Disclaimer: I still do not own naruto…damn
"Normal speech"
"Toughs and flashbacks"
"Kyuubi"
"Inner Sakura"
"Kyuubi's thoughts"
(AN): authors note
AN: even if I only have 7 reviews right now I'm grateful because all of you gave me some great ideas so here are the thanking to those people and some answers:
TGChaos: great idea and yes there will be something like that with Hana only not with Naruto (I need more practice to make that pairing and not screw it in the process) but with one of his relatives and as for the animal you just wait…
Turok1: you got the right idea and even if I don't make that pairing it will still cause a bigger rivalry between them.
Storm raven and Coheed 16: I found a way to make both of your suggestions come thru in the story for you Storm raven Naruto will get a summon contract from Kyuubi and for Coheed 16 that is the reason he won't be able to fully control the foxes leaving the control to the more cunning Kyuubi, I hope this satisfy both of you.
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CHAPTER 1: RITUAL, FUNERAL, CHILHOOD, And THEN ACADEMY
Soon after Sumire was strong enough to travel with the help of Hiashi they went back to the Uzumaki compound that was located in the farthest, deepest part of the forest that was inside konoha, also this was without a doubt the biggest one of the three clan compounds (put together the Hyuuga and a third of the Uchiha) but unlike those other compounds this wasn't pavement and the houses were surrounded by tall trees and a lot of plants, in other words a great place for jungle cats.
After reaching the middle of the compound they went inside a building and started going down thru the old stairs, after a good 20 minutes of walking those stairs they reached their destination, a big, square room that had a place to put a baby in it an in the pillar that hold the surface was the clan's crest, a circle with the head of a big cat with its head turned towards the right with his mouth open, like he was roaring, and his clawed paw slightly bent towards his face, and beneath the crest were etched in stone these words "united we stand, all for one, one for all", " okay now Sumire put your son in place" commanded her mother then turned to Hiashi " thanks for everything, but I must ask you to leave now, this is a clan affair" the Hyuuga wanted nothing more than stay but he nodded, after all in his clan was also a tradition to keep the secrets from outsiders not mattering who they were.
As he was about to leave Sumire's hand hold him in place and said " no please stay, Arashi wanted you to be here for this, he told me a few days ago" "but Sumire you must understand" " I don't care, my husband just died and that was his will so please", at this Tatsuki sighed, when Sumire was like this there was no way to change her mind "fine Hiashi would you stay?" "I'll be honored to do so".
Then everybody took their positions the animal partners in from of the crests that were etched in the floor, but unlike the crest in the middle where Naruto was these crests were different, the one representing the lions the head had a mane, the one for the tigers had stripes, and so on for the jaguars, cheetahs, cougars, panthers, leopards, as each animal partner was taking its place in front of every crest the carvings started to glow, soon every crest was glowing except for one, the one belonging to the liger branch, in the days of the first shinobi war when the members of this branch still existed they were one if not, the most powerful branch the clan had.
After their partners took their places, the human branch leaders took their places behind them and behind the leaders there was a member of the assigned branch house holding a baby kitten of each branch, then Tatsuki as the mother of Sumire spoke "we are gather here to identify this baby as a member of the clan, and as its rightfully his to make the bonding with a partner as it has been done with many others in the past, let the ritual begin" and after these words a line of blue chakra traveled from each crest towards the main crest.
Again Tatsuki spoke "I Uzumaki Tatsuki, head of the lion branch wish to see if he is part of the lions" and begun making seals, when she stopped a dim blue light surrounded kyokudai, then the light went to the crest in the floor and traveled to the one in the pillar, then the main crest suddenly began to glow and after a few seconds the glow disappeared, and the lion shook his head sideways while the blue line connecting both crest disappeared at this Tatsuki looked disappointed, she really wanted her grandson to be part of the lion, nevertheless she said the last part "even if he's not a lion he's still family and he'll be taken care of, all for one, one for all".
Then Kyo, the head of the cougar branch repeated a similar speech "I Uzumaki Kyo, head of the cougar branch wish to see if he is part of the cougars" and make the same seals that Tatsuki made, then a dim blue light surrounded his partner a clear-blue colored female cougar named Rukia shook her head as the line connecting the cougar crest with the main crest disappeared and "even if he is not a cougar he's still family and he'll be taken care of, all for one, one for all".
And so one by one the branch leaders first the leader of the jaguars Setsu and his companion Mune (will) a earth-brown colored jaguar, then the cheetahs lead by Rikku, a hyperactive blond and his companion a bright yellow cheetah named chisoku (speed) followed by Tenshi the leader of the panthers and his companion a pitch-black panther named Yami (darkness) then come the stoic leader of the leopards Zanten followed by his companion a yellow leopard with red spots named gouzentaru (proud) finally there was only the leader of the tigers, an old man named Iroh and his tiger named sessou (honor) he spoke up "before we start the ritual I have an announcement, after this I'm stepping down my branch leader position and I'll be making Sumire my successor" this caused some comments among the present but the old man silenced them with his hand "sorry but it's my call, I'm not getting any younger and I'm tired, also it's time that someone else deal with the runts, I told you Sumire so many years ago and I will repeat it, I hope your son is as bad behaved as you were, now lets get this done" he said ignoring the murdering glare coming from his successor.
"I Uzumaki Iroh, head of the tiger branch wish to see if he is part of the tigers" and repeated the same procedure as the ones before him but with different results, the blue light in the crest shined brightly for an instant then a blue pulse made of chakra went to the main crest, both crests started shinning more and more then both shot a blinding flash and glowed in bright blue "the boy is part of the tigers, may he be a proud and powerful member of the branch" and started making seals at blinding speed stopping on tiger he shouted "raikou(enter)" then the main crest turned an exact copy of the tiger crest and a blue light surrounded Naruto, then Iroh signaled the member that was carrying the kitten, he complied and put the baby tiger in Naruto's right side, then Iroh turned back to Sumire and Rui "both kid and tiger are your sons its only fair that you decide the name of it" "it's Rui's call after all it is her son" the tiger looked at her partner, even if she hid it, it was obvious that she was sad "Rui are you sure?" the tiger just nodded "thank you" then she turned her sight on the old man "Senkou , his name will be Senkou (flash)" she said in the verge of tears remembering her husband's nickname " are you sure, okay then, I accepted Naruto son of Sumire of the tiger and Senkou son of Rui the tigress as part of the branch"
Then he made more seals and finished again in tiger and said "saiken (bond)" then the whole room shinned bright and blinded for a couple of seconds before dying " welcome Uzumaki Naruto and Senkou to the tiger branch" and with that every animal partner roared in joy to celebrate the successful bonding, the roar could be heard in all konoha.
In the hokage tower the sandaime was watching the sky when he heard the roar, he just smiled and said to no one in particular "so its over".
Hiashi was stunned, he was witnessing one of the most guarded secrets of the Uzumaki clan and the next thing he knew after the last flash is that everything was over and was congratulating the proud mother. Then Rikku being a 16 year old curious girl she is went to look at the baby and what she saw really surprised her "HOLY SHIT, SUMIRE YOU HAVE TO SEE THIS" "what's wrong with Naruto" "its... Its... its." "TELL ME ALREADY"
Then Zanten spoke up in a calm and stoic tone "your boy have whiskers" at this comment everybody rush to see the baby and true enough, he had whiskers, it was common that the kids in the clan had whiskers it was after all, the first genetic trade they had, the whiskers disappear as the people grow up and gain their new eye color, what was weird it was the fact that he shouldn't obtain the whiskers until he was four.
"Okay that was unexpected but we'll worry about that later right now all of us need to rest"
The next day:
The funeral for Arashi was held in a dark cloudy day, as even if the heaven was moaning the loss of a great man, everybody in the village went to the service to pay their respect and grief for the loss, because in some level or the other they knew Arashi, to some he was an inspiration someone to strive for, to others and acquaintance and to others a friend, everybody lost something when he died, but closer to his coffin they were who loose most.
Hyuuga Hiashi, who lost his best friend, the very same friend who pulled him out of "his destiny is set" stuff and in some level his stiffness, he also loose the only shot he had of freeing the branch family from the caged bird seal, he knew his nephew will have to endure that seal, so that day to him not only died a teammate and a friend, but it also died the hope for something better for the clan, because he knew the council will not give him the releasing scroll.
The Ino-Shika-Chou trio lost someone they respected greatly, they were more than acquaintances, pals, drinking buddies, but mostly they were friends, and now to them they lost more than just someone they laughed their asses of in the bar they go.
But the ones who loose the most were his wife and son, Sumire lost the love of his life the very same day that was supposed to be one of the happiest for both of them, and he left a fatherless son who in the future would really need him.
As people started leaving white flowers and then left soon only relatives and friends were left in the place while started raining "now lets go for a drink" said Inoishi, Shikato muttered troublesome but he complied non the less, while Chomaru was bursting in tears but nodded and followed his friends, after everybody left except for the widow and her partner, her son and his new companion Senkou, and the old man, then Sumire spoke up "hokage-sama I wish to renounce from ANBU" "I understand but what are you going to do" "go back to jounin in a couple of years" "will you take a team" "I really don't know" "granted your status is officially on hold now" "thanks now if you excuse me I must leave" the hokage looked at her with a sad look, the Sumire he always knew was strong and determined, yet gentle and caring, the woman in front of him was only a shadow of her former self, he just hoped she will get out of this for the sake of her son.
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The next morning all the branch heads reunited in the central building of the compound the subject: the situation of the clan.
Zanten started the meeting "now that we are all here its time to start, now first things first, the numbers of all the branches have been seriously reduced to 25 in each branch and there is also the situation about what to do with Naruto's and Shinta's training"
Rikku spoke "what do you mean by that, there is something wrong" "no Rikku but we'll discuss that later" replied Tenshi.
"Now back to the business, I think only the most experienced members of the clan take missions above b-rank, also its necessary to find out if any of the kids in any branch have potential to become veterinaries or medic-nins"
"Don't you think that's a bit extreme I mean they're still a good number of chunnin and a few jounin level shinobis in every branch" said Kyo "I'm aware of that but right now we are in a really weakened state and if we want to recover were going to need to improve and upgrade the training regimen, not much but enough to make the kids get stronger at a faster rate, now anyone against it", no one answered.
"Okay then its decided, now for the next order of business it's Naruto's and Shinta's training, now to answer your question Rikku in order to keep good relationships with other clans when a child is accepted as part of the Uzumaki clan and one of his parents is from other clan, the child will have training that involves both clan's ways of training, and as such is part of the tradition that we also help that clan making the child strong in aspects like speed or chakra capacity in order to make him achieve the level to use the skills of both clans, now do you understand?" asked Tenshi, Rikku nodded " good, now in Shinta's case he has the hyoton bloodline (AN: didn't see that one coming did you?) So I think he will need to learn extensive chakra control along with suiton and fuuton, also we have to monitor his partner elemental change in a few years (AN: explained later), now in Naruto's case, I really don't know that much about the Kazama bloodline so I guess you should tell us what to do with your son Sumire" the mentioned looked meditative for a second before answering "Arashi told me that his clan's bloodline was all about blinding speed and raiton, even his style of fighting uses his speed, this is a good thing because it can be mixed with our style of taijutsu, but this will mean he will go thru speed and stamina training, also he will need extensive chakra control exercises, and obviously raiton, there is the need to see if he's proficient with other elements thanks to the Kyuubi, the rest of the things about the Kazama and their ability to seal are in the hokage tower (AN: just like my other story a non-Kazama needs a special scroll to seal something in it)"
"Don't you worry jus leave speed training to me!" said the ever enthusiastic Rikku
"I can take care of tracking and stamina," said Kyo
"I teach him stealth," continued Tenshi
"I'll teach him how to ambush and setting traps " said the ever stoic Zanten
Setsu shrugged, the reason was that he wasn't much what he could teach the kid " I guess I can teach him some raiton, even doton if he shows some skill with it"
Sumire just couldn't be happier, it was obvious now more than ever that her husband's legacy will endure as well as his memory.
"Now that everything is done we should dismiss the meeting, you go and see your son Sumire" said Iroh, who was there as Sumire's councilor.
TIME SKIP:
A 3 year-old Naruto was playing with his animal companion while he was watched by his mother and her partner, the kid was happy, without a care in the world, completely oblivious that the night before a shinobi tried to kill him, what the assassin didn't take count is that he was in a place full of big cats, needless to say the bastard died painfully.
Sumire was relieved after his son was safe and the idiot got what he rightfully deserved, the only record of him being there was a stain, and it doesn't surprise her, after all their partners must eat didn't they, but she knew that they will only eat the intruders or someone trying to harm a member of the clan, but she was also concerned by the fact that this was the third attempt this month. After the hokage told the people only a handful accepted him, the rest being as narrow minded as they are, simply wanted her son dead, in that moment Sumire though that the old man give people too much credit.
"So it happened again uh, we must do something" asked Setsu making the mother jump, she thought she was out of shape, because Setsu never sneaked on her before "don't do that, and yes it the third time this month, seriously the hokage needs to think this things before acting" and they watched Naruto play in silence.
"And tell me when his training begins" "in a week and is not a minute too soon if you ask me" "worried" "of course, the faster he becomes stronger the less I have to worry about him, but I still want him to stay were he can be safe " "you know that's not possible, he resembles you and his father greatly" at this Sumire sighed and looked at her son with a resigned look in her eyes "I know and that's gonna be a problem when he finds out how to use chakra" at this Setsu smirked and looked towards the three year old that was climbing a really tall tree "well pay attention because its already starting" and pointed his finger towards her son, at this Sumire ran to him, get him down of the tree and started scolding him.
"I told her that her son was going to be worse than her," said an amused Iroh who just got there to see Naruto started climbing the tree.
TIME SKIP:
A now 4-year old Naruto was playing with a very young and not so shy Hinata and with still tiny Senkou while being watched by their parents.
"Dammit stupid weights" claimed an angry Naruto, since his training began he had been using wrist and ankle bands in order to make him stronger and faster, right now he's wearing a total 10 kilos, at this comment Hinata asked "why are you using them Naruto-kun, if they are so heavy" "because its part of my training, and if I remove them Rikku-chan will get mad, she can be really scary when she gets mad" this make Hinata giggle "by the way Hinata how is training going" at this the girl looked rather sad, at this the blonde apologize but the girl answered "no its okay Naruto-kun, its not going well, father says I need to get faster" Naruto pondered in his thoughts about the subject, then grinned "wait here Hinata ill be right back" and went inside the house, after a few minutes he came back carrying similar wrist and ankle bands and handed them to Hinata "here take this they're going to help you become faster" these were the ones naruto used a couple of months ago "Naruto-kun are you sure, I don't know if father will approve" "yes he will, after all he wants you to be faster doesn't he, besides if there's a problem I'll help you" at this comment Hinata smiled an put the bands on "great but there is another thing, you're it!" he said and after touching her both he and Senkou ran in opposite directions, at this Hinata gave them her version of a glare, that was mostly a semi-angry look, before start chasing both.
At the same time their kids were playing Sumire and Hiashi were talking "how's your wife Hiashi" "pregnant" "even after all that's happened you're still such a stiff, but tell me what's going to happen to your nephew" at this the hyuuga looked sad (AN: as sad as he can look anyway) before answering "the only thing I was able to make is that the seal ceremony is delayed a couple of years but the council is adamant about the subject" "hmp bastards" "correct, its time to change that old and obsolete tradition" at this comment Sumire smirked and answered back "that comes from the same person that used to think that everything was set and there was no escape to someone's destiny" "well… staying around Arashi tends to change your point of view" "yes, he had that effect on people" "changing the subject, Uchiha Fuguku is demanding Naruto's execution" at this comment Sumire's eyes became slits, oh how she hated that man, when they were young he tried claim Sumire for himself without thinking of what she wanted just because he was an Uchiha he thought he was entitled to her, and it seems that he wasn't letting go "that bastard, even after all these years he still tries to find a way to remove what Arashi have done" "don't worry Sumire nothing will happen to him if I have a word in the subject" "thanks Hiashi, by the way you should leave Hinata keep the weights it should help her in more than one way".
TIME SKIP:
A now six-year old Naruto was sitting next to his uncle Shin watching a his cousin Shinta play with his partner, a snow-white tiger named Nadare (avalanche), then something struck Naruto and he decided to ask his uncle" Shin-san why Nadare and Senkou have different colors" at this Shin smiled and proceed to explain " well you see Naruto-kun the identification and bonding ritual does more than tell us what partner we have and in which branch we go, it bonds us with our partners in a deeper level, that's why every member of the clan have heightened senses and reflexes, our partners gain longer lives and greater stamina, also if the human they are partnered with is a master in one element or it has an elemental bloodline of some sort the partner is affected as well, just look at your grandmother, so in this case due to Shinta's bloodline Nadare is that color" after this Naruto meditated a few seconds and said "so if I want to make Senkou have a cool color I need to be able to use hyoton, tell me Shin-san can hyoton be mastered without a bloodline" "yes, but it's very difficult" "then I decided I'll master hyoton" "Naruto is not that easy" "I know that but I'm determined to do it, sooo what do I need" "mostly you need to control the nature of your chakra, along with mastery over fuuton and suiton" "then I'll do it" at this Shin couldn't help but laugh at his nephew's silliness, even tough he knew if he really was determined he would do it "fine, if that's what you want I'll help you" "hell yeah"
"UZUMAKI NARUTO" yelled his mother enraged at the sight of her son using such bad words "I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU, WHO TAUGTH YOU THAT, I DIN'T RAISED YOU LIKE THIS SO TELL ME WHO" while Naruto was being scolded Shin decided to make his retreat "DON'T MOVE SHIN I'LL BE WITH YOU IN A SECOND" in that moment Shin knew he was doomed to feel his sister's wrath.
TIME SKIP:
Naruto now at seven years old was getting ready for his first day at the academy, he wore a pair of black semi-baggy pants, black shinobi sandals, a red t-shirt and an dark- blue electric jacket that reached only to his waist, the jacket had three crests in it, on the back the Kazama spiral, on his left bicep the standard uzumaki crest and in the right bicep the crest for the tiger branch, he looked himself in the mirror in his room and made a half frown, he wanted to go to the school in his favorite clothes, his orange jumpsuit, but his mother threatened him to burn it and leave him without ramen for a whole month if "he ever took a step outside the compound with that thing" so he just gave in, after he strapped his kunai and weapon pouch he went downstairs to the kitchen to have breakfast, while eating his mother decide to speak her mind.
"Look Naruto even if I don't want you be the rookie of the year I don't want to find out that you're the dead-last understood, I know it's important to hide your strength but I want you to make he effort okay" the blonde just nodded.
"Okay dear just, have a good time and learn a lot" and after kissing his son good bye in the right cheek he was gone while she saw him go to start the path towards his dreams.
And with this he started the path towards his ultimate goal being the new hokage.
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AN: now there's the second chapter, now there are some things I want you to know.
1. - In order to keep Naruto to become too powerful and actually giving him some challenge I'm powering up everybody else.
2. -Also I'm pulling polls again, the reason, because it keeps me from making a too much of a cannon fanfic and makes my creativity run, so it is:
For teams and sensei, know this naruto and Hinata will be in the same team, also Kakashi and Sasuke (you know the sharingan) and Kiba is out of the question (the rivalry thing) and finally, if Kakashi wins there will be the traditional wave village arch, if not I'll make another c-rank mission and find a way to introduce Sasame in it, o yeah Gai is out.
So I hope you like it and see you soon.
