Sorry that I have not updated in a very long while, but I have been rather incapacitated. Also, I really had no idea where I wanted to go with this story, and I am still not entirely sure, but I have a very rough and basic outline for where I want to go. Now, as I said last chapter, this is going to be a six year time skip and Naruto may see a little too strong in the beginning. To justify that, look at it this way, He has been training the last eight years nearly training 24/7 with his uncle Pein, possibly, the strongest character in cannon excluding Madara. Not only that, but if you add in Konan, Sasori, Deidara, Itachi, Zetsu, Kisame, Kakuzu, Hidan, and for a brief bit Orochimaru into the mix, you get a fucking strong ass ninja.
As for the whole 'What the fuck is the Akatsuki up to' bit people have been asking about, here is what's up. I'm just pretending that Madara doesn't really exist, I am still a part of the Tobito theory, so for what it's worth, when Tobi appears it'll be Obito, he is just deranged and thinks he's the real Madara. As for the whole taking over the world thing, that's not really it, Nagato started up the Akatsuki for the sole purpose of sealing the Bijuu away for eternity; whether that's merging with the host or sealing it into that statue. It is mainly this, as Pein does not want more people to have to go through what he went through when he lost his sister, brother-in-law, and when he thought he lost his nephew. So, most likely, the Akatsuki is just misunderstood. As for the Uchiha Massacre and Itachi thing, well… That's for later. Gotta keep some secrets ya know. However, there is another secret about the supposed "Bijuu" revealed in this chapter, so keep an eye open.
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Chapter 3- Naruto Returns
Hi no Kuni was a relatively peaceful country. While it did have some smaller problems normal to everyday life, no real major disasters had happened in the last twelve years; the last being the Kyuubi's attack on Konohagakure. So, it was a relatively peaceful place to live. Even the shinobi of Konoha had been amazingly quiet in the last six years, not taking part in any major battles in recent history. However, that was all about to change.
On the road leading up to Konoha's eastern-most gate, a strangely calm man was racing at top-speeds towards the village entrance. While this was a normal occurrence, people coming into the village that is, this person was no ordinary traveler; you could tell just by his clothes. His legs were covered in fishnet leggings up to the knee, and black shinobi sandals, which protected his shins, encased his feet. He wore black shinobi pants, that cut off just below mid-calf level, with tons of concealed pockets, and a black shinobi shirt, with a gray spiral on the shoulders and two navy blue stripes just underneath it on his right arm, and two burnt orange ones on the left; a black face mask covered the lower half of his face, and ancient looking, bronze armor covered his chest and extended about an inch past his shoulders. His left arm was encased in a black leather gauntlet that covered his entire hand up to the elbow and his right was covered up to the shoulder with the same fishnet as his legs, folded-up windmill shuriken were positioned as substitute armguards over his cloak. He also had a blood-red hooded, long-sleeved trench coat, that had an opening for his armor to extend and the spirals to show, with black flames around the bottom of the coat and sleeves, and a familiar flaming spiral on the back with a double-headed trident going diagonally through it, both colored black; the ends of his coat were ripped into nine distinctive 'bloody' flaming tails that flared out around him. Laying across the small of his back, the stranger had a collapsed, regal looking, double trident, and a long nodaichi at his hip, the handle wrapped in worn leather.
Jumping head first into the tree's lining the road, the man began to slow down on his trek until he finally made a complete stop in front of the gate, smiling to himself, the man reached up to pull down his black flame covered hood, revealing a shaggy mane of dark, burnt, orange hair. However, the most eye-catching feature of his revealed face would be his luminous silver eyes with three concentric circles surrounding the pupil. With a smirk, he preformed a single hand seal and disappeared in a flash of black and red lightning.
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The wizened old Hokage sat behind his desk, silently cursing his life and the untimely demise of his former successor, all the while filling out the bane of his existence… paperwork. No matter what he did and no matter what new techniques he tried, it always seemed that it had tripled from the day before. It was almost enough to make an old man cry; that, or take a Katon jutsu to his entire office. Either way, it was not a pretty sight to behold.
As he continued to sort through his massive piles upon piles of paperwork, he sighed, swiveling around in his chair to stare out his window to overlook his village. Thinking back on these past few years, Sarutobi took a long, calming drag on his pipe. Everything seemed to have gone down hill after Naruto had left. Nukenin rates continued to increase by the month, academy dropout rates had reached an all time high, and then there was the whole Uchiha incident a few years back. It truly was like Naruto had kept the entire village in order, under their hate for the boy, they had planned nothing else. Yet, there where some merits to the years as well. True to his word, the Hokage had kept an eye on Naruto's friends over the years and watched as a deep relationship between the two clansmen formed. Where Sasuke should have been brooding and nasty, he was calm and collected thanks to her; and where Hinata should be shy and stuttering you would see a confident and brash girl who took shit from no one. Those two where the top students in the academy, and were considered child prodigies in their clans.
Smiling, Sarutobi felt pride in all the things those two had accomplished over the years, and yet there was always one down side. No matter what he said to the two, they still had a deep-seated hate for their former friend, still in denial about him supposedly abandoning them. Frowning at the thought, Sarutobi sighed at the poor blonde haired boy that he remembered.
Broken from his thoughts, Sarutobi stared at the area before his desk as it was filled with a blinding flash of black and red lightning. Shielding his eyes as the light became too much for him to handle, he began to wonder if he was under attack. Panicking, Sarutobi slowly lowered his hands, ready to strike at a moments notice. However, staring upon the semi-blonde haired man before him, his suspicious face slowly faded into a wry grin, "Ah, speak of the devil. I was wondering when you would show up."
The intruder now revealed as Naruto, lowered his face mask and smiled his signature foxy smile gazing at the old man. It had been almost eight years since he had last seen him, and yet the old man seemed to not have aged a day. Maybe a few more gray hairs and wrinkles here and there, but still the same old smiling, understanding man as before, "It's good to see you to Ojii-san, it has been to long in my taste."
"Yes it has Naruto-Kun," The Hokage stated with his wry smile still in place, "Why don't we sit down, I think we have a lot to discuss since our last update two months ago." As Naruto plopped down in front of his aged leader, Sarutobi sighed for what seemed like the hundredth time that morning. "Now, as you know, the genin exams have taken place. But, before anything else happens I would like for you to outline your skills for me. I know that you have kept me updated, but I want it in detail this time."
Flashing a foxy grin at the old man, Naruto jumped into the conversation head first, "Where to start… Ok, well according to my Otooji, I have mastered the Rin'negan to such an extent that it has not been seen since my ancestor, Kazama Arashi, the Rikudou Sennin," Pausing to let the information process, He trudged forward, "I have learned all of my parent's jutsu and as you can see improved them some what. My Taijutsu and Ninjutsu skills are that of an elite Jounin of this village, with most of my clan's jutsu in my repertoire; however, my Genjutsu is only on par of those of a high Chuunin to low Jounin. My skills in the art of the blade are unmatched by any of those I have faced, and there is also the matter of the fox."
It was a lot to take in all at once, but it seemed like Naruto had the makings of an elite A-class shinobi at the moment, and he was only thirteen. Sarutobi smiled at how strong his favorite blonde had become, it was truly remarkable at how far he had progressed. "That is truly amazing Naruto-kun," the Sandaime exclaimed, "But what is this now about the fox?"
Sighing, Naruto shifted in his chair slightly to get more comfortable for the long story ahead, "Well Ojii-san, that is kind of complicated. You see.. The Bijuu, including Kyuubi are not really demons at all. The nine of them were originally the boss summonings of nine very prominent clans way back when in the time right after my ancestor first introduced the art of Ninjutsu into the elemental countries." He paused to let the shock value wear off, "However, over time they were exposed to more and more chakra and were transformed into the malevolent beings that we know today. So basically, they are all just on chakra overload. And that's what I meant when I said the fox matter; I was able to drain the excess chakra off of him and incorporate it into myself, thus making the Shiki Fuujin useless and allowing the now calm fox lord out of the cage in my stomach." seeing the old man's bewildered expression caused Naruto laugh slightly at the way he looked, it truly was a funny sight.
Then again, it was no surprise that the elder leader was shocked at what he just said. After all, it wasn't common knowledge. "That is a very intriguing prospect Naruto-kun. We will have to document this in our logs for the future generations." This was truly wonderful news, now Naruto could have a normal life, "However, if you don't mind me asking, where there any side effects in removing the fox? Also, were is he now if he is not in your stomach?" Obviously there were some side effects of the fox being removed as he could already see that the whisker marks were not even a blemish on his pale white skin anymore; but there could be others.
Flashing another foxy grin at the Hokage, Naruto jumped back into his explanation, "Yes, there were some side effects, but none of them were bad in the least. My chakra reserves are probably on par or a little bit better than yours when you when you were in your prime because of all the chakra that I had absorbed from the fox. I also have some knowledge of various jutsu from him, and as he has an innate control over the element of fire, so have I, allowing me total control over the element; as a side effect I can produce flaming claws from my fingers. It also appears that I have still retained my amazing healing abilities as well. Plus, as you have noticed, all of the fox's influences on my body are gone; Otooji says that I'm the spitting image of my ancestor. For were the Fox is now, well… he is back in the summoning world as the head of the Fox clan, under his true name of Kurama, trying to get all the kitsune in line and get back in relation with the other animal clans. Also, it just so happens that the Kazama were the original holders of the Fox contract and Kurama has seen fit to return to the clan with me at the head."
That was truly amazing, not only did he have a mastery over fire, he was almost invincible with his advanced healing rate as well. But, with the summoning contract with the foxes, he was truly a force to be reckoned with now. "That is spectacular Naruto-kun," the Sandaime said as soon as he was able to form coherent sentences after his shock was over, "but is that the same for all of the jinchuuriki? Or will there be different effects to all of you?" Sarutobi could not believe his ears, Naruto was a truly amazing boy, he could do all of this and he was still so young. To think, he would only become more powerful as he aged.
"Well, that actually all depends on what Bijuu one has sealed in them. Have you heard of Subaku no Gaara?" Receiving a nod from old man Sarutobi, Naruto continued his theory, " He had the Ichibi sealed away inside of him, and so when I went and released the Tanuki from him, he still retained the control over his sand and has become a master of the wind element, and he has lost the Ichibi influences in his body and is now able to sleep with his homicidal tendencies induced by the Tanuki all but ceased. He also now holds the raccoon clan contract with the Ichibi, Shukaku, as it's head; Gaara is now the head of the all but forgotten Subaku clan." Letting the information sink into his old frazzled brain for the moment, the Sandaime merely nodded.
"Well, you never cease to amaze me, do you Naruto-kun," the old man stated with a wry grin forming once more on his wrinkled face, "however, can you tell me all those that you have… 'put right', and all those that remain to be helped?" It was crucial that they figured out which Bijuu were left so that everything could be put right once again. He just hoped that the worst of it was over.
"Hmmm…. Well, as you know I got the Kyuubi and the Ichibi, but I also have the Nibi, the Sanbi, the Rokubi, the Shichibi, and the Hachibi. So basically I've taken care of the Fox, Raccoon, Cat, Turtle, Weasel, Badger, and Snake animal clan bosses. And no, Manda is not the boss of the snake clan, Yamata the eight-headed snake is, and has since ceased the contract with Orochimaru. As for the ones I still need are the Yonbi, the four-tailed phoenix, and the Gobi, the five-tailed tiger. They are the only two that are currently roaming free and I need someone to transfer the excess chakra into to make it actually work." He knew that the old man would get a kick out of Orochimaru being short a summoning contract, after all it was really funny.
"Well, that is all good news, I'm sure you'll be able to find some one to absorb the last few Bijuu's power willingly, it's a great honor." the Sandaime told his bright young associate, "But, now back to business, what level do you think that you should start at? Judging by you description of your skills, you are at the very least Chuunin material. And how is it that you know Orochimaru? He left the village even before you were born." Sitting back, the old man gauged the young lad's reaction to the discussion so far. He seemed to be handling everything pretty well, but had winced at the mention of Orochimaru.
"Well you see Ojii-san, I think that I would rather start out as a genin, I don't think I really need the graduation test as I was able to climb the ranks back in Ame fairly quickly and was considered the best Oinin on the force before I left. But, I just want time to relax for now, plus I want to know people my own age for once. As for Orochimaru…" He started out cheerfully enough, but was now starting to sound somber; he even reach his hand subconsciously up to his neck," well, he was one of my tutors a while back in Ame, before he was booted out by Otooji when he found out what Orochimaru was doing to civilians. But before he left, he gave me something that has bonded me to his will forever… he said that he had specifically designed it for me and me alone… the Cursed seal of Hell." Taking a quick peek when Naruto exposed his neck, the Sandaime saw three triquetra arranged in a perfect circle on the left side of his neck.
Gasping at the familiar sight of a curse seal, Sarutobi wondered if Naruto ever figured out the true purpose behind it. Most of the time it just extended control over the victims mind and gave them immense power, but if this was designed specifically for him then it could be for anything. "Naruto, please tell me that you have been extremely careful with that seal. There's no telling what it can do." At that Naruto flashed his foxy grin to the extreme. Of course he already knew what it did and had sealed it away a long time ago, there was no worry now.
Laughing at the serious look the old man adopted when he learned of the seal, Naruto decided to set him straight, "Don't worry Ojii-san, the seal is not active at the moment. I sealed it myself after I attained my seal mastery about two years back." Sighing in relief the Hokage let out a breath that he didn't even know that he was holding. Still, this was totally unheard of, a Fuuinjutsu mastery in under six years. Naruto was truly a child prodigy.
"That is truly a relief Naruto-kun, still a Fuuinjutsu mastery in under six years, that is remarkable." He smiled at the lad as he lit up the pipe that he took from his top drawer. Taking a long drag, the Sandaime continued, "Do you know what the seal does?" He had to know what it did after all, just to make sure no one was in danger.
"Yeah Ojii-san, it is mostly like the regular model that increases your power at the loss of your sanity and changes your physical appearance slightly, but it also allows for Orochimaru to directly tamper with my thoughts if he so chose. However that was before I released Kurama, and with the feed back pulse that I got when he was released, I think that Orochimaru's influence over it is gone." Naruto stated calmly to the Hokage's exasperated stares, " But I still don't use it, just to be on the safe side."
"That is very responsible of you Naruto-kun, I'm proud of you," the Hokage said as Naruto flashed a smirk at the old man, "I know a lot of people who would give anything for the power that you could wield with that thing. But now, let's get back to the task at hand." Standing up from his seat, Sarutobi moved over to the picture of his late successor and removed it to reveal the same safe from all those years ago. Entering the correct code, the safe popped open and the Sandaime removed what appeared to be a big pile of red and white cloth and a black strip of material from inside; closing the safe and returning the picture, the Hokage returned to his seat with the items that he just produced, "Ok Naruto, upon the explicit instructions of your late father, kami bless his soul, you are to receive his personal hitai-ate and his Hokage robes now that you are back in the village and you know who he is," Handing over said items, the Hokage beamed at his expression, "However, I suggest that you wait until your at least a Jounin to wear you father's robes."
Shocked at such wonderful gifts, Naruto could only nod his head as he stared at the items. Reaching his hand out towards the hitai-ate, he grasped the black material within his hand and stared down at the metal plate in the center that looked almost exactly like any regular Konoha Hitai-ate, but the leaf symbol on this particular one was replaced with a double-headed trident, surrounded by a wreath of black flames, the Namikaze clan's emblem, "Here is another hitai-ate that must be used for your active duty, Naruto-kun." the Sandaime said as he pulled out a fresh one from his top drawer and handed it over to the lad, "Now I would like to give you a very special rank Naruto-kun, as of now you are a Tokubetsu Chuunin. This is a rank very few exceptional genin attain over their lifetime, while still on your genin squad you gain special privileges. First off you are recognized as the leader of your team and if at any point your sensei is incapacitated, you are made the commanding officer. As an added bonus, you are able to go on solo or group missions with other Chuunin, so you won't be stuck with all of those tedious D-rank missions all the time. So, what do think?"
That was shocking, of course he would accept such a rank. Who wants to be stuck doing D-ranks? Reaching into the interfolds of his trench coat, Naruto produce a third hitai-ate that was black like the first, but two metal devil-like horns were added to the area above where the metal plate usually was, but was suspiciously absent. Taking the metal plate from his newly acquired active duty hitai-ate, Naruto placed it on the one that he just produced and tied it around his head, making him look exactly like his ancestor, the Rukudou Sennin, "Thank you, Ojii-san. I couldn't have asked for anything better." With a smile, Naruto tied his father's hitai-ate to his right forearm, with the excess hanging down the inside of his arm. Next, producing a scroll from his trench coat, he sealed his father's robe and then placed it back in his pocket, "Ok Ojii-san, is their anything else for us to discuss or can I just get the keys and go?"
Opening the bottom right drawer of his desk, Sarutobi lifted up a secret flap to reveal a compartment and produced the keys from within. "Here you go Naruto-kun, the district is right in between the Hyuuga and the Uchiha. Just be at the academy tomorrow by nine to be placed on your team, Ok?" with that, the Sandaime took a another drag on his all but forgotten pipe, waiting for his answer, "However, I must warn you, your friends seem to be very angry with you since you left. Be careful."
Sighing as he grabbed the keys from the old man, Naruto smirked a little to himself, "Ok Ojii-san, I will. Don't worry." Getting up from his seat, Naruto made towards the door, but stopped once his hand was on the handle, "Oh… before I forget, I know about my family. So, can you tell me were they live."
Sighing, the Sandaime shifted his position over to the filing cabinet and search for all of three minutes before producing a thick green folder that was labeled 'Kazama' and a pitch black folder labeled 'Namikaze'. Walking over towards the door, the Hokage placed the folders in Naruto's hands and finally spoke, "Ok, Naruto-kun you will find all the information about your older brother and sister in the green one and about your Uncle and Grandmother in the black one, I just hope you find what you are looking for."
Nodding his head, Naruto scanned the room once more before he stopped on the figure of the old man, "Well, Ojii-san I'm tired and I want to set the place up to living conditions again. And thank you again for everything." Opening the door, Naruto walked out, as the Hokage sat down to get back to work, only to stick his head in again a moment later, "Oh…Ojii-san," Naruto yelled to get the man's attention, "Why not just use Kage Bushin." With that he was gone again in a flash of black and red lightning, leaving behind a slack jawed and wide eyed Sandaime Hokage. It was then that the old man broke down into anime style tears and started to bang his head on his desk, all the while screaming obscenities about how life wasn't fair.
xxxxxxxxxx Namikaze Estates xxxxxxxxxx
Once again appearing in a flash of black and red lightning, Naruto stared out at the space before him. As the Hokage said, he was between both the Uchiha and the Hyuuga compounds, and yet all there was before him was a giant forest of white tree's with black leaves. Shrugging, Naruto walked forward, further into the forest and seeing depressions in the base of each tree. Upon, further inspection of the trees, Naruto was able to figure out that they were hollow and that the depressions were in fact the entrance to each home. Using common sense, Naruto guessed that all of these smaller trees were the homes of the smaller families of the clan.
Walking towards the center of the forest, Naruto noted that the further he got towards the middle, the bigger the trees got. Inspecting more of the trees as he went along, he soon came to the biggest tree he had ever seen. It was utterly massive, Standing at about 100 feet in height, it was at least twice that in width. The roots appeared to at some point in time grown out of the ground only to grown back in shortly after, leaving behind massive hanging roots. Resembling somewhat to an Oak, the bark was a mix between an ash grey and a bone white; the leaves were a midnight, raven black. It was truly an impressive sight.
Getting over his shock, Naruto walked up to the base of the tree and gracefully climbing one of the roots, opened up the depression on the side of the trunk. Walking into his new home, he began to scope out what he needed to do. After almost three hours, Naruto was fairly positive that he would be able to live there without a problem. It had at least six extra bedrooms added onto the master and another nine bathrooms that went with each bedroom, and the master. It had a massive library that was filled with books from all over the continent, mostly jutsu, and even the private works of the most famous people in history. The kitchen was down right amazing, and the dining room looked like it belonged in a 5-star hotel. It had a private onsen, and a massive dojo added onto the back of the tree and each room had pop out windows. Over all, he thought that he could get used to it.
Putting his stuff into the master bedroom, for the time being, Naruto headed for the main living room on the second floor. Sitting down on one of the many comfy sofas that surrounded a massive coffee table, he laid out both folders before him. Picking up the jet-black one first, he began to read about both his uncle and his grandmother.
Namikaze Files
Name: Namikaze Tsunade
Alias: One of the Legendary Sanin
Relations: Namikaze Dan [Husband], Senju Nawaki [Brother], Senju Hirashima [Grandfather], Namikaze Minato [Son], Kazama Kushina [Daughter-in-Law]. Namikaze Gai [Son], Namikaze-Kazama [Rock] Lee [Grandson], Namikaze-Kazama Tenshi [Higurashi Tenten] [Granddaughter], Namikaze-Kazama Mikato (Uzumaki Naruto] [grandson]
Notable Characteristics: Super-strength, looks thirty but is around fifty, Slug Summoner, minor Mokuton abilities
Current Whereabouts: Unknown
Name: Namikaze Gai
Alias: Miato Gai, The Beautiful Blue Beast of Konoha
Relations: Namikaze Dan [Father], Namikaze Tsunade [Mother], Senju Nawaki [Uncle], Senju Hirashima [Great-Grandfather], Namikaze Minato [Brother], Kazama Kushina [Sister-in-Law], Namikaze-Kazama [Rock] Lee [Nephew], Namikaze-Kazama Tenshi [Higurashi Tenten] [Niece], Namikaze-Kazama Mikato [Uzumaki Naruto] [Nephew]
Notable Characteristics: Expert Taijutsu master, Seal Master, minor Mokuton abilities
Current Whereabouts: Konohagakure, instructor of team 9 on training field 13
Damn… he had known that he had some living family, but he had never known that they were this famous. Then again, that would probably explain his unique abilities with trees and such, but still… and where did that crazy spandex-wearing freak come in? Plus, since when was his name Mikato?! Whatever. Onto the Kazama folder.
Kazama Files
Name: Namikaze-Kazama Lee
Alias: Rock Lee
Relations: Namikaze Minato [Father], Kazama Kushina [Mother], Namikaze Gai [Uncle], Namikaze-Kazama Tenshi [Higurashi Tenten] [Twin Sister], Namikaze-Kazama Mikato [Uzumaki Naruto] [Younger Brother], Namikaze Dan [Grandfather], Namikaze Tsunade [Grandmother], Senju Hirashima [Great-Great Grandfather], Senju Nawaki [Great Uncle]
Notable characteristics: Is under a suppression seal making him only capable of using Taijutsu, of which he is a master of his family's Style.
Current Whereabouts: Konohagakure, Genin of team 9
Name: Namikaze-Kazama Tenshi
Alias: Higurashi Ten-Ten
Relations: Namikaze Minato [Father], Kazama Kushina [Mother], Namikaze Gai [Uncle], Namikaze-Kazama Lee [Twin Brother], Namikaze-Kazama Mikato [Uzumaki Naruto] [Younger Brother], Namikaze Dan [Grandfather], Namikaze Tsunade [Grandmother], Senju Hirashima [Great-Great Grandfather], Senju Nawaki [Great Uncle]
Notable characteristics: Is under a suppression seal making her weaker in all aspects of jutsu, a weapons master.
Current Whereabouts: Konohagakure, Genin of team 9
Well, that made things a little easier at least. He wouldn't have to hunt all over the village to find them, like he had suspected he had to do. Sighing, Naruto looked over the information one more time before putting them away in their respective folders and glancing up at the clock. It was about mid day so they must still be training at the moments; it was the perfect time to greet his family. Rising from the couch, Naruto descended the stairs and out of his new home, disappearing with a single hand sign and a flash of black and red lightning.
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