Here you go everyone, Chapter 12. It is sort of a filler but there is some important information in here that will play later on in the story, so pay attention. Also i have two more story chapters to do before I do another side character chapter. Get in your opinions now on who you would like to see the stories of in your reviews.
Shout Outs:
dragonball256: There won't be a lot of focus on those two until later. Life in Uzu for them wopuld be like Konoha if the Hyuga clan didn't interfere. That would be for thier personal lives anyway.
Kingkakashi: Thank you for the complements. It means a lot, seeing I have read a lot of your stuff as well. Lemon was a little difficult, especially at 3a.m. Wife helped out with it as well, as she is my editor.
A Day on The Job
With Neji and Tenten moving in yesterday it was time to get back to work. Hinata sat at her desk going over a lot of the paperwork that the council had submitted to handle resources and clan requirements. Some clans that had been eliminated down to just a few members would find their way to Uzu to start again after whatever strife they had gone through in their home land. When the village was first formed there were essentially only two clans living in the wallow that Uzu was at the time. Now they were looking at seven in total. Some had asked for special recognition within the village. This was not a difficult thing to avert as the council members would be their representation.
There were other matters more pressing at the moment though. Within the last few months they had drawn the attention of all the elemental lands and they were continuously sending some representative to negotiate treaties and trade agreements. A lot of this was under false pretenses though as they were continuously looking for information on Uzu's strength. On several occasions spies had been captured and interrogated to find out their origins and reasons for breaking into the village. Most of these people Naruto had to deal with personally as he would seal their memories away to prevent them from releasing whatever information they had discovered. He normally didn't like killing them and would often release them onto the beaches of whatever nation they had come from, mostly from Kumo.
Not only were other nations trying to gain information through hostile channels but also through lawful ones as well. People looking for a new home or village would often come and request citizenship from the council. The council would then send the request to the Uzukage for approval with whatever information was available on the application. A few people had been able to sneak inside the village under the false pretenses but they were often caught sneaking in and out of restricted areas then dealt the same punishment as those that tried to jump the wall. It was this day though that Naruto would happen across an application for approval from someone he never thought he would ever see again.
The application for residency was for a young woman and an older child. They had no clan affiliation and no listed training in shinobi arts. Naruto knew it right away from the pictures of the two that they were leaving out some vital information. The only thing that wasn't a lie on the applications was their names and the fact that they had no trade skills. Why they didn't change their names to hide who they were was beyond Naruto's understanding, but this was a blessing, and Naruto was going to take full advantage of the opportunity. Normally he would just rubber stamp applications in hopes to get done with his duties early, but this once he would ask for a meeting with the applicant.
Getting up he walked to the door and looked out to the woman sitting behind a desk acting as his secretary, although he never really asked her to do anything. "Akane-san, would you mind sending for this applicant please? She should be at the inn waiting for approval of her application".
"Yes Uzukage-sama. Right away sir." She then got up and ran down the hall to make sure a carrier could send out the summons for the applicant.
Retreating back into his office he told Hinata what his plans were and they both prepared to meet someone from their past. The first objective was to find out their intentions, but then it was to find any information that would be useful. If Naruto found it beneficial, he would then reveal his identity for additional support from the person. It wasn't long before there was a knock on the door and Naruto asked the person to enter. Upon seeing the person, or persons for that matter, Naruto smiled under is mask at how happy the young boy looked. Out of the corner of his eye he could see Hinata tense a little at the memory of their last encounter with the crystal user. Even though in her prime Hinata could defend herself against the encasement of crystal, in her current state she more than likely could not. The pregnancy was taking its toll on Hinata's chakra control and she had become very protective in all of her activities because of it.
The two now stood in front of the Uzukage's desk, "Guren and Yukimaru it would seem?"
"Yes, Uzukage-sama," she answered quickly with a hint of nervousness to her voice.
"I came across your application for residency and I have to say it looked a little empty. You have no trade craft skills, no shinobi training, and do not seem to own a business or have any wealth. What brings you to Uzu with nothing to offer in exchange for the hospitality we would show you?" Naruto said.
In a rehearsed manner Guren answered, "I was orphaned when I was young and had no formal training of any kind I only survived by my wits alone. Sometime back I happened to stumble upon this child, Yukimaru, and we have been travelling ever since in search of a place to settle down. Once we have been accepted I plan on finding a craft to support us. We don't want anything more than to be together".
Naruto was expecting as much since Guren and Yukimaru disappeared after their bout with the three-tailed beast. Wanting to put a little pressure on her for not at least saying goodbye when they snuck off into the night Naruto decided to poke her a little and make her squirm. "I'll tell you what I think. I believe that you once worked for a slithering piece of trash. You also know a great deal of jutsus and are in fact a very unique jutsu user yourself. You met Yukimaru on a mission in which you began to care for the boy because of something from your past. You have since left your previous employer and travelled from village to village hoping to find some place of sanctuary. Without any luck you always seemed to run into someone that knew of you and what you are capable of and they ratted you out causing you to flee once again, over and over. You heard that Uzushiogakure was being rebuilt and was welcoming people to take up residency, so you thought this was your best shot at not being recognized so you may live together and raise said boy, yes?"
The look on Guren's face nearly sent Naruto into a laughing fit at that point. At first she was going to deny everything but he knew too much for her to even attempt that. But how did he know about Orochimaru? He was dead after all, and he knew about her ability to use crystal release. Trying to regain control of her facial muscles so she didn't look like a carp out of water, "How do you know about us?"
"That is not important right now. You need a safe place to call home and a way to support both of you. I just so happen to need someone with your background," Naruto said making the offer.
Skeptically looking at the young Uzukage she had hoped to leave that life behind her, "I don't do that sort of thing anymore. I gave it up after meeting with Yukimaru".
"I'm not asking you to kill anyone. I could do that easily enough if I wanted to. What I'm looking for is information. Your previous employer had a network of hideouts and contacts throughout all the great elemental nations. I need those," he stated bluntly.
Curiosity started to make its home within the mind of Guren. This young man knew way too much for someone his age. "What makes you think I know anything? Even if I did, it doesn't mean I would be willing to give it to someone like you. Orochimaru is dead so the information wouldn't do you any good."
"The usefulness of the information is up to me. Orochimaru is dead, but he is not at the same time. He is graphed to his right hand lackey, Kabuto. That is who I want. If you have any information that would help me find him I would be happy to exchange that for approval of your application into the village," Naruto said with all the seriousness he could. He knew Kabuto was dangerous and he would have to be dealt with soon. Having access to Orochimaru's abilities was only going to make him more dangerous.
"What makes you think you could take him on, especially if he has absorbed Orochimaru's chakra?" She said with a haughty tone.
With that Naruto took off his hat and dropping his mask he smiled up at Guren. Once Yukimaru recognized Naruto he ran over to give him a hug, which Naruto was more than happy to return. He missed the boy and was glad to know that he was happy.
For the second time today Guren was making her famous attempt at impersonating a carp. All she could stammer out was, "Y-y-y-you're d-d-dead".
Naruto looked over at Hinata, "Why does everyone keep telling me that I am dead. If they keep up with this I'm going to start taking offense. As it is, when I hear it now I feel the need to go to the hospital to check for a heartbeat". Naruto began to explain everything to Guren and what his plans were. It was just by chance that they met again and she would have intimate information on the old snake sannin. If Kabuto would have followed the same network that he was accustomed to it would help Naruto in finding him and dispatching the amalgamated evil that plagued the lands. "In exchange for helping me in locating Kabuto you will be accepted here with a safe place to stay and I will give you a position in the village defense force. I'm not asking you to go after anyone, just to protect the people here".
With an agreement reached Naruto filled Guren in on the rest of life in Uzu along with the rules and stipulations that came with knowing their true identities. Once everything was settled Naruto started to think about how to use the information in an attempt to locate Kabuto. Hoping it wouldn't take too long as there was still a lot to do before their lives could get back to normal.
Six Months Later
Konoha
It was a rainy and gloomy day in the Hidden Leaf Village. The entire village had been completely rebuilt and the work aside from standard missions was at an all-time low. For one person in particular it was a day to reflect on the past. Her work at the hospital was done and she had the weekend off to relax from her normally full schedule. She still trained with her mentor from time to time when their work schedules didn't conflict with one another, but for the most part she spent her days alone. Her small assignment to Suna was a much needed breath of fresh air after the complete destruction of Team Seven with the death of her teammate. For her there were no escort missions unless they were looking to a med-nin in worse case scenarios. Her friends throughout the village did try to visit her often and cheer her up from time to time, but most times she would put on a mask of happiness and play along. Inside she was broken, she knew it and there was no way that any medical knowledge would be able to fix her.
On rare days like this she would sit by the open window listening to the rain splash against the rooftops and street in a melodic symphony that could match the way she felt inside. It was sad song of the past that spoke of tragedy and loneliness. On this day though, there would be a change in the song as something watched her closely, waiting for orders to act. When the orders were finally received, after two long months of waiting he crept forward ever so slowly. On the windowsill he stood there looking at the pink haired girl and wondered if she would ever snap out of her daydream long enough to notice he was right in front of her.
There was the sound of a toad, "croak," and it was just enough for her to look around to find its origins. Looking down at the windowsill she saw a small toad just looking up and watching her. If she didn't know better she would have thought the toad was actually checking her out. It rubbed one of its front legs on its head to spread the rain across its body, as if it was actual lotion. It croaked again and walked a little closer to her. Sakura was completely puzzled at this time, normally frogs and toads would walk away from someone for fear of being stepped on or eaten. She stood up from her sitting position as if she was going to address the amphibian correctly, "I suppose you are going to deliver a message from Naruto, from the afterlife huh?"
With that one statement the toad opened its mouth a little and shot its tongue out. It was an entirely unexpected surprise. The appendage shot out faster than she expected, it wrapped around her arms and legs to quickly immobilize her. Then it proceeded to wrap up the rest of her body to make her slide down easier. She struggled with all of her strength but it was not enough to keep the toad from taking her captive. The last images she took in before she blacked out, from the pressure the tongue created on her lungs, were of being swallowed alive. The toad hopped down onto the floor and placed a seal on the bed as instructed by his master. In a few short seconds after the job was done the toad vanished in a puff of smoke.
Uzushiogakure
There was a poof of smoke then the same toad that had just been at the pink-haired kunoichi's apartment was now sitting in the middle of the hall of his masters' home. "Ok, spit her out!" Naruto said and the toad did as it was commanded. Neji was standing next to him and much to his disgust he saw a large winding of pink toad tongue flop out of the toads' mouth and unravel its contents onto the floor as gently as it could. With the passed out girl on the floor and the tongue back in its mouth Naruto addressed the toad once again, "Did you place the seal in her bedroom?"
There was a single 'croak' as affirmation to his question. He dismissed the toad in a single puff of smoke and went to wake his friend. He needed her help immediately and time was of the essence. He was hoping it wouldn't come to this, but he had no other choice. There was no one in the village as skilled as Sakura and he trusted his life in her hands, now he would have to trust her with the fate of his family. He leaned down on one knee and tried to shake her awake as he called her name.
Air rushed back into her lungs and she started to come to. The first thing she noticed was that someone was calling her name. It sounded like someone familiar, someone from her past. With the shaking that was being done to her body her eyes began to flutter a little as she started to gain consciousness. Standing over her was a blonde haired, blue eyed young man. He was calling her name over and over, trying to get her to focus. Memories flooded her mind, a life that seemed so detached from the one she lived now. "Sakura-chan, Sakura-chan. Are you ok?" was all she heard over and over. Finally she spoke, "Naruto-kun?"
Naruto looked at her funny when he noticed the un-Sakura like honorific she added to his name. He then watched her jump to her feet in shock and horror as she finally recognized him. She screamed in what he thought was horror or hysterics and threw her typical punch. He caught her fist in one hand and when she couldn't retrieve it she threw her other fist as well, which he also caught. "Sakura-chan, it's ok. It's me, Naruto. I need you help".
She was dreaming, she thought she had to be. Either that or she was finally dead and they were meeting up in the afterlife. No, it had to be a dream, the toad reminded her of Naruto and she fell asleep. That is all this was, Naruto was dead after all, she saw it, she cried for weeks after it. Naruto had even stopped her from punching him, something he never does, even when he had the power to do so. If this was a dream she would take full advantage of it, she did something no one would expect. She rushed forward with her fists still being held by him and kissed him firmly. She had done so many times in her dreams after she watched him die. She thought this was a way of sorting through her feelings for him after he was no longer in her life. Though every time she had done so in her dreams she had woken just after their lips touched and she would cry because it only confirmed that she actually loved the knucklehead even though she denied it for so many years.
After ten seconds with his eyes wide open in shock Sakura pulled away from him. He stood their blinking at her trying to figure out what just happened. Sakura opened her eyes to see Naruto still standing in front of her and horror spread across her face. Naruto looked over at Neji, who was looking at the spectacle in front of him with a raised eyebrow. "The punches I expected, that other thing not so much," Naruto said with shock.
Just then Sakura looked toward the person Naruto was talking to, it was Neji. There was concern on his face and even more surprise on hers, "Neji-san, what are you doing here?"
Neji looked at her and wondered how long it would take her to come to grips with reality. "Sakura, you're in Uzu right now. This is not a dream and we need your help desperately. So snap out of it".
She looked back at Naruto; he looked almost the same as she remembered except his hair was slightly longer. He was wearing a Kage robe except it had blue swirls on the bottom. She had never seen those before. "I can't be in Uzu, and Naruto-kun is dead. He and Hinata died. We saw it, we saw the bodies".
Naruto released Sakura's fist and put a sense of urgency in his tone, "Sakura-chan, we don't have time for this. Just accept what we are telling you for right now. Hinata, my wife, is dying and will likely die if you don't help us. Please Sakura-chan, please save her".
Sakura shook her head as she tried to clear the cobwebs that currently were calling it home. She ran through all the information she just acquired since she supposedly woke up. The tone of Naruto's voice seemed to get her thinking beyond her consciousness. She went through the list, One: Naruto and Hinata are alive; Two: They are in Uzu right now; Three: Neji is here and that must mean Tenten is here also; and Four: Hinata was dying and likely would if she didn't help. With that information she nodded and responded, "Ok, where is she?"
Naruto grabbed her by the hand and looked at Neji, "I'll let you know what happens. Don't worry I won't lose her". With that Naruto pulled Sakura into a door behind him. Instantly they were assaulted by screams of pain. It tore at his heart to see Hinata in such a state. They knew there was going to be some complications early on. The baby was definitely an Uzumaki. The chakra stores of the baby inside of the womb were massive and Hinata's ability to supply additional chakra was limited. The baby was actually draining chakra from Hinata at an alarming rate. If her chakra network could not be stabilized she would likely die when the baby was born.
Sakura saw Hinata lying on what looked like a makeshift bed. Through the tortured cries she could see there was a lot of worry in the young woman's face. To Sakura it looked as though she was pregnant and in the last stages of birthing, but there was something wrong. She quickly went over to the crying expectant mother and started a diagnosis to determine the best course of action. To try to take Hinata's mind off the pain she attempted to talk to her, "Hey Hinata-chan, everything is going to be ok. I hope you don't mind but I kissed Naruto-kun". It was the only thing that ran in her mind right then aside from the woman in pain in front of her.
Much to her surprise Hinata responded with tears, something Sakura didn't like hearing at all. "It's ok Sakura-chan. Just help save my baby and all will be forgiven". With those words and what she had diagnosed, Sakura's eyes began to tear up.
Looking back at Naruto she delivered the bad news, "The baby is doing just fine, but Hinata-chan is dying. The baby is literally killing her by sucking all the chakra out of her system. At this rate she won't make it through delivery".
"We already know that much. We need you to keep her network stabilize until after the baby is born, then I will take it from there," Naruto said as calmly as he could.
Naruto had waited until the very last minute before he brought Sakura to Uzu. In doing so it didn't take long for the birthing to happen. Tenten had acted as midwife along with two other women and were moving in and out of the room for supplies as quickly as they could. About an hour after her arrival the sounds of baby cries could be heard throughout the room, along with a shout from Sakura, "She's slipping fast Naruto!"
Naruto rushed over and quickly moved Sakura out of the way, "I'll take it from here Sakura-chan. Please go check on the baby for me".
Sakura nodded with tears in her eyes at the sight before her. Naruto was looking down at his dying wife with determination and love in his eyes, and there was nothing she could do to help them. She rushed over to the baby to make sure the baby would at least make it through this. With everything that was happening she almost didn't make out what she heard before she turned around to see a large flash of purple to the sound of Naruto's voice calling out, "Fuinjutsu: Eight Trigram Life-Binding Seal".
As Naruto said that he brought his hands down upon Hinata's stomach and a massive amount of chakra erupted around them. He held on as long as he could, just long enough to see the seal glow with the chakra transfer that he was doing. He was thrown back against the wall, while Hinata's body arched and silent screams of pain erupted from her mouth. Her chakra network expanded and refilled with new life.
Sakura tried to push out of her mind what Naruto had done and Hinata's thrashing until she was happy with the baby's condition. With the baby all checked out and being tended by Tenten she rushed over to check on Hinata. Doing a quick check up on her previous condition of full chakra drain she was amazed by what she found. Not only was Hinata's chakra system in good condition but her reserves were greater than they had ever been. Slowly Hinata started to stir and her eyes began to flutter. Looking up she saw Sakura over her with tears in her eyes at what had just happened. With the realization that Hinata would be fine she threw herself onto her in a hug.
Hinata did the best she could to hug Sakura back but after giving birth and her body on fire whatever Naruto did to her hug was weak, what did he do to me? "Sakura-chan, I'm happy and all that you are here, but where is Naruto". Her question was met with a groan coming from her left and toward the floor. They both looked to the sound and saw a shaky Naruto getting to his feet.
He got to his feet and began to stagger forward to look at his wife. He needed to make sure she was ok. He looked down at Hinata and she looked up at him with a questioning look on her face. Then he noted something wasn't present that he thought should have been, a baby's cry. He looked around frantically until he saw Tenten standing in a corner gently bouncing a bundle of blankets that contained the young couple's baby. Steeling himself he walked over to her and looked down into her arms to see a small baby wrapped up in blankets with a tuft of blond hair sticking out along with the face.
Tenten was crying tears of joy at the idea of a new family member as she presented the baby to Naruto, "Naruto. Say hello to your daughter".
He took the bundle from Tenten and gave her a hug as he said, "Thank you for everything Tenten-chan. Please let Neji-san know that everything is ok, and Hinata is doing fine". With those words of comfort Tenten stepped out of the room with the mid-wives. Naruto then walked over to Hinata and laid the quiet sleeping baby across her chest. The three cried at the new arrival and the joy they felt for each other.
It wasn't long before Sakura started to come around to what was going on and the realization that the friends she had seen die were actually sitting on a bed in front of her with their brand new baby. "H-h-how are you two alive? And how did I get here?"
Naruto leaned down and kissed Hinata gently before standing up and walking around the bed to stand in front of his pink haired friend. "Thank you Sakura, for everything you've done here. I know it must have been hard to just act with so many questions running through your head, and I could never thank you enough for tonight". He reached out and pulled Sakura into a hug and much to his surprise she returned it. He thanked her one last time and just as he said, "I'm sorry Sakura," she fell limp in his arms as he placed a memory seal on her mind. He picked her up bridal style and looked down at his wife. "I'll be right back Hinata-hime. I got to take her home".
Hinata looked at him lovingly and nodded, "I love you Naruto-kun".
"I love you too," he said as he made a seal with his fingers and flashed out of the room with Sakura in his arms.
Konoha
Back in Sakura's bedroom there was a slight flash as Naruto appeared with the sleeping kunoichi. He would remember everything she had done for him this night, but unfortunately she would not. He gently laid the young woman in his arms upon her bed and removed the seal the toad had left behind so he may find his way there. He leaned over her one last time brushing the hair from her face and kissed her forehead. Standing back up, "Thank you again Sakura for everything. I owe you more than you will ever know at this time. It is too early for you to know everything". He raised his hands into a familiar sign and with another slight flash he disappeared from the room.
Shortly after the intruder left, slowly Sakura started to stir. She raised her head from her pillow and began to look around in surprise. She was in her room, How did I get here? Where else would I be? That was the strangest dream. It felt so real. It would be something I could be happy about as long as they were still here, she thought to herself as her memory started to fade of the events that she had just taken part in. She was happy for some unknown reason as she got up from her bed and walked to the window. It was still raining, just a little harder this time, and she closed the window but the coming night didn't feel as gloomy as it had when she fell asleep.
Uzushiogakure
Naruto appeared back in the birthing room he had set up. He looked around quickly and he saw Tenten and Neji surrounding the bed where Hinata lay. So much had gone on that he didn't have a lot of time to take in the fact that he was now a father. Making sure that he could get Sakura here was a two month endeavor with sending the toad to Konoha ahead of time to wait if the situation called for it. Then there was the sealing that had to be timed perfectly, it had to be after the baby was free from Hinata and she had to have enough life in her for it to work at all. This was a big maybe, because Naruto was still unsure if it would have even worked at all. For months he had looked for a way to extend Hinata's life span to match his, and it wasn't until a few months back that he began to understand more about designing seals.
Even if everything went off without a hitch there was still the matter of Sakura knowing the truth. She would need a seal placed on the memories that spanned the time she was here in Uzu. Even though Naruto had practice in sealing memories he needed to get her back to Konoha without everyone knowing she was gone in the first place. Hinata had helped in that matter as she found a scroll that looked like the prototype seals that were designed with his father in mind. The secret behind the 'Yellow Flash of Konoha' was a seal that his mother had helped him make that allowed the teleportation to happen. Naruto and Hinata modified it a little to encompass greater distances, using symbols that were commonly found in summoning techniques.
All of this depleted Naruto's chakra down to almost nothing and he was sure that he would have passed out from exhaustion by now. It was only by sheer will alone that kept him moving forward to the bed where his family waited for him. When he first glanced at Hinata he swore that she looked like she had gone through hell. He didn't even think he looked that bad after his battle with Pain. But to Naruto she was the most beautiful woman in the world, holding their daughter. Naruto walked up the side of the bed where Tenten was leaning and she moved to the other side next to Neji so Naruto could join his wife's side. He looked at Hinata and caressed her cheek kissing her on the lips gently. He honestly thought if he put too much force into it she might break on account of everything she had been through. He then looked down at his daughter for the first time and really took her in.
His daughter was a quiet one, not making hardly a sound. She had a small amount of blond hair across her head. What surprised him the most was the look of her eyes, when she had held them open to look at the world around her. They looked almost like Hyuga eyes, as they were pale with almost no discernible separation from the iris to pupil. They looked like Hinata's eyes with the exception being Hinata's eyes were pale lavender while his daughter's were a pale blue. If you didn't know better you would have thought she was blind. But knowing who the mother and father were, you could tell this child was one in a million. A mixture of the best of both parents, and even as a child you could lose yourself just looking at the miracle before them.
Even Neji had to comment on the uniqueness of the baby that his cousin was holding, "You know, the Hyuga's are not known for their chakra reserves and strength, but their chakra control. Just looking at her she will develop the Byakugan, along with having Naruto-san's enormous chakra stores. This is a whole new form of Hyuga that our clan has never anticipated".
Hinata just had to disagree with her cousin, "You're wrong Neji-nii. She is unexpected and unpredictable, just like her father". Hinata looked up at Naruto, "She is an Uzumaki as that is how I have come to know them. It is part of the reason I love Naruto-kun. And it is why I have chosen to name our daughter after someone I know he holds dear to him. I also have many things to be thankful for in this person as well. I wish our daughter to be named after his mother, Kushina".
There were tears in Naruto's eyes as they darted back and forth between his wife and daughter. Hinata had done something unexpected and decided to name their first born after his mother in honor of her memory and in honor of the spirit of their family. He tried to say something that would hold up to how he was feeling and he thought he had it on the tip of his tongue. When he went to speak, he finally released a breath he didn't know he had been holding. At that moment, all the fatigue that he had been through for the evening hit him at once and he lost consciousness his head hitting the pillow right beside Hinata.