't know
Touch them up and go, uh-oh!
Ch-ch-chang chang

Here comes the hot stepper, murderer
I'm the lyrical gangster, murderer
Excuse me mister officer, murderer
Still love you like that, murderer

Extraordinary, juice like a strawberry
Money to burn baby, all the time
Cut to fade is me, fade to cut is she
Come juggle with me, I say every time

Here comes the hot stepper, murderer
I'm the lyrical gangster, murderer
Dial emergency number, murderer
Still love you like that, murderer

Nah, na na na nah, it's how we do it man
Nah, na na na nah

Start like a jackrabbit, finish in front of it
On the night is jack, that's it, understand?
I'm the daddy of the mack daddy
His are left in gold, maybe
Ain't no homie gonna play me, top celebrity man

Murderer, I'm the lyrical gangster, murderer
Excuse me mister officer, murderer
Still love you like that, murderer

No no we don't die, yes, we multiply
Anyone test will hear the fat lady sing
Act like you know, G go, I know what Bo don't know
Touch them up and go, uh-oh
Ch-ch-chang chang

Here comes the hot stepper, murderer
I'm the lyrical gangster, murderer
Pick up the crew in-a the area, murderer
Still love you like that, murderer

Nah, na na na nah yeah man
Nah, na na na nah right

Here comes the hot stepper, murderer
I'm the lyrical gangster, murderer
Big up all crew bow ya, murderer
Still love you like that, murderer

Here comes the hot stepper, murderer
I'm the lyrical danger, murderer
Pick up the crew in-a the area, murderer
Still love you like that, murderer

Here comes the Hot stepper
I'm the lyrical gangster
I'm a live in-a me danger
Still love you like that

Hey, da da da da

The crowd cheered. And so, it went, performance after performance went by. Hours passed but finally it was time for the final performance. Naruko stepped onto the stage.

"For this last act, may our honored benefactor please step onto the stage."

Everyone was shocked. It was to be expected. She had just called out a royal to a potentially dangerous act. The Princess of Taki walked up to the stage.

"Now then, as today is your birthday, this act will allow you to climb to new heights and experience freedom like you have only dreamed of. I ask that you trust me, there are safety measures set up all over the area, so nothing will happen, that has the potential to harm you. Now what I will be doing is, I'll summon a Kage Bushin who will launch you into the air once you tell it you are ready. Once in the air you will be caught by me and we will rise above the clouds and dive to the ground. I guarantee you the thrill of a lifetime."

Naruko made a Bunshin and darted off. Half a minute later the clone looked to the princess and nodded.

"Are you ready?" it asked, the seals on its body glowing.

She nodded.

"Okay, I want you to tense up as much as you can."

She did as was told and the clone lifted her up with no problems. The clone put a Paralyzing Seal on her that would last a few second. Holding the girl by a shoe and stabilizing her overhead with her left hand on the stomach the clone launched the princess into the sky. Much to the shock of everyone attending. As the princess was losing momentum, a terrifying roar was heard from the distance. Seconds later a massive form appeared, grabbing her and swinging her on its back. They circled up into the clouds and Atzuya took the chance to observe the being carrying her.

It was definitely reptilian, the golden red scales proved that much. She was sitting behind the head, holding onto horns. She had seen four legs when the beast had grabbed her, as well as a long tail. The neck was attached to a big body. Along with the already very impressive stature came two enormous wings. They breached the clouds and as the light of the setting sun hit the scales she was basked in a golden glow. As they circled the golden glow followed as a wisp. It was a truly beautiful sight. The being banked up sharply letting the trail remain. They dove through the ring of light and dispersed sending it across the sky. As the ground grew ever closer, Atzuya was growing more and more terrified. Then just before they hit the ground, the reptile extended its wings and slowed their fall with a few mighty flaps of its wings. They landed gracefully and Atzuya lowered herself off on the neck onto the ground. The reptile took off and a minute later Naruko appeared on the stage, although she looked to be severely drained.

"I hope you enjoyed the flight Princess Atzuya."

After that there was a long discussion about each performance and it was announced that the results will be announced the following day. Naruko excused herself early from the party in order to gather herself.

With Naruko

She was currently guiding towards Takigakure no Sato. She had left a clone behind to handle her attendance and was now on her way to meet Fuu. As she reached the walls of the village she transformed back, grunting in discomfort. It was foolish for her to think she could do a full transformation without training or guidance, so it took a few minutes. She had landed just outside of the gates out of view. Kurama, while obviously not amused by her sheer ignorance to the consequences, also saw her reasoning as necessary. After all, how many people could say, they had flown atop of a living breathing dragon.

After she was done she swiftly snuck into the village. Using her senses, she instantly felt the presence of the girl she was searching for. She raced along the rooftops, making sure to keep her chakra concealed.

She dropped down in front of what could only be described as a rotting pile of plywood held together by rusty nails and wire to somehow resemble the form of a shack. Naruko sighed. She sincerely hoped that the poor girl was not in the same state as some of the other heirs. Gaara had a horribly drafted seal on top of a mentally tortured demon lord. Yagura had to be kept under surveillance for a week after the Genjutsu had been broken. Han, Roshi and Utakata had a displeasing view towards human. While understandable, it was also a hindrance she would have to correct at some point in the future.

She knocked on the door and it broke to pieces. Sighing she stepped into the shack. It was empty. She looked around and saw a manhole cover.

"Clever girl," Naruko muttered.

She opened the cover and was swarmed by ants and cockroaches. Jumping back, she watched the insects move about. She was obviously not the first to visit the holder of the Insect Queen. So now all she had to do was convince the soldiers that she was not a threat. Hanging of the ceiling she unsealed a steak from a deer and threw it on the ground along with a scroll. The insects ate the meat and maneuvered the scroll into the sewers.

"Here's to hoping the message won't be destroyed."

A minute later she found herself standing in a decent sized room. Studying it with a glance, she saw a fridge, cupboards, a bed and a table. Fuu was sitting behind the table staring at her. In the shadows, she could hear agitated buzzing. She was on a paper-thin edge and she had to tread carefully or she would be cut.

"What can I do for you, Kunoichi-san?"

The tone in her voice was sharp and to a point.

"I am here to bring forth an offer to you," Naruko said with a calm and diplomatic tone.

"And what could a Konoha Kunoichi have to offer me? Last I checked, our two villages were on less than equal terms, even if we are neutral. So, either you are not who you say you are, or there are things going on above my pay grade."

"My name is Uzumaki Namikaze Naruko no Hanyou, Musume no Kurama no Kitsune, Daughter to the Four Heavenly Rulers and the Heir to the Throne of Demons as the next Kyuubi no Kitsune. And I know who you are Fuu no Taki, adopted daughter of Shibuki, Jinchuuriki no Nanabi no Kabutomushi. I am here to officially bring you an offer for a real family among kin. You should have received a message from one Hanyou no Urufu. She should have told you about me and my plans however brief he eluded to them. I was informed that you were curious about them. Is that still the case?"

Fuu's eyes had grown wider by the word.

"You're Naruko-sama? The Naruko-sama? As in The Shinku Hantoresu, Naruko-sama?"

"Yes, to all of the above. I am here to help you get out of this village and into my clan."

"Of course, how are we going to do it?"

"Pretty simple really. All you must do is resign from active duty and leave he village as a civilian. I hear your council is rather lax about the comings and goings of the inhabitants and I also know that we can use the sentimental values your leader has for you to get you out of here. All you need to do is get me to him in less than an hour."

"Done and done. I can have it all done by Shibuki-tou-san. We can go there right now. He has an open-door policy for me and all of my none existent friends. But as you are a friend and a sister so to speak, that policy includes you as well."

The two immediately left and walked along the tunnels. A few minutes later, they got out of a man hole and stood in front of the council building. They entered and walked straight into Shibuki's office.

"Fuu-chan, what are you doing here so late?" he asked startled.

"Tou-san, this is Uzumaki Namikaze Naruko no Hanyou," Fuu exclaimed excitedly.

The Taki leader paled.

"Fuu," he said slowly.

"Please tell me that this is retribution for putting wasabi into your popsicles and that you did not just bring an SS-class Enemy Kunoichi into my office, unrestrained."

His tone was deathly hollow. Naruko grinned and said nothing.

"No, not at all. Well not completely. Naruko is a friend. She said she was."

"And you didn't think about the possibility that she may be lying?" the leader said exasperated.

"I'm certain that she wouldn't… Tou-san… she's like me," she said with a low voice.

That just made Shibuki even more nervous.

"Naruko tell him."

"It is a pleasure to meet you, Shibuki-dono. I am surprised my reputation exceeds me so far away from Konoha. Though I do not know why you are nervous, last I checked Taki and Konoha were neutral towards each other."

"So why ARE you here, Namikaze-dono?"

"I'm an Uzumaki through and through, but I am here for Fuu. I know of her treatment in your village, and while I know you have done all you can to keep her protected, she has been exposed to a monumental amount of discrimination against her person. I wish to adopt her into my clan to make sure she is safe from those who would harm her."

Shibuki was about to retort.

"Have you ever heard of the Akatsuki?" Naruko said, cutting him off.

"They are a group of S-rank Nuke Nin. A few weeks ago, I and a few of my acquaintances located and exterminated six of the nine members. They have recently retreated and gone into hiding, but we know for certain, that they are hunting down and capturing Jinchuuriki. At least they were before they decided to attack my family. Now even I can't track them. All we know is that they are extremely dangerous."

"So, we keep Fuu within the village."

"They have a member able to bypass even the tightest security in the five great villages. I know that Waterfall has tight security, however seeing that I know members exchanged information among each other. One of the members I killed was a Shinobi of Takigakure no Sato, his name was Kakuzo, quite extraordinary abilities, if I remember correctly he was marked a Nuke Nin after he failed to assassinate the Shodaime Hokage."

"That is highly classified information, how did you get it?" came the agitated voice of Shibuki.

"From the man, himself, when I killed him. This is what I want. I want Fuu in the Uzumaki Clan, I could care less what you do on a diplomatic scale with the Leaf. The Uzumaki are emancipated from the village. Think of it this way, I get what I want, Fuu is safe with family and away from fights too risky to take, and you have an ally in the Uzumaki who will eliminate anyone outside of Konoha. Take this, this symbol represents a favor, the Uzumaki owe you, no questions asked, as long as it is outside of the Leaf. Deal?"

Sighing, Shibuki nodded.

"I accept, but only if I have your word that Fuu will be safe and that she is free to visit at any time she wishes."

"Of course, she can. You are her family and I do not split family apart. Thank you for understanding the situation, Shibuki-dono. Have a nice evening."

With that they left and raced back to the daimyo's mansion.

The next day, Naruko stood in front of the stage with everyone invited and listened as the princess announced the winner.

"And finally, the moment you all have been waiting for," Atzuya said.

"I just loved each and every one of your fantastic performances. But there has to be a winner and so…"

She waited a couple of seconds.

"The winner is… For an adorable performance that started out this competition as a tough act to beat… For a wonderful song and dance act… The Uzumaki Corps. "

The younglings jumped onto the stage. They were going up the wall with their enthusiasm. It took the princess a few attempts, but she finally managed to calm them down. With a small speech, she handed the Uzumaki treasure to them and thanked them for their performance. After that the festivities continued and Atzuya walked over to Naruko. Naruko discreetly handed her a scroll which was put away immediately.

As the two hugged Naruko whispered.

"As per our agreement, there are three seals within that scroll, each symbolizing a favor the Uzumaki will carry out, no questions asked."

They had another drink and left to talk with other people. Naruko went to the Uzumaki Corps and took the treasure, checking that the safety seals were still intact, she made sure that the scroll had never been opened since its discovery. It wasn't, with that reassurance, she continued to enjoy the festivities.

The following week, the Uzumaki Clan left, returning back to the Hidden Leaf. As they walked through the gates of their home Naruko just sighed in exasperation. She had brought almost all of the Uzumaki with her and left the mansion on a skeleton crew. The Siege Seals were active and the yard was littered with bodies. But they were not from Konoha. The insignia on their backs told her a story she was dying to hear. She sealed the unconscious bodies in a Stasis Cage Seal scroll and let her clan settle in. She could interrogate her prisoners in the morning, right now, she needed sleep.

Translations:

Ninjutsu:

Fuinjutsu: Ribiru = Fuinjutsu: Reveal

Akuma Shuho: Shatai Kaso no Jutsu = Demon Technique: Body Cremation Technique

Kage Shuriken no Jutsu = Shadow Shuriken Technique

Katon: Gureto Akuma no Hono! = Fire Release: Great Demonic Flame

Misc.:

Hokkyoku no Kiba = Arctic Fang

Mikadzuki = Crescent Moon

Doton = Earth Release

Katon = Fire Release

Raiton = Lightning Release

A/N:

As always thanks for reading. And please leave a review, it does help motivet the writing process. I will try to hammer more chapters down, but exam period is coming up in a few weeks time and i need to study. til next time.