Whirlpool Part III
It was late at night as Akahana sat on the bed of her hotel room, her restless mind keeping her from sleeping. This day had been many things. It was an emotional up and down, that she would have rather avoided. But she knew it was no use to waste her thoughts on this any more then she already had. She would have to live with the fact that she would always be judged for the actions of other people.
She sighed deeply as she tried to banish all thoughts from her mind so she could finally find sleep. But to no avail as she realized that she was not as alone as she had thought before.
"Yo, Akahana-hime." Came the cheerful greeting from her little fox companion.
"Kurou... where have you been the entire day? Haven't seen you since that fight."
"Missed me?" The fox asked with an expression that could only be described as somewhat gleeful.
"Hardly... I actually hoped you fell of the ship and drowned..." Akahana deadpanned. As much as she appreciated the company sometimes, the little fox could be a real pain in the neck most of the time. And she couldn't help but feel weary in his presence whenever she remembered that Kurou was only here on orders of the demon to keep an eye on her...
"Ungrateful humans..." Kurou replied before he jumped off the bed and walked over to the open window to look outside on the peacefully sleeping village. "It's so quiet, I can hardly believe that this is a village that has not seen a single day of peace for decades."
Akahana joined the fox at the window, a smile on her lips as she felt a soft breeze on her skin. "Kurou..." She asked after some moments of silence, "... you said that Kyubi has sent us to the past, right?"
"Yup, thirty years." The fox chirped back.
"Would it be possible... I mean, can we change the way things will happen? What will become of me and our own time if I interfere with the past?" Akahana asked with some trepidation.
"You're still here even though your presence has already changed this time line. Don't try to understand things that humans are not meant to understand." Kurou chastised. "Humans will never understand the correlation of space and time like summons and demons do."
"Would it be too selfish to change certain events?"
"Like saving this village? Don't be so arrogant to believe that you could change everything just because you know how things have happened before. But your presence has already changed everything, many events will happen differently now."
"Still, this time around I can fulfill my oath and protect everyone." Akahana said with a hopeful expression. "Last time I was too late... too weak."
"You won, did you not?" Kurou asked back.
"But only after everyone else had perished. I failed my duty to my master and my home. But not this time." Akahana exclaimed with conviction.
"So you will run back to that pathetic man who has raised you? You do know that such an act would only hamper your wish to change the way things have played out last time." By now Kurou had turned towards Akahana and looked at pointedly at her. It was obvious that he was sort of evaluating her with his questions.
"As much as I wish prove myself to be useful to Danzo-sama, I can't deny the fact that the time of my service to him is over. I am no longer the weapon that he has forged me to be. In the two years since his death I have changed..." Akahana closed her eyes for some moments as she forced the memory of her dieing master out of her mind before she continued. "I have to find my own way now. I can no longer expect others to control my every step. Maybe my fate lies here and not with the Leaf for now."
"Finally you acknowledge that fact, Akahana-hime. I was worried that you would still feel as lost as you did after that man's death. Kyubi-sama told me you would eventually snap out of it, but I was skeptic." Kurou stated with a thoughtful tone.
"Your master must expect me to do something that will also benefit him in this time, am I right?" Akahana asked the small fox.
"Who knows. I am not privy to Kyubi-sama's plans. I only follow the orders given to me. The order to keep an eye one you and guide you." Kurou replied.
"You look like a young fox kit, but you are far older than that, are you not?"
"Wouldn't you like to know." Kurou said with a smirk that showed his sharp teeth. "But enough talk for now. You need your sleep and I need to catch a pervert." With these words Kurou jumped out of the open window and disappeared into the night.
Akahana only laughed lightly when heard the small fox's words. She already had an idea which pervert would feel the wrath of the fox. The mutual dislike that Kurou and Jiraiya felt for each other was always very amusing. It made her smile; she was happy for that. Before the demon had sent her here she had only very few reasons to smile. Maybe, just maybe the demon had done something good to her. Just this once, she really hoped so. It was a chance, but she would have to fight for her new place in this world. And fighting had always been something that she excelled at.
After only a few hours of sleep Akahana was woken up rather rudely by a bouncing redhead, that misused her bed as trampoline. Akahana could only groan lightly when she saw that merely four hours had passed since she went to sleep.
"Kushina, just what are you doing in my room?" Akahana groaned.
"Good morning, oneesan." Kushina chirped happily as she resumed bouncing around on Akahana's bed.
"Imouto, what are you doing in my room. How did you get in here in the first place?"
"The window was still open." Kushina replied with a bright grin. "You were really down yesterday so I wanted to see how you are doing today."
Akahana couldn't help but feel happy that someone cared for how she felt. Especially since the person who cared for her was her own mother. Even though her mother currently thought of her as an older sister, but that was a truth that Akahana had decided that she would take with her to her grave. Things were better this way. This was no longer the same Kushina Uzumaki that would later die shortly after giving birth to her daughter. Akahana wasn't even sure if she would even be born in this time line, she had changed the people in this time through her presence. She would have to stop thinking of Kushina as her mother and start considering her as her little sister.
"You really shouldn't worry so much about me. You must be excited about being back home and being able to see your mother again." Akahana replied with a smile.
"Sure... but it is odd. Why do the others in the clan treat you so hostile?"
"Please don't ask that question, Kushina... if you really want to know then ask your mother about it, I am sure that Misaki-san will be better at explaining the situation."
"You have met kaasan?" Kushina asked surprised.
"Yeah, she is one of the few that treat me friendly. But enough about this. I'm sure there is another reason why you have come here. So out with it." Akahana said with fake enthusiasm. She just wanted Kushina to drop the entire subject at the moment.
Another grin spread on Kushina's face, one that actually creeped Akahana out a bit. "You promised that you would teach me some things. The way you have fought against those thugs yesterday was so awesome, I really want to be able to fight like you do."
"That will take years of unrelenting and inhuman training, imouto. Do you really want to endure such a thing?" Akahana asked with a raised eyebrow. "Or are you too afraid of very hard work?"
"Of course I will endure it, 'ttebane. I will become strong and even surpass you one day." Kushina replied flustered.
"Fine, I will teach you some techniques if you are not too scared." Akahana stated with a smile. It was always so easy to smile around Kushina. The easily excitable girl could always cheer her up as it seemed.
"Yes, thank you, thank you. You're the best, oneesan!" Kushina squealed happily. "Oh the others will be so jealous that I have such an awesome sister 'ttebane."
"Just let me get ready for the day then we will look for a suitable place for training." Akahana said, as she finally pushed herself out of her bed. Her mind was made up now. Even if she couldn't stop all bad things from happening, she would at least try to safe as many of her important people as she could. Her sister would be one of those people, she would make sure that her sister was strong enough to survive the night that Kyubi will attack Konoha. She wouldn't let her family die this time.
Toshiro Uzumaki sat in his office with his guests, as they listened to the report of one of the clan's own healers. This time his guests were the clan elders, as they had convened to discuss the topic that had the entire clan in an uproar, the appearance of yet another bastard child from the main house of the Uzumaki Clan.
The current report they were listening to was directly connected to said child; true to his word Toshiro had his clan healers do another test to determine whether Akahana was really who she claimed to be or whether she was merely an imposter that tried to use the clan for her own schemes.
"As ordered we have conducted a full test of the samples we have taken from Akahana Uzumaki yesterday evening. Since we cannot test her connection to your late son, due to the lack of samples from him, we could only test her relation to your granddaughter Kushina Uzumaki." The healer reported dutifully.
"And? Get on with it, we ain't got all day, boy." One of the elders admonished sternly.
"Of course. All our tests were positive. Akahana Uzumaki and Kushina Uzumaki are indeed closely related." The healer's exclamation caused deep frowns to appear on the faces of the elders while Toshiro had a rather contemplative look on his own face.
"So she is indeed my granddaughter..." Toshiro mumbled.
"We are not 100% sure, Toshiro-sama. All our tests only showed a relation to Kushina-san, but the result is not what we would typically expect to be a sibling relation..."
"Clarify that. Is she a member of Toshiro-sama's family or not?" One of the elders barked angrily.
"Akahana-san is at least a half Uzumaki. But the results would implicate a mother daughter relation, not that of siblings. But the mere notion is ridiculous. Akahana-san is about five years older then Kushina-san, there is no chance that they could be mother and daughter." The healer elaborated nervously.
"Is there any way to get better results, that would give us undeniable proof about how this girl is related to my family?" Toshiro asked exasperatedly.
"Unfortunately not, Toshiro-sama. The only way to be completely sure would be to test her relation to the suspected father, in this case your late son. But we lack sufficient samples from him to make any tests..." The healer stated with a sigh. "We can only guess what had caused this strange result. Her DNA might have been affected by her mother in some unknown way, a bloodline maybe. People might have experimented on her. There are countless other ways to cause a slight change in her DNA that would yield these results. But all those ways would implicate that Akahana Uzumaki is indeed your granddaughter."
"Thank you for your report. You are dismissed." Toshiro told the healer gruffly. The man looked relieved to finally get out of this office. He merely bowed to Toshiro and the elders before he quickly left the room.
"This is troubling, Toshiro." One of the elders said with an angry look on his face. "This means that both of your sons have brought shame on our clan due to their behavior. Another bastard child... this is outrageous."
"Be silent, old fool. Do not badmouth my dead sons or you will join them in the afterlife." Toshiro warned the disrespectful man with a menacing growl. "Rather think about the implications of this for the clan."
"Yes, yes. Since the girl is not an imposter we can now at least discount the option of having her executed." Another elder said in a bored manner. "But our options with here are now severely limited."
"The girl is apparently one of my own blood, you three better not plan anything harmful for her. Bastard or not, I will not watch idly while you harm one of my grandchildren. Her existence may be unwanted and I would lie if I would say that I trust her, but I will not let you punish her when she is indeed innocent." Toshiro stated loudly.
"Your grandchild she may be, but she is also an outsider. We are at war, our enemies are numerous and we cannot simply trust some random girl, just because her father was your unfaithful son." One of the elders exclaimed sternly. "The best option would be to simply exile her from the clan and this village. This way she cannot do any more damage to any other Uzumaki unless she reveals herself as an enemy and fights us openly."
Toshiro remained silent as he heard that. He disliked the idea greatly. To exile the girl just because she was born to the wrong mother seemed like an awfully hard punishment. And after he heard the things Akahana had told Misaki the day before... he was sure that exile would destroy this girl after all she had apparently suffered through. In the worst case it would push her directly into the waiting arms of their enemies. But he also remembered why they were so cautious towards outsiders. He painfully remembered why this entire situation was so tense in the first place.
"But there might be another possible solution." One of the elders exclaimed suddenly.
"And that would be?"
"It is not yet time to reveal it, Toshiro. First we have to put her loyalty to test. We never even questioned the last bastard before we welcomed him into our clan, we won't repeat that mistake. No, we will keep a close eye on her and see where her loyalties lie. If she is trustworthy enough there might be a way to allow her to remain in this clan and serve this village. Kami knows we need good fighters and from the few tidbits of information we could gather we can assume that she is strong."
"So what do you plan to do with Akahana?" Toshiro asked impatiently.
"Don't you worry about that. You will follow your own duties, we will follow ours. For the good of the clan we will do what we can." The elder said cryptically. "But enough for now, we all have other duties to attend to now, so we will resume this meeting in a few days when we know more about the girl's loyalties." Without being dismissed the three elders stood up and left the office, much to Toshiro's anger. These bickering old men acted without respect towards him, they saw themselves as his equals at best, as his superiors at worst.
"I really need a drink now." Toshiro mumbled before he stood up and left the office as well.
Akahana looked on in mild interest when she saw where Kushina had lead her. Instead of the usual training grounds she was used to, Kushina had brought her directly to the large river the split the village in two.
"Hm, why exactly are we here, Kushina? I thought you wanted to train?"
"These are the best training grounds in all of Uzushio 'ttebane." Kushina exclaimed excitedly. "Look, these are the seven bridges that connect the civilian and the shinobi part of the village. Between the bridges are six special training grounds that can only be used by those who have mastered water walking. I was told it is awesome for training, to come here since you can train your chakra control at the same time as your other skills."
"And what is the purpose of those nets under each bridge? Trying to catch fish?" Akahana asked with a dubious expression.
"No, silly. There are no fish in this river... at least none that I would know of. The current of the river is extremely strong at some points so in case someone falls in during training, which happens more often than not, the person will be stopped by the nets and be able to climb out of the water." As she explained the purpose of the training ground and all that was part of it Kushina pulled Akahana along towards the rest of the Konoha group. The other Genin watched the two Uzumaki's with mild interest, while most of the Jonin that still were with the group watched Akahana wearily. It was obvious that they were less trustful towards the girl, that was shunned by her own clan, but none of them made any effort to inquire why exactly Akahana was treated that way.
"I believe I should not get too close to the people of your group, Kushina. The Jonin don't look all too happy to see me again." Akahana said cautiously.
"Ah just let them stare. Now please teach me something. Pretty please." Kushina looked at her sister with puppy-dog-eyes, pleading to be taught something cool that would make her a Chunin for sure.
"Alright. Since you can learn Fuinjutsu from your mother, I will help you a bit with your Taijutsu. Come on, we will try some basic Katas to warm up then I will spar against you to determine your current skill level." Akahana said with a thoughtful look.
Akahana watched Kushina's movements silently for some time as she evaluated her sister. She knew the importance of a good Taijutsu style, her mentor had special tutors that had beaten a befitting style into her, until she could defeat each and every one of those teachers. It was hard, it was painful, but it was damn effective. But at the same time it was not the way she wanted to teach Kushina. She was averse to the thought of inflicting pain upon her sister.
"Alright, Kushina. It is obvious just by watching you doing the basic Katas that your style is not as refined as it should be at your age. I don't know why that is the case, especially since your teacher is a Hyuga and should therefore know the importance of a fluent style and mastery of the basics." Kushina pouted when she heard Akahana's criticism, but remained silent and listened on. "Alright, out on the water with you. Now we spar."
Kushina happily obliged with that order and applied Chakra to her feet so she would not sink while she walked out on the water. Akahana followed only moments later. "Alright, imouto, show me what you got. Taijutsu only, but go all out against me."
"Well if you can take it, don't blame me if you get wet 'ttebane." Kushina exclaimed happily before she attacked her sister.
Akahana could dodge Kushina's quick attacks effortlessly, her own speed superior to that of the five year younger Uzumaki. But Kushina showed no signs of getting tired even after several minutes of relentless attacks, something that Akahana could easily attribute to the Kyubi who was currently sealed inside Kushina.
"Your attacks may be strong, Kushina, but you lack in both speed and precision. Your attacks are sometimes a bit sloppy and too predictable. I guess we will have a long way to go to improve your Taijutsu." Akahana said with a smile before she started her own attack. Before Kushina knew what had happened her sister was directly in front of her, feigning an attack on her right shoulder before she sent a kick against the younger girls unprotected left leg. Even though the impact wasn't hard it messed up Kushina's balance, causing her to stagger before she fell into the water and was swept away by the current.
Akahana laughed lightly when she saw Kushina's sour look, once the girl had climbed up the nearby bridge with the help of the net. "Maybe we should train somewhere a little more... dry. At least until you can defend against my attacks a little better. Misaki-san wouldn't appreciate it if her daughter catches a cold due to the freezing water."
Suddenly Akahana had a strange premonition, only in the last moment she was able to block an incoming attack from a new enemy who had sneaked up on her while she concentrated on her sister. She immediately went into a battle ready stance, her hand itching towards the hilt of her sword. She expected another attack, but to her surprise it did not come immediately. Instead she saw her assailant clap as he looked at her with a condescending smile on his lips.
The moment she saw him, Akahana knew immediately, that her attacker was another Uzumaki. The same fiery red hair, though he had it cut rather short in comparison to his peers, and the usual revulsion visible in his eyes that she had only seen from other Uzumakis so far.
"Impressive reaction. I had not expected you to be able to block that particular attack this efficiently." The man said with a tone, that others would only use to speak to young children that misbehaved. "The last one was barely able to hold a Kunai without injuring himself, yet he dealt our clan a devastating blow. I shudder to think what you can do to our clan. Oh no, I will make sure that you will know your place, outsider."
As Akahana looked around she could see that there were already a large number of people watching them from the bridges and the shores, all other people had already fled the training ground fearing the upcoming battle.
"Though I don't even know what exactly the 'last one' has done to you and this clan, I will not sit back and let you attack me just like that. Who do you bastard think you are?" Akahana growled angrily.
"Listen closely, outsider. I will only tell you this once. My name is Arashi Uzumaki and I will protect my clan from any threat inside and out. You will not threaten my people and go unpunished." Arashi exclaimed proudly. Around them people started to cheer loudly for the young man, cries of 'Arashi-sama' and 'show her who's boss' could be heard again and again. Akahana had long ago learned to ignore these kind of comments, but it was still irking her to know that it was her own clan that spited her this time.
"It's getting rather tiresome to listen to people blaming me for things that I have not done. I have never posed a threat to this clan and I will never do that. It only happened in the imagination of you narrow minded people. I don't know what this 'last one' has done, but if you try to punish me for the crimes of another person, then I will show you that I will never bow to injustice. You want a fight, come here and get it." Akahana growled with barely contained anger.
"We will see, outsider, we will see." Arashi replied with a smirk before he charge at her with a Kunai in his hand.
He engaged Akahana quickly in closer combat, slashing at her with great strength and speed. Akahana could only block his initial attacks with her Katana. In her attempts to block and avoid his attacks, she was slowly driven back, something that caused cheers to erupt from the onlookers around them.
His attacks rained in on Akahana, one after another. Slash. Stab. Slash. Sometimes a kick or punch with the free hand. His attacks came fast and unpredictable for the girl. He feigned a low attack with his Kunai which Akahana quickly tried to block only to be hit by a high kick from Arashi that sent her staggering a few feet back.
Akahana quickly refocused on her opponent, just in time to see him flash through the hand signs for a Jutsu. She quickly jumped to the side when she heard him call out his attack. "Suiton: Mizurappa" Moments later a strong gush of water erupted from his mouth in her direction, but it wasn't fast enough to follow her as she avoided the attack.
Akahana wasted no time to retaliate and countered the water Jutsu with her own wind Jutsus. "Futon: Shinkugyoku" This exclamation caused Arashi to react quickly and jump around erratic as she exhaled small blast of wind chakra which impacted on the water like bullets.
"Pah, wind against water. You aren't even a real Uzumaki; not even able to use our clan's affinity to water Jutsus." Arashi exclaimed with a mocking laugh.
"Water like that puny little Jutsu you used? Please, I have seen Academy Students do better than that. That attack was pathetic." Akahana replied with a condescending tone as she looked at Arashi like he was a little kid. "But you ask for water and I shall oblige you. You will regret fighting me." Her tone turned cold as she exclaimed the next Jutsu. "Suiton: Kirigakure no Jutsu." Quickly a thick fog covered the entire battlefield around them, hiding both opponents from sight.
But Akahana had not counted on the reaction this would cause with the people of Uzushio. She had not thought about the current political situation of the village and the fact that Kirigakure no Sato was one of Uzushio's biggest and most dangerous enemies at this time. Nearly all shinobi that watched the fight immediately recognized the Jutsu that was known as a specialty of Kiri's shinobi. Shouts of people to apprehend her immediately could be heard around them, but no one dared to interfere with the fight at that particular moment.
"I knew that you are an enemy. So you are one of Kiri's hired killers. A hunter-nin of the Mist." Arashi exclaimed loudly so everyone could hear him. "I will personally take you down, before you can do any more harm to my people." His exclamation was met with another round of cheers from the people around them as more and more shinobi surrounded the battlefield, ready to stop the fight and apprehend Akahana should Arashi fail in his task.
"Suiton: Hahonryu" Akahana only heard him yell the name of his attack before the water spiral appeared directly in front of her and hit her left arm. Thankfully the attack was weakened because she was out of the normal range of the Jutsu, but the fact that he had found and hit her even in the mist was a shock to her.
"Don't think you can hide from me in the mist, Kiri scum." Arashi exclaimed mockingly.
On the shore of the river the Konoha group tried to follow the battle with rapt attention, but the mist from Akahana's Jutsu made that impossible to almost all of them except the only Hyuga in their group. He watched the fight with his Byakugan and showed his own surprise when Akahana was hit.
"He managed to find her this quickly despite the mist. That man truly is a dangerous foe." Kushina's sensei exclaimed with an awe filled voice.
"Jiraiya-sensei, how is that possible?" Minato asked curiously.
"That Uzumaki is most likely a sensor type." Jiraiya replied cautiously. Oh he really wished he could see the fight the same way the Hyuga could. "Normally the mist would be filled with Akahana's chakra, making it nearly impossible to sense her position, but since they are fighting on the water, she has one major weakness that unmasks her position."
"The chakra she uses to walk on the water!" Minato exclaimed in realization.
Jiraiya looked proudly at his student, happy that Minato had found the weakness this quickly. "Yes, Minato. That guy only has to aim at the position where the chakra he feels is concentrated and boom he has her position. A terrible weakness in this fight and most likely the reason why she hasn't expected the attack to hit her."
All people around Jiraiya listened attentively to his words, surprised by the conclusions of the Sannin. This fight was a great chance for them to learn more about tactic and combat in general; well it would be a good chance if only they could see it. All Genin quickly looked back towards the mist, hoping that they could catch a glimpse of the fight. All of them were curious, all but Kushina who looked worriedly at the place where her sister was fighting someone of their own clan at the moment. But only Minato caught the look of worry on her face, though he did not comment on it at that moment.
But suddenly they all snapped back to full attention when they heard another exclamation. "Futon: Shinkuha." Jiraiya looked on with shock when he heard Akahana yell out the name of another dangerous and powerful wind Jutsu. Especially when she used the Jutsu several times in quick consecutive attacks it only confirmed his early assumption, that the girl is a enemy he would rather not fight against.
Akahana's wind attacks blew away most of the mist, not that it mattered to her since she cut the chakra flow into that Jutsu because of its apparent uselessness against Arashi. Once the the mist had cleared the two opponents could be seen again.
Both were wounded, Akahana's shoulder looked battered where Arashi's water Jutsu had hit her, but it was the man who looked even more hurt at the moment. Blood was slowly dripping from many cuts on his arms and his face, but he gave away no outward sign that it bothered him in any way. He was still busy glaring at Akahana.
"You are a fool, Arashi. I am no hunter-nin from Kirigakure. I have no affiliations, but I utilize every Jutsu that can safe my life. But of course you narrow minded people love to jump to conclusions. Let's see what you will say about my next Jutsu; what will you accuse me this time I wonder." Akahana spat angrily. "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu."
The Konoha group looked in shock when they heard that Jutsu and saw the two identical copies of Akahana standing at her sides. The shadow clone Jutsu was after all a Jutsu that originated from Konoha. Only very few outsiders were ever able to copy it.
Akahana herself looked a bit winded after the Jutsu, cursing her sudden lack of power. She still had more chakra then any normal person, but when the Kyubi escaped from the seal, she also lost the nearly endless chakra reserves, that the demon had provided her. She could still create an abnormal number of clones even without the demon, but she knew that her limits where now a risk in all of her fights if she overused the Jutsu like she did in the past. She cursed her new weakness, but she couldn't do anything against it until she had the time to train and return to her former strength without the help of the accursed demon sealed inside her.
"You are powerful, more then I am. I am not too proud to admit that, but I won't back down. I have sworn to protect my clan as it is my duty in my position. I will find a way to defeat you if I must." Arashi exclaimed loudly as he resumed a battle stance.
"Just why are you people so insistent on me being your enemy? I have never been to this village before, I have never even met another Uzumaki before Kushina visited me in my hospital room. Never have I done anything to harm this clan, neither intentionally nor unintentionally. Is this all because of the other bastard that has come before me? What has that guy done to warrant such distrust and hatred towards me?" Akahana asked with a little despair mixed in her voice. She wanted to understand why Arashi saw her as an enemy, she had to know why she was hated by her own clan.
"The last bastard was the illegitimate son of the clan heir... your uncle..." He added begrudgingly. "He was no fighter, just a petty civilian. We all believed that. The clan took him in, trusted him. He was well liked and accepted, but none of us saw the little monster that he truly was. The hatred that he harbored for so long."
"So what has he done? What can one civilian do to create this hatred?"
"He murdered his father and his entire family. The little shit used their trust. They treated him like he was part of their family despite his origin. That monster poisoned them and cut their head off to collect the bounty that Kiri had offered for any member of the leading family of the Uzumaki clan. Without mercy he killed the people who loved him like family. His father, his stepmother, his older half-brother and even his little infant half-sister. All that for his sick wish for revenge and his greed." Arashi spoke with so much hate and revulsion, but Akahana could understand his feelings.
To kill your own family... it was a concept that Akahana would never even dare to consider. A family was after all the thing she craved the most in all her life. Something she never had and that was for ever denied to her as it seemed.
"That bastard believed that his action was a justified act of revenge for the death of his mother. He blamed his father for that woman's death, because he had abandoned her. Blood for blood... such cold blooded thirst for revenge." He shook his head with a look devoid of any emotion. "But the little bastard did not come far. The dead bodies had been found quickly due to sheer luck and the clan members we had send to find him captured him before he could leave the island. For his crimes he was publicly executed the same day."
"And now you distrust me because of the actions of that man?" Akahana asked almost inaudibly.
"We distrust all strangers that claim to be of our clan. We won't repeat our past mistakes. You are even more of a threat then that bastard." Before he had even finished that sentence he already charged at her again. "I will never let another outsider inflict harm upon my clan. I will subdue you. Suiton: Teppodama." Only moments after he had finished speaking he started shooting condensed water balls at Akahana which impacted with great force on the water around her.
But Akahana showed no outward reaction to his attack. Instead of retaliating she dispelled her two clones without using them in the fight much to the confusion of all those who watched the fight. Only moments later the fight ended when Arashi pressed his Kunai to Akahana's throat, not that she had done anything to stop him this time. Around them people started to cheer loudly when they saw Arashi win, but the man himself only scowled.
"You give up? Why?" He asked angrily as their faces were only mere inches apart.
"To prove my point. I am not here to fight or harm this clan. If you wish to stain your hands with the blood of a person that is undoubtedly innocent of the crimes you accuse me of, then go ahead." She said impassively as she gazed at him with a look of pity.
"This is another trick." Arashi said with suspicion visible in face.
"No. I am innocent of any of the things you accuse me of. I have done nothing to harm the Uzumaki Clan or the village of Uzushio. I would rather die, than bring harm upon my own family." Akahana exclaimed loudly so everyone could hear her. "If you have become so fearful of those you don't know, so distrustful of anyone who is not from your village, then kill me. If you people wish to spill the blood of an innocent for the sake of your persecution complex then go ahead, Arashi Uzumaki."
"You..." Arashi was at loss at that very moment. He had no idea what to do with this woman. She was willing to die to prove her point to others, that was something that he had rarely encountered so far.
The Konoha group looked shocked at scene before them. They all were no strangers to death and the idea of dieing to fulfill a mission. But to watch someone ask for death so bluntly... it was awe inspiring to see her resolve, but also fearsome to see her callous disregard of her own life.
"Pah, as if that man could kill her." Came the exclamation from a small fox who had suddenly appeared next to the group.
"Kurou!" Kushina exclaimed as she hurried to the fox and picked him up. "What are you talking about?"
"Akahana-hime was holding back. There is no chance for him to kill her; even if he tried now he would undoubtedly fail. She still has too much to live for, to allow herself to die here. She would have never allowed this scene to happen, if she expected to be in any real danger." The fox spoke smugly.
"I think you overestimate her strength." Kushina's sensei said with a frown. "It was obvious that they were evenly matched, but now her life is in his hands."
"All seeing eyes my ass. Even with your Byakugan you could not see the truth behind the charade." Kurou growled.
"A shinobi's foremost skill is deception." Jiraiya stated absent minded as he still watched Akahana and Arashi who now sported a rather uncertain look on his face.
"Damn right, toad human." Kurou exclaimed before he sniffed around. "Something here reeks like a wet dog." At this exclamation everyone turned to look at the puppy that sat next to his owner, one Tsume Inuzuka. "No, not the dog..." Kurou said with certainty as he looked at Tsume.
Inoichi, who stood near Tsume was the first to react as he leaned closer to her and sniffed at her to see if Kurou meant her. But the Inuzuka woman was not amused by that action and punched Inoichi hard enough on the head to knock him out. "Just what do you think you are doing, you stupid idiot." Tsume exclaimed in indignation.
"Troublesome woman." Shikaku Nara said in a bored manner before he dragged the unconscious Inoichi to a safe distance away from the angry Inuzuka. Some of the other persons around them laughed lightly before their attention snapped back to the scene on the water as another person interfered with the situation.
"Stop this madness this instant. By orders of the Uzukage this fight has to stop now or else all those who disobey his orders will be punished severely." A middle aged man in a dark blue robe exclaimed, as he walked towards the Akahana and Arashi.
Arashi glared at the man for a moment before he finally put his Kunai away and started to leave. This fight had given him a lot to think about. And of course there were others who needed to be informed of what had happened here. This Akahana Uzumaki was not as easily predictable as they had anticipated at first.
The new man stopped in front of Akahana, a hand ruffling through his unruly black hair as he let out a frustrated sigh. "All this fighting and violence... as if we don't already have enough enemies outside of the village." He paused for a moment before he looked at Akahana with a pleasant expression. "My name is Akihiro Mizushima, I am the assistant of the Nidaime Uzukage."
Akahana looked a bit dubious at the man. There were not many that treated her normal in this village, so she was cautious of all those who did. In her mind all those who treated her normal despite what the other people think, must have some sort of hidden agenda.
"Akahana Uzumaki." She replied tensely.
"Good, good. My boss wishes to see you. Please follow me, no need to let the Uzukage wait." He said with a smirk.
The walk to the main government building in the village was rather short and spent mostly in silence. Akahana wondered what exactly the village leader could want from her. Her trouble was a clan issue and if there was one thing that all hidden villages had in common then it was the unwritten rule that a Kage does not interfere in clan affairs.
Even once they had entered the Uzukage's office, all three occupants remained eerily quiet. It was unnerving for Akahana as she could feel that both the Uzukage and his assistant scrutinized her closely for several minutes, before one of them finally ended the silence.
"You sure have caused quite a stir with your sudden arrival, Akahana-san. " The Uzukage said with a light chuckle. His voice was deep, seemingly unfit for his small stature. His white Kage robes were practically hanging off him, his hat hanging deep into his face, hiding everything but the man's lips.
"None of this commotion was intentional, Uzukage-sama."
"Oh I am sure of that. I have not called you here to scold you or punish you in any way or form. Quite the contrary." Akahana narrowed her eyes when she heard his words, something was not right here, she could feel it. "As you might know this village is currently fighting a bloody war against several enemies. Our old blood feud with Kirigakure no Sato has caused us nearly thirty years of uninterrupted war and bloodshed. And now that even Kumo has joined the fight against us things look rather grim. I have no illusions that we will win this easily. The fights will be hard and long. We will need every ally we can get so Uzushio can survive this."
"And how does that involve me?" Akahana asked with a raised eyebrow. She could already see where this might lead, but she wanted to hear it from the Kage.
"You are undoubtedly an Uzumaki. A powerful one at that. I am not as blinded by distrust and hatred as your clan to deny that fact. I had also been informed that despite their treatment you still wish to protect your family."
"That is correct." Akahana stated curtly.
"Excellent. Your clan may be unwilling to let you help them, but I cannot let any opportunity to get more help in our fight for survival pass. Therefore I offer you a position in Uzushio's shinobi forces as a Jonin of Whirlpool. This way you can protect your clan, even if they don't want it." The Kage said with an almost gleeful smirk on his lips.
"A interesting offer. I can see why you ask me to join your village, but I doubt that you would trust me this easily. This could also get you into trouble with the Uzumaki Clan. Is my help really worth the hassle?"
"As I said, we need every help we can get. I can deal with Toshiro's tantrums, so no worry there. But you are right, there is no trust... yet. So you would have to swear an oath and you would be under watch for at least a year."
"I..." Akahana started but she was interrupted by a knock on the door of the Uzukage's office.
"Enter." The Kage said tersely. Another smirk crossed his lips when he saw the person who entered. "Ah, Misaki-san. How can we help you today?"
"Uzukage-dono, I have not come for you today. I am here for my stepdaughter. She has been summoned by the clan council, so her return to the compound is necessary. As you know such a summoning does not allow for any delay." Misaki said tensely.
"Ah, of course. We were finished here anyways. You may take her with you now." The Kage said with his almost constant smirk. But Akahana did not wish to ponder this any longer then necessary so she stood up and walked over to Misaki. "Ah and Akahana-san, please consider my offer."
"I will think about it, Uzukage-sama. Good bye for now." She said with small bow before she followed Misaki out of the office. But neither of the two redheaded women saw the smirk on Akihiro's face at that moment. Neither did they know the plans of the man that would involve Akahana.
The clan council of the Uzumaki Clan was a rather small of group of individuals. At the time Akahana had first come to Uzushio there were only three members; old and honored members of the clan who had contributed greatly to the clans rise and power. Next to the clan leader they were the highest institution of power in the clan. Everyone listened to their guidance and followed their orders.
And even though Toshiro Uzumaki would never admit it, the current council was his equal in power and influence. The only reason for that, was his lack of heirs. Nearly all of his family were dead, with the exception of his two granddaughters and his daughter-in-law. Because of that the council had decided on a new heir, the most promising young man they could find in the clan. They decided the next ruler of the clan and that finally gave them more power than Toshiro. A power that they were willing to use, even in this situation when the fate of one of his grandchildren was to be decided by them.
The three elders started to whisper furiously amongst each other as they saw Akahana enter the room in the company of Misaki. The older Uzumaki woman had a hand on Akahana's shoulder as a sign of support. The elders had heard that Misaki was on the side of her husbands illegitimate child, but they had not really believed it until they saw them enter together.
"So you have finally found her. Where has she been after the fight?" Toshiro asked gruffly.
"In a meeting with the Uzukage." Misaki answered quickly.
Toshiro looked very displeased when he heard that. "What did that man want from you?" He asked Akahana with a look that promised trouble should she not comply.
"He offered me a place as kunoichi of Uzushio if I would swear an oath to prove my loyalty." Akahana replied with a bored tone.
The elders once more started to whisper amongst each other; looking at Akahana every now and then while they ignored the other people in the room.
"What was your answer?" Toshiro asked.
"I have not given him an answer yet. I am still contemplating my options for the future once you have kicked me out of this clan for something that I have not even done." She said scathingly.
"Akahana Uzumaki, you already know why you are here so we will not waste time with that." One of the elders spoke with an authoritative voice.
"So when will I have to leave?" Akahana asked with a dark look on her face.
"You have two options now. Number one, you will be exiled from the clan and banished from Uzushio. You will no longer be allowed to use the Uzumaki name and all your connections to this clan will be cut." The elder said dismissively.
"And the other option?" Akahana asked though she had little hope that she would get a real chance to remain a Uzumaki and be able to help others.
"We have to remind you here that initially we only considered exile for you, but with certain revelations we have come to the decision to give you a second option. You will be allowed to remain a member of this clan and your family." At this Akahana actually looked almost hopeful that she might be given a fair chance to prove herself to her clan and save her family. "But that will be tied to several conditions. Firstly you will accept the Uzukage's offer and become a kunoichi of Uzushio. Secondly you will prove your loyalty to the clan." The elder stopped after the second condition, as he looked at the other people in the room.
Akahana looked at the elders with a look of anticipation, waiting for what's to come now. Toshiro looked rather peeved at the three elders, obviously displeased with both options these men would give Akahana to consider. Misaki's gaze wandered between Akahana and the elders worriedly. Though she did not know what exactly these men had planned, she knew that it would not be easy for the girl.
"And the final condition for you to remain an Uzumaki would be to agree to a betrothal to the chosen heir of the clan. We have proof that you are a member of Toshiro's direct family so a marriage between you and the heir would undoubtedly justify our candidate's claim to the leadership of the clan. The marriage itself would not happen until you have sufficiently proven your loyalty to our clan and the village." The elder finally said with a determined look on his face. It was obvious that the elders would prefer for her to take the second option and give their candidate a legitimate claim to the leadership of the clan. "You have three days time to decide, any questions?"
"No... your motives are obvious." Akahana said with a sigh.
"Then you are dismissed. We await your decision." The elder said in dismissal, no longer giving the girl any attention as he returned to whispering with the other two men on the council.