Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.
Chapter Two: The Red String of Fate
Kaji was standing outside of a textile supplies store, staring at the red scarf displayed behind the glass and trying to make up his mind.
One the one hand, this was the perfect gift for his neph—for Naruto. He had to remember to call the boy by his name. One slip of the tongue would ruin everything before it even began.
Then again, so would getting the kid a present. What reason did the Uzushio ambassador have to offer an early birthday gift to the vessel of the Kyuubi?
But the scarf really was perfect. It was long and a shade of red nearly identical to that of Kushina's hair—
Therefore, it was completely identifiable. The Hokage would immediately recognize it for what it was. He would know that Kaji knew about Naruto; he would hide the kid somewhere nobody would be able to find him again.
Or maybe Kakashi's paranoia was starting to rub off on him. It was just a scarf and red was a beautiful color. Why wouldn't a hyperactive young boy want to wear a vivid red scarf? He was more than fond of orange…
But Naruto could never buy that on his own. No store owner would sell such a high quality item to him.
Which was why he had to buy that scarf, dammit! Naruto deserved to have something nice for a change! Not to mention that he owed the boy four years' worth of birthday presents.
He lost track of how long he stood frozen in place, locked in fierce internal combat. Thankfully, he'd had the foresight to use a Henge to make himself look like a middle-aged civilian woman, so he wasn't attracting any odd stares.
Muttering an extremely unladylike word, he glared at the scarf. It had been almost a week since he'd first seen the neckwear and he still hadn't decided what to do. But he couldn't put the decision off for later anymore. The deal had been signed yesterday, so his presence in Konoha wasn't required anymore.
He had to leave.
He didn't want to, but he had no other choice. He had already stayed in Konoha far longer than he should have, claiming he wanted to enjoy some time away from the responsibilities. He had drawn out negotiations as long as he could and pretended he was interested in the hot springs here, but it was only so long those excuses would work.
If only he had more time…
Well, he didn't, and there was nothing he could do about it. Not yet, anyway.
All he could do now was buy that red scarf for the boy –and somehow keep it secret from the Hokage.
'Maybe Kakashi can say he bought the scarf.' That wasn't a half-bad idea –provided he could convince Kakashi to act like a normal person for a while. On second thought, something like that would be best for everyone.
With a big smile on his face, he entered the store.
-XOXO-
"Hello, Naruto."
Naruto looked up from the small flower bud he had been tending when he heard the familiar voice. Standing a few meters away from him was a tall man dressed entirely in black, smiling warmly at him.
He smiled back so widely he felt like his face was going to split in two. "Hello, Kaji-occhan!"
The man's presence wasn't a surprise to Naruto. He'd shown Kaji his secret hiding place a few days after their talk at the swings, happy to finally have a friend to share things with, even if that friend was much older than him.
It wasn't much; just a forest clearing he'd found a few months ago while he was running away from some mean older boys, but Naruto liked it. It was quiet and no-one bothered him here. Plus, it was filled with flowers. He loved watching them bloom and helping them grow. Plants didn't tell him to go away or glared at him with cold eyes and they always listened to what he had to say; he liked their company.
Kaji sat on the ground facing Naruto and examined the flower bud.
"I see the irises haven't bloomed yet."
"No," Naruto said with a small pout. "How am I going to give them to Ayame-nee-chan if they stay like this?"
The dark-haired man chuckled. "Patience, Naruto. You only planted them a few days ago. It'll take time for them to grow."
Naruto stuck out his bottom lip, his pout in full force. "I don't wanna be patient, dattebayo."
He'd never admit it to his sort-of uncle, but he was one of the very few people around whom the boy allowed himself to act like a normal kid his age. It had taken a while, but he no longer feared the dark-haired man; his eyes were warm and kind, so different from everyone else's.
The sound of laughter filled the small clearing, making Naruto blink in surprise. "I'm not one for patience either," Kaji managed to say between snickers. "I guess it runs in the family," the young man added quietly.
Naruto tilted his head in confusion, closing his eyes a bit. What was that supposed to mean?
Before he could ask anything, Kaji took something out of his coat. "Anyway, Naruto, I have something for you," he said hesitantly and held out a small package in front of him.
It was a small box wrapped in colorful paper, tied… with a ribbon…
The boy's eyes widened. "For me?" The dark-haired man nodded. "Really?"
The young man laughed softly, although his eyes were sad. "Yes, really. Aren't you going to open it?"
Naruto was frozen in place, unable to move. He was being given a gift. Nobody had ever done something like that for him before.
He reached out and took the small package, glad that his hands weren't too dirty. Unwrapping the paper as carefully as possible with his trembling hands, he opened the box and saw something red inside. Poking it, he saw that it was made of very soft and fluffy wool. He pulled it outside the box, trying not to drop it or damage it somehow.
It was a very long scarf. Hands still trembling, he wrapped it around his neck a couple of times. It felt warm and so soft.
It took Naruto a few moments to remember what people said when they were given something. "Thank you."
For some reason, Kaji wasn't looking at him anymore; he was staring at the trees, blinking rapidly.
'What…?'
The young man turned back to him again and gave him a small smile. "You're welcome. I'm glad you like it."
Naruto turned his attention back to the iris buds, feeling very embarrassed for some reason. Was he supposed to give Kaji-occhan something in return? The Hokage would know, but he wasn't supposed to mention his new friend to the old man. Maybe he could ask Ayame; she knew all kinds of things.
They sat in silence; Naruto was trying to figure out whether he should gather some flowers, while Kaji was fidgeting nervously and pulling out blades of grass.
After a few minutes of this, the dark-haired man nodded and cleared his throat. "Naruto, there's something I must tell you."
"What is it, occhan?"
"I have to leave tomorrow."
Despite his new scarf and the warm autumn day, Naruto felt cold. "Why?"
"The negotiations are over; I have to return to Uzushio and give them Konoha's answer."
'No, he can't leave! I don't want to be alone again!' Naruto lowered his head, staring at the ground but not really seeing it.
"Can't you stay a few more days 'ttebayo?" He was whining like a spoiled brat, but he didn't care.
"I have already extended my stay here, but I've run out of excuses. If I stay any longer, the elders will suspect something has gone amiss." Naruto didn't understand what the young man was saying, or why he sounded so worried; all he knew was that he was going to be alone again.
He heard a rustling sound and felt a pair of hands firmly but gently holding his shoulders.
"Naruto, look at me." Naruto looked up and saw Kaji-occhan kneeling in front of him. "I won't be gone forever. There are some things I have to take care of in Uzushio, but I will be back for you soon, I promise."
I always keep my promises, the young man had said once, and Naruto believed him. The only person he trusted more than Kaji-occhan was Hokage-jiji.
"Okay." Naruto forced a smile on his face. It had become so easy, hiding everything behind a smile. "I'll see you soon, occhan."
'…I hope.'
-XOXO-
Kakashi left his hiding spot, moving to intercept Kaji. There were some things that needed to be said before the dark-haired man went back to his home village.
Kaji greeted Kakashi with a small nod of acknowledgement as the ANBU landed in front of him. "Hey."
"Hey. How did it go?"
Kaji sighed. "Well enough, I think. It's terrifying how tightly he has latched on to me, like I'm his lifeline or something. Has nobody taken the time to actually talk to the kid before? You know, a normal conversation, not 'get lost, demon'."
"No." Kakashi was not too eager to reopen the how-has-Naruto-been-treated-all-these-years conversation, as it invariably left both Kaji and himself angry and predisposed to violent outbursts.
The older man shot him a dark glare and opened his mouth to respond, probably with something uncomplimentary about Kakashi's intellect and mental capacity, before snapping it shut. "I know," he said softly. "I was just thinking out loud."
Kaji closed his eyes and rubbed the back of his neck, looking tired. "Has the Hokage suspected anything yet?"
"I can't say for sure, but I don't think so. You know he's had you under surveillance ever since I gave him my initial report. He couldn't find anything suspicious, though, thanks to my meddling, so he's not worried anymore." He gave the older man a smile with just his eye. "Plus, it helps that you have a reputation for being a bit of a scatterbrain."
Another glare from Kaji; he was very good at them, Kakashi noted idly. "Says the man who's at least half an hour late to everything."
"Sometimes I'm on time."
"Name one such instance in the four weeks we've had to work together," the dark-haired man scoffed; he still had a nasty glint in his eyes.
Well, there was… no. Maybe… no, not that either. Wait, the first night… No, he was late then, too. Which reminded him, he still needed to pay Hare back for his helpful contribution to the Kakashi-is-never-on-time record.
Since he didn't have anything to say in his defense, Kakashi decided to change tactics. "Anyway, what I'm trying to say is that the Hokage seems to be convinced you were only interested in Naruto's seal. He hasn't asked me about your whereabouts since you 'interrogated' him."
A few days after his first meeting with Naruto, Kaji had cornered the Sandaime and bombarded the old man with all sorts of complex questions about the 'Eight Trigram Seal' imprisoning the Kyuubi inside the boy. It had taken hours for the Professor to answer all of them to Kaji's satisfaction.
"Happy to help."
Kakashi pinned the black-clad man with a narrowed gaze. "You were enjoying it."
"Of course I was," Kaji huffed somewhat indignantly. "I may not be as proficient in fuuinjutsu as my father of Jiraiya-sama, but I am a practitioner of the art. It's only natural that I would take an interest in a seal as intricate as Naruto's. It truly is a masterpiece, by the way; Minato was a genius.
"That my prodding annoyed the hell out of the old coot was just an added bonus," the dark-haired man said with an almost evil grin.
Kakashi gave a snort of laughter at the massive understatement. 'Annoyed' didn't even begin to cover the Sandaime's feelings. The Hokage was still grumbling about stubborn, overenthusiastic Uzumaki brats pestering him with endless questions about things he was barely familiar with.
But that wasn't what Kakashi wanted to talk about. Since there was no nice way to ask, he decided to just get this over with. "How long will you be gone?"
Kaji's grin faded in a heartbeat. "I don't know. I have to speak with my father and hope he comes up with something other than 'attack Konoha to get back Naruto'."
Kakashi just nodded; he'd been expecting this. The two of them had been unable to come up with a solid plan in the past four weeks. Their only hope was that the much more experienced Kenjiro could see a way out.
"Kakashi?" The silver-haired man raised an eyebrow, taken aback by the hesitant, almost shy tone of the usually so outspoken man. "Could you watch over Naruto for me while I'm gone?"
The eyebrow dropped. "Of course. I'll keep him safe."
"Thank you." The dark-haired man looked like a great burden had been lifted off his shoulders.
Kakashi nodded again, a little embarrassed to receive such heartfelt thanks for promising to do something he would have done anyway.
"Well, then," Kaji said in a light tone that almost sounded genuine, "I should get going. Oh, and if anyone asks, you got him that scarf, okay?"
That snapped Kakashi right out of his embarrassed fidgeting. "Wait, what?"
"The scarf," Kaji repeated slowly, as if speaking to a three-year-old. "If the Hokage asks, you gave it to Naruto."
Kakashi sighed and rubbed his temples. Had dealing with an Uzumaki always been this exhausting? "Fine. Just remember not to mention my name when you come back."
The dark-haired man chuckled softly and waved goodbye. "I'll see you later."
"Later," Kakashi agreed. He quickly turned on his heel and went back to watching over Naruto.
It was only a matter of time now. The Uzumaki were too stubborn to let something like politics keep them from their family.
-XOXO-
Kaji had been restless ever since the cluster of small islands known as the Land of Whirlpools had appeared on the horizon.
He knew he had annoyed the sailors and his fellow travelers with his endless pacing back and forth on the deck, but he just couldn't stand still for long. He was so close now! Soon, he would have answers which would, hopefully, confirm his expectations. And, once he did, he could finally act.
He practically jumped ashore as soon as the ship tied up at the Harbor, the busiest outskirt of the Whirlpool. Technically, the first thing a shinobi should do when returning from a mission would be to report to the leader of his village, but Kaji was not ready to see his father just yet. Instead, he purposefully made his way to Uzushio's hospital. With great difficulty, he limited himself to walking instead of using the Shunshin to get there faster.
It was a long, painful walk.
After what seemed like an eternity, he was knocking on an office door marked 'Uzumaki Yuzu, Chief Medic'. He pushed the door open when a woman's soft voice answered him and strode into her office.
"Kaji-kun! Welcome back!" The dark-haired motherly woman he'd known nearly all his life greeted him with a cordial smile.
"It's good to be back, Yuzu-san." He carefully closed the door behind him, placed a barrier seal tag on the wooden surface and activated it, wanting to ensure their privacy.
The woman raised an eyebrow and gave him a once-over, concern evident on her face. "Are you alright, my dear? You seem to be a little on edge."
"I'm fine. It's just… I've stumbled across something while I was in Konoha and I wanted your opinion before doing anything further."
"Of course. What do you need of me, Kaji-kun?"
He produced a sealing scroll from one of his coat pockets and unfurled it on her desk. Inscribed on the scroll were four storage seals, each holding a different item.
Yuzu briefly scanned the names of the stored items before looking at him questioningly. "Who do these belong to?"
Kaji took a deep breath, suddenly aware that his heart was hammering against his ribs. This was it –the moment of truth.
"A young boy I met in Konoha. This," he pointed at the first item, "is a pair of chopsticks he used to eat ramen; I don't know if you'll be able to get much out of it, though. I also got a few strands of hair," the second item, "a blood sample from one time he accidentally cut himself," the third item, "and a few more strands of hair, just to be sure." That made all four genetic material samples.
Yuzu had gone very pale; she seemed to have put the pieces together. She swallowed with difficulty and, after two false starts, she finally managed to whisper out her question. "Who should I compare them to?"
Kaji smiled faintly, trying to hide his own nervousness. "Uzumaki Kushina and Namikaze Minato. I believe the hospital has medical records for both of them."
"Yes, they are in the archives," she whispered, rolling up the scroll and hiding it inside her lab coat. "I'll start working on this immediately."
Kaji bowed his head deeply. "Thank you."
-XOXO-
By the time the Uzumaki clan head's residence was in sight, Kaji had nearly worked himself into a panic. He was petrified by the irrational fear that the tests would show Naruto was not Kushina's son but someone else, a stranger's child. He knew it was impossible with every fiber of his being, but still…
What would he do if Naruto wasn't his nephew?
He'd grown very fond of the kid; he couldn't deny that. The thought of leaving Naruto to face the scorn and hatred of nearly every person in Konoha on his own made him physically ill. He couldn't do that. He refused to do that.
'Even if he's not my nephew, I'm not going to abandon him.' As an Uzushio shinobi, there wasn't much he could do. If he were appointed permanent diplomatic liaison to Konoha, however... Kushina had held that position before, so there was no reason to deny him the assignment.
Either way, he would help the boy. Nodding his head to no-one in particular, he sealed the promise he made to himself and picked up the pace.
"Well, aren't you looking especially glum today," a man's voice drawled.
Turning around, he saw three young shinobi standing in the shadow cast by a cherry blossom tree outside his home.
The one who had spoken had his arm raised in greeting. He had brown eyes, spiky orange hair tied back with an Uzushio hitai-ate, and was wearing the standard-issue jounin shirt and pants in dark blue. He had donned a slightly modified Uzushio flak jacket over his uniform and had a long sword strapped to his back.
The second man had chin-length red hair with his bangs covering his right eye, and a hitai-ate on his forehead. He too wore dark blue standard-issue jounin attire but, instead of a flak jacket, he had a long sleeved dark grey haori over his shirt. His eyes were unusual, purplish-gray with a ripple pattern.
The woman had golden eyes, shoulder-length blue hair with a single bun, and a paper flower as a hair accessory. She was wearing a blue kimono style shirt with long, billowing sleeves, and long, form-fitting blue-gray pants. Her hitai-ate was also tied around her forehead.
The red-haired man and the woman sighed, shook their heads fractionally, and gave Kaji a small, courteous bow. "Welcome back, Uzumaki-sama."
"Oh, yeah. Welcome back, Uzumaki-sama."
It was Kaji's turn to sigh. "I thought I told you three to drop the honorifics when nobody else is around."
The orange-haired man grinned brightly. "You did –several times. But it's so much fun to annoy you."
Kaji rubbed his temples, trying to fight back the oncoming headache. "Did you want something important, Yahiko?"
"Hey! Welcoming you back after you've been gone for so long is important!" Yahiko said vehemently. Kaji's only response was a raised eyebrow, but Yahiko was unfazed. "Besides, from your morose expression we thought negotiations might have fallen apart. We worry about you," he added casually.
"Did something happen in Konoha, Kaji?" The blue-haired woman, Konan, tried to steer the conversation back on track. Sometimes she was far too serious for her own good.
"You could say that." He looked at the three ninja in front of him. He trusted them with his life, but this was not about him.
"Is it about the new trade treaty?" The red-haired man, Nagato, asked.
"No, it's something else, completely unrelated."
"Tell us." Konan's gentle but firm request settled the issue. The three of them had been his closest friends for almost a decade. He could trust them with this.
"Come on," he motioned towards the house. "Let's find a quieter place."
-XOXO-
"SAY WHAT?" Yahiko's shout would have reverberated across the entire island if not for the barrier seals securing the room. As it was, it just made everyone's eardrums ring.
"Are you sure about this? Absolutely sure?" Nagato was trying his best to appear calm and was failing spectacularly. He looked like someone had hit him on the head repeatedly with an extremely heavy blunt object.
"Kakashi confirmed the boy's identity but Yuzu-san has not finished the tests yet, so I'm only reasonably sure at this point."
Nagato rubbed his eyes briefly before letting his hand slide down his face. "That's... when you said something had happened, I wasn't expecting that."
Kaji chuckled. "Tell me about it. I nearly had a heart attack when I first saw him that night."
"So he's been living in Konoha for five years, hidden in plain sight?" Even Konan appeared to be a bit shaken. Coming from her, that was equal to a near nervous breakdown.
"Yes."
"And, in all this time, nobody figured out who he is?" Kaji resisted -barely- the urge to laugh at the rare sight of Nagato completely thrown for a loop, mostly because he'd been wondering the same thing for four weeks. It really boggled the mind, how people could be so blind.
"Evidently not."
"I don't get it. Did they really think they could get away with this forever?" Yahiko was incredulous, motioning wildly as he spoke. "Are they crazy or just plain stupid?"
"Actually," Konan calmly interrupted their excitable friend's rambling, "they can get away with this."
Yahiko stared at her dubiously.
"Love, loyalty. They don't come from blood ties or duty; they are the result of common experiences and shared pain. All of us know it very well. If Naruto is raised by Konoha, if they care for him and show him even a modicum of love, if they tell him that he was disowned by his mother's family, then he will not question them. Eventually, to him 'family' will be nothing more than the scum who abandoned him when he was born.
"I don't know if that's what Sandaime-sama has in mind for the boy, but we all know that Danzou is capable of far worse than such deception."
Nagato nodded, a grim look on his face.
Yahiko glowered at the wall. "Decrepit old fossils..." After muttering a few more choice words under his breath, he turned towards Kaji. "So, what are we going to do about it? I assume we're getting the kid out of there."
"First, we'll wait for the results of Yuzu-san's tests. As soon as they're done, we are going to present everything to my father. Then," he flashed a predatory grin "we're going to find a way to take back Naruto and make Konoha pay."
He saw equally savage grins forming on his friends' faces, making the easy-going Yahiko, the devoted pacifist Nagato, and the perpetually calm Konan appear downright terrifying. He was glad he would have them by his side for this.
"What are we waiting for, then?" Yahiko got off his seat and strode towards the door. "Let's go harass Yuzu-san! We need those results yesterday!"
Shaking their heads but grinning, the other three followed him to the medical ninja's office.
-XOXO-
Nagato schooled his features into a blank mask as Uzumaki Kenjiro studied the papers Kaji had presented to him. Beside him, he could feel Konan's reassuring tranquility, Yahiko's barely contained restlessness, and Kaji's restrained fury.
The old man's irate expression –Kaji had spared no details in his narration of events– was turning stormier the further he read. Finally, he placed the papers on his desk with exaggerated care and, in a truly stunning display of self-control, he calmly asked his son a single question. "Are you certain about all this?"
"Yes, Father."
The desk's surface exploded, splinters and papers flying in every direction.
"Those bastards!" Kenjiro hissed. He pushed his chair back and started pacing the room. "Those BASTARDS! They sent their condolences, how deeply regretful they were and how they would do anything to ease our pain… For FIVE YEARS they've been shamelessly lying to us! They kidnapped my grandson and have the gall to justify it as a necessary act? Unforgivable! I should slay all of them for this insult."
None of the four young ninja was dumb enough to interrupt the old man's outraged rant -they weren't suicidal. They watched in silence as Kenjiro continued stomping back and forth like a caged beast and snarling almost exactly like one.
Nagato didn't have a particularly lofty opinion of Konoha shinobi and the tactics they were willing to employ, but even he was surprised by how low they had sunk.
'Did Jiraiya-sensei know about this?'
He probably did; he was the one who had verified the integrity of the jinchuuriki's seal, after all. His letter had been very detailed, indicating he had spent a long time examining both the seal and the child.
'Child,' he scoffed inwardly. 'Infant. Naruto was nothing more than a baby at the time.'
Nagato was crestfallen; he had expected such duplicity from someone like Danzou, but not from his sensei.
Kenjiro had, with great difficulty, regained some semblance of self-control. The old man sat on his chair again and started clearing the desk's surface by picking up the splinters one by one and dropping them on the floor with controlled, precise, almost rhythmic motions. It was probably some kind of meditation exercise. The Uzumaki, infamous for their explosive tempers and short fuses, had developed many such meditation techniques over the centuries.
Nagato took the opportunity to study the Uzumaki clan head. For someone well in his sixth decade, Uzumaki Kenjiro was remarkably hale. His long, straight hair was still flaming red, marred by a few silvery strands. His posture was a little more stooped than it had been when Nagato had met the man nine years ago and his face was creased by many more wrinkles, as both age and grief had taken their toll, but he still held himself tall and proud. He looked more like a man in his late forties.
The old man's robust appearance was not an illusion created by some kind of genjutsu. Uzumaki had naturally longer lifespans and a remarkably strong life force. It was part of their bloodline heritage, just like their absurdly high chakra reserves and the Adamantine Chakra Chains, the visible manifestation of their bloodline.
Kenjiro had finished clearing his desk. Avoiding the cracks, he rested his elbows on the broken surface, intertwined his fingers, and went straight to business.
"Repeat the warning Minato's student gave you."
"Kakashi said that getting Naruto out of Konoha will be very difficult. If we claim him through familial bonds as Kushina's last living relatives, they will respond by flaunting Minato's position as the Hokage. Ultimately, it will come down to a guardianship dispute, which will most likely be settled by Konoha's Council. Needless to say, we're never going to win a legal battle."
Kenjiro nodded gravely. "They will have to offer the Namikaze family clan status, claim that Kushina married into her husband's clan, and present someone as Minato's chosen guardian for his son in order to rebuff our claim, but something like this can easily be accomplished. Continue."
"Grabbing Naruto and running won't work, either. It will be seen as an act of aggression by an allied nation. They will declare war the moment he steps foot outside Konoha's borders, claiming that we have kidnapped their jinchuuriki."
A scoff came from Yahiko; Kenjiro grimaced, but refrained from making any comments. "Do either you or Kakashi have any suggestions?"
"None that wouldn't endanger the alliance, Father."
"I see. Then we simply have to break this alliance," the old man said in the same matter-of-fact tone one uses to comment on the weather.
Nagato felt a shiver travel down his spine. He hadn't been in Uzushio when Iwa -aided by Kiri and a few minor villages- had invaded, but he had heard plenty of stories about those days. The battle to hold the shoreline had been brutal. Uzushio shinobi and rogue ninja mercenaries had fought relentlessly for days to buy enough time for the shinobi of Konoha to join the battle. It was only after suddenly finding themselves outflanked and outnumbered that the invading ninja had broken off the assault and retreated.
Everyone knew that without Konoha's aid, Uzushio would have fallen back then, just like everyone knew that the two villages had been steadfast allies since their founding. To suggest breaking that bond so casually…
"Are you sure, Father? You know what we owe Konoha." Kaji, who had been a little boy barely older than Naruto was now during the invasion, was visibly perturbed.
"Whatever debt we had to them, we have already paid it back. Twenty years and two World Wars have seen to that." Kenjiro lightly tapped the desk with his fingertips. "It would be sheer folly, however, to suddenly leave ourselves alone and vulnerable," he conceded. "We will need allies before we can act. If not that, then non-aggression treaties; trading agreements, perhaps.
"In the meantime, I trust that the four of you will keep quiet about this. We can't let Naruto's existence become common knowledge before we are ready to deal with the consequences." He fixed them all with a stern, unyielding gaze.
"We understand," the four young shinobi chorused.
"Good. Nagato, please bring me that map and the folder holding the latest reports about our neighboring nations from the library."
As soon as Nagato had retrieved the two items, the old man motioned for them to take a seat before unravelling the map of the elemental nations on his desk.
"Now then, we have work to do."
-XOXO-
Naruto rubbed his eyes, wanting nothing more than to go back to sleep. Finding the idea appealing, he rolled over and buried his face in his pillow again.
It took a few moments for his sluggish brain to realize what day it was today.
October 10th.
He sat up, eyes wide.
His birthday. Today, he was turning five.
Naruto ran his hand through his tangled hair. He didn't know how to feel about his birthday. Most kids thought it was an important day; they got presents and celebrated it with their friends.
Naruto had nothing.
No, that was not true.
Resting on a pile of not-so-clean clothes was the red scarf Kaji-occhan had given him. His first gift ever. Naruto took it in his small hands, enjoying once again the softness of the wool. It was a little dirty and smelled a bit like ramen, but he refused to part with it, not even to wash it clean. He was afraid that if he let it out of his sight for too long, someone might take it from him.
Some kids had already tried once. He was the 'demon brat', after all; he didn't deserve to have nice things. Fortunately, he was faster than them.
Shrugging, he wrapped the red scarf loosely around his neck. It was the proof that someone cared about him. It made him think of safety and comfort. Of home.
Not that he would need it today. He wasn't planning to set foot out of his house for any reason, not even if a fire suddenly broke out. He knew all too well what happened when he was outside on his birthday.
Last year and the year before that, the caretakers at the orphanage had told him that he was old enough to 'enjoy the festival like the other kids'. Then, the mean lady with the squinty eyes had grabbed him by the collar and thrown him out, ordering him not to return until the next day.
He remembered only flashes of his third birthday. He remembered walking around the village, trying to focus on the decorations he was seeing for the first time instead of the cold glares he had been getting all his life. He hadn't noticed when the usual mutters of 'demon child' and 'monster' turned into shouts, but he remembered running, more terrified than he had ever been, trying to find a safe spot to hide from the cold, hate-filled eyes of the adults.
On his fourth birthday, he had been much more careful. Knowing what to expect, he hadn't walked around the village. Instead, he had stayed hidden inside an abandoned building, taking care not to make a sound. It was tense and uncomfortable, but he had been safe there.
This time, he had his own house and nobody could kick him out of here. Hokage-jiji had told him there were barrier seals around that would prevent any uninvited guests from entering. Naruto didn't know exactly what that meant; he only knew that he was safe here.
Dressed in his pajamas and the long red scarf, he walked to the small balcony. He wasn't going to leave his home, but that didn't mean he couldn't watch the people on the street. And if anyone looked up, he'd just hide inside again.
Smiling faintly, he lifted his gaze to the Hokage Monument and examined once again the four faces carved there. Jiji had told him about them when he first moved to his new home; he had repeated the story to himself countless times since then.
The Shodai had created the Leaf. The Nidaime had made it strong. The Yondaime had saved it from the Nine-Tailed Fox. And the Sandaime, his jiji, was a great leader; he was the one who took care of the boy and made sure he was safe. All of them were respected, admired and loved by everyone in the village.
Loved…
Naruto straightened his back as the realization hit him.
Everyone in the village loved the Hokage. They greeted him with warm eyes and kind smiles. They wished him a good day. They invited him to visit their shops again. They accepted his existence.
And Naruto wanted even a little bit that acceptance.
No, that was a lie.
He wanted so much more than that.
He wanted what everyone else took for granted. Acceptance. Respect. Love.
The Hokage had all that. But a weak little kid could never become Hokage. Only the strongest ninja in the village could hold the title.
He smiled and idly played with one of the scarf's tassels as he made up his mind. For the first time in his short life, he felt confident. Everything was going to be alright now that he knew what he had to do. His gaze locked on the carved face of the Yondaime: the strongest, coolest of the four.
"I'm going to become a ninja. I'm going to surpass you. And I'm definitely going to become Hokage, dattebayo!"
-XOXO-
The silence that had fallen in Uzushiogakure's Council chamber was deafening. Kenjiro could almost see the minds of the other three clan heads struggling to reboot and process the information he had presented to them.
He was fully prepared to deal with anything -up to and including massive property damage- once they managed to pull themselves together and realized the full extent of what Naruto's not-death meant.
"This is… impossible," Akashio Rei said after a while, having recovered enough from the shock to find her voice again.
"The medical exams show otherwise, as we all see," Nagare Shin, the most practical of the four clan heads, countered. "How could we have missed this?"
"Were we even looking for any signs of deception? We had no reason to suspect our oldest ally," Takashio Hiro said. The equable man was looking positively dangerous for the first time since the Invasion. Then again, so were the other two. Being always few in number, Uzushio citizens –both shinobi and civilians– valued loyalty very highly.
"So that excuses our failure?" Rei bristled. "We all knew there was something suspicious about Konoha's refusal to let an Uzumaki examine the seal all those years ago."
"You mean besides the expected and justified reluctance to expose a defenseless jinchuuriki to a shinobi from another village? Some things are necessary in order to project an illusion of strength." Hiro, being a genjutsu specialist, was well versed in illusionary tactics and necessary deceptions; he never used his skills against his comrades, however.
"So, what you're saying is that they fear a village who has been their ally for decades?" Rei snorted. "I don't think so."
Kenjiro cleared his throat to get their attention. "I'm concerned by something else. If they hid my grandson's existence from us, what more could they have kept hidden over the years? As Hiro said, we have always trusted the leadership of the Leaf."
That stopped the two arguing clan heads dead in their tracks
Rei's cheeks flushed from her anger, making her live up to her name. "They wouldn't dare hide anything more from us."
"Wouldn't they?" Kenjiro asked quietly.
Shin shifted uncomfortably in his seat. "I understand your negative feelings towards Konoha, Kenjiro, but we can't start questioning all the dealings we've had with them over the decades."
"Why not? Are you afraid of what we might find?" Hiro countered.
"I am afraid your reactions. The three of you are angry –for entirely different reasons, but angry nonetheless. This is not an ideal mentality to have when making decisions that will affect the lives of thousands of people. You are forgetting how much we depend on Konoha," Shin explained calmly.
"As much as it pains me to admit it, Shin's right. We don't have the manpower to stand on our own and even if we did, Uzushio is in no way self-sufficient." Rei's sour expression indicated that if there was an alternative, any alternative, she would rather cut off her own hand that admit this.
"We all speak of needing Konoha's aid, but is it really true?" Kenjiro asked his fellow clan heads.
"We need three things: a number of shinobi to bolster our ranks, a steady supply of chakra absorbing metal, and a defensive line to protect our island nation in case someone tries to invade. But we don't need to get those things from Konoha. This alliance, which once allowed both villages to prosper, has become toxic for Uzushio.
"Konoha relies on us for a lot of things. We fortify their defenses with sentry and barrier seals. We supply them with high quality explosive tags, and seal-enhanced weapons and armor. We offer shinobi to assist them with patrolling the Land of Fire. In fact, without our aid, Konoha would have fallen after the Nine-Tailed Fox destroyed their fortifications and killed my son-in-law.
"In return, what do we get? Dubious offers of assistance. One skilled ninja when we ask for a squad. Inflated prices for chakra absorbing metal. You have all seen the latest trade agreement –which, I should point out, is the best we have been offered in the last few years.
"We speak of debt owed, but the truth is that we owe Konoha nothing anymore." He locked eyes with each of them, letting them see his resolve and daring them to contradict him. "Perhaps it's time we broke this alliance."
Surprisingly, the first one to speak was Hiro. "I agree. Under the reign of the Third Hokage, our once honored alliance has been trampled on too many times to count. There's no exchange anymore, only capitulation on our part. As per the latest treaty, the Takashio clan is asked to send two full squads of medical ninja to 'bolster the defensive line protecting both villages'." The venomous tone made his own thought on the matter extremely clear. "In return, we're simply to be given a pat on the back."
"You got off easy," Rei said sourly. "I have to send four squads of my best combat specialists. How are we supposed maintain our status if we can't accept missions from clients due to a lack in manpower? At this rate, Uzushio will crumble inside a decade."
"We'll be lucky if we last that long." Hiro muttered darkly.
"I understand your grief, but we can't simply break that alliance; to do so would be tantamount to suicide." Shin's reluctance was not entirely unexpected. The Nagare clan was comprised mostly by civilians, so they weren't affected quite as much by the terms of the new treaty. It was their unparalleled skill as blacksmiths that made them one of the four great clans of Uzushio, not their ninjutsu prowess.
"I would not have come before you without an alternative ready," Kenjiro reassured them. He passed the folders documenting the plan to the other three.
For a long time, the only sound inside the council chamber was the rustling of paper as pages were turned. Then, Rei cackled. "Oh, this is evil, Kenjiro. How long have you been working on this?"
Kenjiro felt his lips tugging up in a small smile. "Since my son returned from Konoha four weeks ago."
"It is a sound plan," Shin said reluctantly.
"Provided all the village heads agree to those terms." Even though Hiro was trying to sound dismissive, the glint in his eyes betrayed his desire for retribution.
"Not everyone needs to agree," Kenjiro informed them. "Allow me to explain…"
-XOXO-
By the time Kenjiro summoned his son to his office, it was already past midnight. It had taken the Council much longer than he had anticipated to sort out all the details with the new treaties. Now, however, came the really difficult part.
"How did it go, Father?"
"Better than we expected." He motioned for Kaji to take a seat. "The others were very receptive; they even made some interesting suggestions. They also agreed to let you handle the negotiations, since they feel you are sufficiently motivated to make sure they succeed." He smirked as Kaji chuckled.
"Don't worry, I won't fail. I'll leave in two days."
Without warning, Kaji's grin fell and was replaced by a downcast look.
"Is something wrong? I thought you'd be pleased to finally have something to do instead of 'sitting around twiddling your thumbs', as you so aptly put it."
Kaji grimaced. "It's just… It was Naruto's birthday today."
Kenjiro didn't need any words to understand how his son was feeling. "I wanted to have him here as well. But I promise you, the three of us will celebrate his next birthday together."
"I know, Father. I'll make sure of it."
-XOXO-
Kaji was sipping his -admittedly excellent- green tea, waiting patiently for the Fourth Raikage, Ay, to finish studying the papers in front of him.
It was a losing battle. 'Uzumaki' and 'patience' didn't fit together in the same sentence, unless it was to describe how much they lacked this so-called virtue. To Kaji's knowledge, only his late brother Kenshin and his friend Nagato had the self-control necessary to wait for something to happen without complaining about how long it took. He decided to study the Raikage's office to occupy himself with something; Ay's bodyguards seemed to be getting a little uneasy by his fidgeting.
'Office' would not be the first word he would choose to describe this place. It was more like a gym in which someone had decided to place a desk next to the barbells, dumbbells, and assorted training equipment. He found that the room suited the man: Ay was built like a mountain, with arms like tree trunks and muscles upon muscles. Kaji was utterly stumped by the fact that this giant of a man was –currently– the fastest shinobi alive.
The Raikage finally put the papers down and looked at him through narrowed eyes. "What's your game, Uzumaki?"
"There is no 'game'," Kaji said, careful to keep his voice level. If the rumors were true, then 'Unruly' Ay was even more short-tempered than an Uzumaki. It wouldn't do to anger him before the deal was sealed. "Everything you have read is genuine."
"Do you take me for a fool? What you offer is far too good to be true. There's no way Uzushio would suddenly break away from Konoha."
Kaji had to admit that the Raikage raised a valid point. Under normal circumstances, such a proposal would be unthinkable. Thankfully, there were ways to reassure the mountainous man without revealing their true motives.
The dark-haired man made a signal and Yahiko, his 'bodyguard' in case the Raikage got any funny ideas about trying to capture an Uzumaki again, presented a scroll to the assembled Kumo ninja. "Take a look at this, Raikage-sama."
The guard with the puffy hat took the scroll out of Yahiko's outstretched hand and inspected it carefully for traps before handing it to his boss. Ay opened the scroll and swiftly skimmed through it, scowling.
"Is that your idea of a re-negotiation? Or are you hoping to scare me into signing your original offer?"
"Neither," Kaji said evenly. "This is the trade agreement Uzushio signed with Konoha four months ago. As you can see, it's not as beneficiary as we would have liked." He allowed a smirk to appear on his face. "I assume I don't need to explain any further why Uzushio would seek new trading partners."
Kaji didn't need the Yamanaka clan's mind reading jutsu to know what Ay was thinking. If the relationship between the Leaf and the Whirlpool had deteriorated to such a degree, then perhaps the Cloud could exploit this and gain an advantage over the other villages. Provided, of course, that…
"To how many other villages have you offered the same deal?"
This time, Kaji suppressed his smirk; it would be unwise to let the Raikage know how predictable he was. "We have offered similar terms to a few others. Before you ask, no, I won't reveal which ones. Suffice it to say that we have not approached Iwa and Kiri, nor do we plan to do so.
"All things considered, I believe this agreement will be highly beneficial for both Kumo and Uzushio, Raikage-sama."
And it was. Yearly supply of high-quality seal tags aside, the Cloud was offered the opportunity to acquire, in time and if the new treaty proved beneficial for both parties, a small number of seal-enhanced weapons and armor.
Weapons made from ordinary chakra-absorbing metal costed at least as much as an A-Rank mission. The ones that had ordinary or even inferior quality seals inscribed on them were worth twice as much. But a weapon or piece of armor that had been augmented by the Uzumaki clan's secret fuuinjutsu was worth a small fortune. Until now, only Konoha had access to the latter category of items. The tide had turned, however, and even though the Raikage didn't know what had brought about this sudden change, he would have to be a complete fool to let such a golden opportunity pass him by because of suspicion –or worse, frugality.
After all, all the Cloud had to offer in return was a reliable supply of raw materials to the Whirlpool, along with the unspoken promise of protection from any invading forces. It was a reasonable exchange, just one step before a formal alliance.
"So it will," the Raikage reluctantly agreed. Kaji relished watching the Raikage's face turn an interesting shade of purple as he looked torn between decking the dark-haired man in front of him and embracing him.
Deeming that the former was far more likely, Kaji decided to wrap things up. "Then I believe we are in accord."
"We are." Without further ado, the papers were signed and handed to the Uzushio envoy.
The mountainous man rose from his seat and Kaji followed suit. They shook hands; Kaji tried not to wince as his hand was crushed in the Raikage's steel grip.
As soon as they exited the building, Kaji glanced at Yahiko and allowed a victorious smirk to flash briefly across his face. Yahiko responded with a smug grin of his own.
"Are you still in one piece?" Yahiko asked, far too cheerfully for Kaji's liking.
"I'll live," the dark-haired man deadpanned. "I can't tell if he was really trying to break my hand or that's just how he normally greets everyone."
"He's got an office in his gym. Were you expecting anything different?"
Kaji raised an eyebrow. "I think it's the other way around."
"I know what I said."
The two men looked at each other for a moment before promptly bursting into laughter.
"So, I guess we're done here?" Yahiko asked when they recovered from their laughing fit.
"Yeah, we're all done. Kumo was the last stop."
They were finally ready to act.
-XOXO-
Naruto was sitting on the swing outside the Ninja Academy, looking wistfully at the building. He couldn't wait to start learning how to be a ninja. It was the first step to achieving his new dream. Nobody would be able to call him 'demon brat' once he became Hokage. He would make them see that he was a person, just like all of them.
He felt his lips tug up in a feral grin, baring his longer-than-average canines.
No matter what, he would make them see him.
A sudden gust of cold air made him shiver and he lifted his red scarf to cover up his half-frozen nose. The smile fell from his face the instant his hand touched the soft wool and was replaced by an expression of profound sadness.
'Maybe… Maybe he won't come back again. Maybe he saw what everyone else sees and hates me now.'
It was his greatest fear, the one that tormented him as days had turned into weeks and then into months. The Rinne Festival was coming soon and Kaji-occhan had still not returned. He had promised he'd be back soon, but it had been four months since that day. What could be so important that he wouldn't be able to visit even for a few days?
"…Byakugan monster."
That word, one that Naruto had learned to associate with himself ever since he was old enough to understand words, broke him out of his depressed thoughts. He looked around nervously, trying to find the other boy before he snuck up on him.
He saw not one but three boys to his left, a few meters away from his swing. To his surprise, they were not ganging up on him; instead, they were harassing a girl about his age.
Naruto felt something snap inside him just then. All his life, he had been the target of everyone around him, hated for no reason other than simply breathing. He was always alone. Nobody wanted him and nobody else was treated like him.
But this girl… They had called her a monster, too. She was like him; somehow, he was certain of that.
For the first time in his life, he decided to fight back against the tormentors instead of running away.
So what if it was three of them, all older and taller and stronger than him? He had to help her. Before his newfound courage could leave him, he took a deep breath and jumped out of the swing. "Hey! Leave her alone!"
He started running towards them, slipping in the snow but managing to keep his balance -barely. He was proud of himself for not falling flat on his face after such a dramatic entrance. The older boys, however, were not impressed by their diminutive opponent.
"Who are you, kid?"
"Get lost!"
"Yeah, get lost, brat!"
These words again! These hateful words everyone was shouting at him whenever they saw him. 'No! I exist! I will make you see!'
"My name is Naruto! I'm going to be the next Hokage!" He clenched his small fists and glared at them, daring them to dispute his words.
They happily obliged by laughing themselves silly.
"You, Hokage?"
"Yeah, right!"
"Get lost before you get hurt."
"I'll show you!" He was not going to back down, not now. He refused to disappear, to become nothing, just like they wanted.
Besides, if he ran away now, the girl would still be in trouble. She was looking at him, her bright white eyes filled with tears. He couldn't leave her like this.
Naruto extended the index and middle fingers of both hands and formed a cross pattern, just like he'd seen than Uchiha police guy do once. "Take this! Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"
He eagerly waited for the smoke to clear. If he'd done the jutsu right, then an identical copy of himself should have appeared. He had practiced for weeks before he managed to get 'chakram' -or whatever it was called- to form inside him.
The smoke finally cleared and revealed two perfect clones of Naruto… in pocket size.
Naruto blinked at the two little chipmunks as they started challenging the older boys, who were laughing hysterically now.
Suddenly, he saw one of the boys aiming a fist at him. There was no time to dodge, not even to close his eyes before it hit him square in the face.
-XOXO-
Hinata watched horrified as the blond-haired boy fell on his back, blood spurting from his broken nose.
"Come on, get his scarf!" One of the older boys shouted and they grabbed the long red scarf the blond boy was wearing.
She wanted to move, to help him, but she found herself rooted in place. What chance did she have? There were three of them and she was a talentless failure, unable to so much as graze her cousin, Neji, in their sparing matches. The Hyuuga elders always whispered about her ineptitude in the Jyuuken among themselves; not even her father believed in her.
She was unable to stop the tears from running down her face as the three bullies used the scarf to swing themselves from a tree branch. Why was this happening? She hadn't done anything to hurt them! She had just been walking, not bothering anybody when the three older boys had seen her and started mocking her for her eyes.
It wasn't her fault! Every Hyuuga had the Byakugan. She was born like this.
The red scarf was tattered now, almost completely destroyed by the bullies whose names Hinata neither knew nor cared about. They dropped it on the ground and turned to her and the unconscious boy.
"Heh, a weakling like him becoming Hokage. What a joke! Let's go, guys!" The meanest of them, who seemed to be their leader, waved his hand and the other two followed him quickly, getting out of her sight not nearly soon enough. She breathed a sigh of relief.
Hinata stood up and walked to where the scarf had been discarded. She gingerly picked it up, careful not to rip it apart any further. Examining it closely, she saw that it was beyond saving. Strands of wool had been broken and were hanging loose, creating many large holes on the once beautiful neckwear. Despite its current ruined state, she could tell that it had once been a luxurious item, soft and warm.
She felt even more dismayed that she was the reason it had been destroyed.
She saw the blond-haired boy twitch slightly and squatted next to him, waiting for him to wake up. She hoped he hadn't been hurt seriously.
Without warming, the boy shot up, startling her.
"Not yet! I'm not done yet!" He fell in a sloppy taijutsu stance as he bellowed his challenge. "I'm… going... to…" He trailed off as he noticed that the three older boys were nowhere in sight.
Looking around him, he saw her, still crouched and holding his scarf. He sighed and squatted in front of her, staring at his ruined scarf and absently rubbing his bruised eye. Hinata felt a pang of guilt in her heart when she saw that he couldn't open it completely.
"It's not fair. I was going to beat them 'ttebayo…" he mumbled, looking dejected.
Hinata didn't know what to say to make him feel better. She didn't have much experience talking to other kids her age –or talking in general, for that matter. As the heiress of the Hyuuga clan, she was expected to keep quiet, listening to everything that was said but not speaking unless spoken to.
Still, she had to say something.
"They ruined your scarf. I'm sorry."
She looked at the ground, hoping it would open up and swallow her. 'Great job, Hinata. Why don't I poke his bruises next?'
The look of pure, crushing dismay on his face just then hurt her almost like a physical blow. She extended her hands, offering him what remained of the scarf that was obviously so precious to him, but he dismissed her with a wave of his hand. It was a casual gesture, but Hinata saw tears welling up in his eyes before he stood up and turned to leave.
He had already taken a few steps when Hinata found her courage again. "Wait!"
The blond boy turned around, one blue eye half closed. It seemed he had managed to hold back his tears for now. Maybe he didn't want to cry in front of a stranger –Hinata knew she never wanted others to see her cry and think she was weak.
"Thank you," was all she managed to say to this strange boy who had stood up for her. The Hyuuga heiress didn't have to acknowledge the presence, let alone thank, someone the clan elders would dismiss as a 'worthless urchin'. Even so, she bowed her head to the blond boy. She wanted him to know how much she appreciated what he had done for her.
He smiled at her, a crooked grin that lit up his blood-covered face.
"See ya later!" He waved goodbye and ran off.
Hinata stared at his back until she could no longer see him. A warm smile was gracing her face as she hugged the tattered scarf close to her heart.
-XOXO-
Nagato retied his obi over his long-sleeved haori, making sure it was resting comfortably over his shirt and the mesh armor undershirt. On his right, Yahiko was fastening the buckles of the wide leather strap that tied his sword to his back. On his left, Konan was adjusting her billowing sleeves and quickly forming hand seals to test if they hampered her mobility in any way.
Satisfied with their last minute check, they all looked up. Kaji had just finished pulling on his black fingerless gloves, his katana already strapped to his back.
They were ready.
Without exchanging any words, they walked outside the house and stood next to the other Uzumaki shinobi gathered there. Many more Uzushio ninja were waiting near the docks, ready to board the ships that would carry them to the Land of Fire.
Everyone had grim expressions on their faces. They all knew what this mission was about.
Kenjiro walked outside the house, flanked by Akashio Rei and Takashio Hiro. If there were any lingering doubts about whether the elders were serious about breaking the old alliance with Konoha, they were all laid to rest right then and there. The three clan heads were walking side by side with matching expressions of determination and enough concealed weapons and seal tags to destroy a small country -or maybe a formerly allied village.
They were more than ready.
-XOXO-
Naruto was angry with himself. What had he been thinking?
The red scarf was a gift. It was his. He was supposed to take care of it! But he had given it away, just like that!
He was so stupid!
Why had he given his scarf to the pale-eyed girl?
'Because she was nice. Because she was like me.' He had never felt such a connection with another person before, a bone-deep understanding that they were both unwanted and hated.
So what?
The scarf was his. It may have been torn up, but it was the only proof he had that someone cared about him.
What had he been thinking? He didn't even know her name!
Stupid, stupid, stupid, STUPID!
He punched a tree next to him and doubled over, holding his now bleeding hand. The pain brought him back to his senses. He realized he had somehow walked all the way to his secret hiding spot, his feet following the well-known path without his brain's approval. He was still angry, though. How could he not be angry?
He had given away the scarf.
What was Kaji-occhan going to think when he found out?
'He's going to hate me. He's going to say I'm worthless.' He would lose his only friend because he was too stupid to hold on to a piece of cloth.
Anger melted into despair and he felt tears burning his eyes, but made no attempt to stop them from falling. This was his safe place; he was alone here, free to be himself without anyone judging him.
He sat with his back against the tree trunk and buried his face in his knees, sobs wracking his small body.
It never even occurred to him that he might have gained a new friend that day.
-XOXO-
Nagato was stealthily scanning the crowd surrounding them, noticing some of Konan's origami butterflies fluttering around. She had discreetly spread her paper scouts across Konoha as soon as they had entered the village.
He was surprised by the reception they were receiving. The news about the Uzushio delegation had spread with a speed that put wildfires to shame. The Festival had gotten livelier; all around them, there were happy faces and friendly welcomes. The people of the Leaf hadn't seen that many Whirlpool shinobi standing under the shadow of the Hokage Monument since the Kyuubi incident so, naturally, they were ecstatic, thinking that all was well again.
How wrong they were.
"Did you find him?" Kaji murmured softly, so that only they could hear him.
"No, not yet. I'll extend my search radius." Konan narrowed her eyes in concentration and Nagato saw her chakra spike for a moment.
"Do you even know what you're looking for?" Yahiko muttered while smiling pleasantly at a cluster of Konoha girls looking at them, making them blush and giggle. Nagato was profoundly grateful his best friend hadn't picked up more of Jiraiya-sensei's bad habits.
"A boy with chakra reserves equal to an adult's," Konan explained in an undertone.
It was a reasonable guess, given that Naruto was a jinchuuriki. He probably had more raw chakra than most low-ranking ninja.
"That will work," Yahiko said lightly.
"I'm also going to extend my sensory perception as far as possible, in addition to searching the crowd with my Rinnegan. Between myself and Konan, we'll be able to track him down soon."
"And since I'm not a sensory type, I'll just smile and wave to put everyone at ease. We wouldn't want them to think we're planning anything subversive, now would we?" Yahiko gave a small wave to a bunch of kids watching them.
They all chuckled lightly at that, grateful for the small reprieve. The journey to Konoha had been nerve-wracking, with everyone on edge and ready for anything. Nobody knew what would happen once they found the boy; the only thing they could tell with absolute certainty was that Konoha wouldn't give him up without making a fuss.
Knowing his luck, Nagato was fully prepared for the worst. The very worst. The kami know that things always managed to spiral out of control whenever he was around.
Nagato sensed something on the very edge of his perception; he closed his eyes and focused on that spot far away from the festivities. In his mind's eye, he saw a child overflowing with chakra; it was like a beacon, drawing his attention and drowning out everything else. What really surprised him, though, was that even from this distance, he could feel the warmth of that chakra; it made him think of sunlight and bright colors, like yellow or maybe orange.
"I've found him," he said quietly. "A child shining like a small sun."
With a nod and a few inconspicuous hand signals from Kaji, the Uzushio shinobi shuffled like a deck of cards. Nagato, Yahiko, Konan, and Kaji slipped into a side-street, while the places they had just vacated were swiftly filled by four others.
"Lead the way."
-XOXO-
Naruto was sitting on the swing outside the Academy, his new favorite place in the village, idly tracing patterns on the snow with his sandal. He was going to try to sneak a peek at the Festival later, when it would be dark and there would be more shadows for him to hide.
Hmm. Maybe he could play a prank on that guy with the fruit stand. He was always mean to Teuchi-jiji and Ayame-nee-chan, shunning them because they served ramen to the 'Demon'. Yeah, he deserved to go down. Nobody messed with Naruto's friends.
'I'm going to need some orange paint… no, orange paint bombs… and some wire… and maybe some glitter.' He snickered and started planning the details of the prank with glee. Oh, this was going to be good!
He was in the middle of figuring out how to rig a paint-glitter bomb to explode on the shopkeeper and make him identical to his 'renovated' shop when he heard a familiar voice calling out to him.
"Hello, Naruto."
Even though he hadn't heard it in months, he'd recognize that voice anywhere. "Kaji-occhan?"
His dark hair was shorter than the boy remembered and his cheeks were a bit red from the cold, but it was him. He had a big smile on his face which seemed to be just for Naruto.
"It's been a long time, hasn't it?" the dark-haired man said warmly.
Naruto hesitated for a moment, thinking his eyes were playing tricks on him; then, he launched himself at the dark-haired man and tackled him into a hug. He felt tears burning his eyes before they escaped, only to be absorbed by the man's long coat.
"Hey." Naruto didn't answer; he just kept hugging the stuffing out of Kaji. The dark-haired man took hold of Naruto's shoulders and knelt so their eyes were at the same level.
"Hey," he repeated softly. "What's wrong, Naruto?"
'You were gone for so long and I didn't think you were ever coming back.'
"…You're back."
"Yes. I'm sorry I took so long, but certain matters took more time to arrange than I'd expected." Naruto frowned. What 'matters'?
The young man tightened his grip slightly. "But I'm here now, and I'm not going away again."
Naruto sniffled and wiped away his tears with his sleeve. "P-promise?"
"Yes, I promise." There was something about the intensity in Kaji's eyes, and that kind, gentle smile the boy had never seen before that made him feel safe. "You're never going to be alone again, Naruto."
Naruto wanted to believe him; he wanted it so badly it made his chest hurt.
He suddenly noticed that they were not alone. There were three other people with them, standing a few meters away. How long had they been there? And why were they there?
Kaji looked him up and down, frowning. "Aren't you cold? It's freezing out here. Why aren't you wearing your scarf?"
Naruto panicked. This was it. He was going to get mad now and leave again, this time forever.
"I… I don't have it anymore," he mumbled.
"Oh. Did you… lose it?"
"S-some boys were picking on a girl. I tried to help her, but they knocked me out and tore apart my scarf. I'm sorry, occhan. I t-tried to…" Why was it so hard to keep his voice from trembling? He'd been alone all his life, so why did it matter if his friend left him again? He'd be right where he started. "… to…"
He was pulled into an embrace and felt warm hands gently patting his back. "It's okay, Naruto. I'm right here. Everything is going to be alright." The words were soft, soothing; Naruto felt himself relaxing.
"I'm really proud of you, kid."
Naruto's eyes, hidden in the crook of Kaji-occhan's neck, widened. "Y-you are?"
"Yeah. You did something great."
"But I didn't do anything! I couldn't help that girl; the boys just left her alone. And I got the scarf you gave me tattered. I messed up."
The black-clad man sighed and pushed Naruto back far enough so they could look at each other again; he was still holding the boy's shoulders. "Naruto, I want you to listen very carefully to what I'm about to tell you, okay?"
Naruto nodded.
"That day, you could have done nothing and abandoned that girl to her fate. Instead, you stood up for her; you protected her. It doesn't matter that you failed; what matters is that you tried. You refused to walk away and let those boys bully her, didn't you?" Naruto nodded again. "That is why I'm proud of you."
"But the scarf—"
"Is not more important than another person," the dark-haired man said firmly.
Naruto stood there blinking at the young man and gaping like an idiot, desperately trying to cope with what had just happened. Kaji-occhan wasn't mad at him; instead he was proud. Proud! He felt his head swimming in the clouds, overwhelmed by the young man's unconditional approval. This was… everything he ever wanted.
Naruto sniffled; he was not going to cry again.
"So," Kaji grinned, "who was this girl you risked your life to help?"
"I don't know," Naruto admitted sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck. "I forgot to ask her name. The other kids were calling her a monster because of her white eyes."
"White eyes?" the man with the orange hair asked, making Naruto jump; he had completely forgotten about the three strangers. "Was she a Hyuuga?"
"Probably," the red-haired man answered him.
"What's a 'Hyuuga'?" Naruto asked, puzzled.
"Not what, but who," the orange-haired man snorted. "The Hyuuga are one of Konoha's most powerful shinobi clans. You must have seen them around. White eyes, brown hair, superior attitude, a tent pole stuck—"
"Yahiko!" The blue-haired woman hissed suddenly.
"—stuck inside their heads."
Naruto thought that sounded very painful. "Why do they have a tent pole stuck inside their heads?"
"Yes, Yahiko, why do they have a tent pole stuck inside their heads?" Kaji's face was calm but his eyes were narrowed dangerously.
"Simple." Was this Yahiko guy sweating? "Because they are not right in the head. They are stuck in the past, always going on about 'tradition' and 'destiny' and other such nonsense."
"Nice save," the red-haired man said with a grin.
"Thanks, Nagato."
Naruto closed his eyes and tilted his head in confusion. "That girl had blue hair and she was nice. She even thanked me for getting beaten up. Are you sure Hyuuga are like that?"
"Well, not all Hyuuga are stuck-up ass—… as stuck-up as I said. But there are plenty of them like that and they give the rest a bad name."
"Huh." Naruto thought it made sense. "Kinda like how Teuchi-jiji and Ayame-nee-chan are nice to me, but the other shopkeepers chase me out?"
Yahiko made a face like he was forced to eat a bowl of vegetables. "Yeah, kinda like that, kid."
The four adults exchanged looks; they seemed to be very uncomfortable all of a sudden.
Kaji-occhan broke the silence. "Well, Naruto, how would you like to come with us to the Festival?"
He really wanted to go and spend more time with Kaji-occhan –and his friends, who seemed nice. "I don't know…"
"Don't worry, Naruto. We'll be with you the whole time. Besides, there's someone I want you to meet. He's waiting for us there."
That got Naruto's attention. "Who is he?"
Kaji chuckled. "You'll have to find that out for yourself. So, do you want to go?"
Naruto thought it over for a moment; it wasn't like anything bad would happen if the four of them were with him. "Yeah, okay."
"Thank you, Naruto." The dark-haired man looked around for a moment. "We should get going. I don't want to turn into a chronically late friend of mine." The last part was barely more than a whisper.
"Uh, that's great and all," the guy the others had called Yahiko said, "but you might wanna introduce us to the kid before we go."
"Oh, right," Kaji said awkwardly. "Naruto, meet my friends. The goofball with the orange hair—"
"Hey!" said 'goofball' protested; Kaji just ignored him.
"—is Yahiko. The quiet one" he pointed to the red-haired man with the strange eyes "is Nagato. And the serious one" he pointed towards the pretty blue-haired lady. "is Konan. Guys, meet Naruto."
Konan gave him a small smile. "Hello, Naruto. We're all very pleased to finally meet you."
Naruto blinked. "Pleased… to meet me?"
"Of course. Kaji's told us a lot about you," Nagato said with a smile of his own.
"He's talked about little else these last few weeks," Yahiko added with a bright grin.
The blond-haired boy couldn't keep up anymore. First, Kaji-occhan was proud of him. Then, there were three other adults who were happy to see him. And all of them were serious! What was going on here?
"Is this a dream?"
The smiles fell from the grown-ups' faces and they all just stared at him. 'Oops. I didn't mean to say that out loud.'
"No, Naruto," Kaji finally said. "This is not a dream. This is very real."
He extended his hand towards Naruto. "Come. They're waiting for us."
Author's Notes:
About Naruto:
1. Emotional abuse is severely underestimated; you don't need to physically abuse someone to scar them for life. Naruto grew up all alone. He was socially isolated and shunned by everyone around him. He was ignored, hated, cursed, and called 'it' instead of 'him'. He's craved acknowledgement for as long as he can remember. So, when it's being handed to him on a silver platter all of a sudden, he's terrified to lose it once again.
2. Some writers turn Naruto into a human punching bag, but that's both unnecessary and a bit unrealistic. Unnecessary because all you need to mess up someone is treat them like trash long enough for them to actually believe it (the mind truly is a powerful thing). Unrealistic because no-one is foolish enough to actually hurt someone under the Hokage's protection without some serious backing (Konoha is a military city-state, after all).
-X-
About the Rain Orphans: Yes, all three are alive and kicking.
1. How: In this story, Nagato managed to save both Konan and Yahiko from Hanzo's ambush. Therefore, he doesn't become 'Pain'.
2. Akatsuki: Oh, they're still around (Itachi, Deidara, and Hidan haven't joined yet), hunting Tailed Beasts and kicking puppies. They just don't have Pain and Lady Angel.
-X-
Additional notes:
1. About the Rinne Festival: I place it at December 21st, the day of the Winter Solstice. It's the longest night of the year, so I figure it would be the perfect time to hold a festival about rebirth and new beginnings.
2. The chakram is a throwing weapon from India. It is circular in shape with a sharpened outer edge and ranges in size from approximately 12–30 centimetres (4.7–11.8 in) in diameter. The chakram is primarily a throwing weapon but can also be used hand-to-hand. (directly from Wikipedia)
3. Hinata's sparring partner is Neji here. Hinata and Naruto are five years old, Neji is six and Hanabi is not born yet, so I changed things a bit to better fit the timeline.
4. In Japanese, the iris is called 'ayame'. In Hanakotoba, the language of flowers, it symbolizes good news and loyalty. Naruto doesn't know the meaning of the flower, but he knows Ayame likes irises.
5. Marrying into a family: Unlike western marriages where the wife gets her husband's name by default, Japanese couples can choose which of the spouses will change their family name. For example, a man can adopt his wife's family name if her family is more influential and/or wealthy than his or if the woman is the last of her family and doesn't want the family name to die out. It's a bit more complicated than that, but that's the gist of it.
-X-
Japanese Words:
1. Uzumaki: (うずまき - 渦巻き) Whirlpool, eddy, coil, spiral.
2. Akashio: (あかしお - 赤潮) Red Tide. A phenomenon known as an algal bloom (large concentrations of aquatic microorganisms) when it is caused by a few species of dinoflagellates and the bloom takes on a red or brown color.
3. Takashio: (たかしお - 高潮) Storm Surge. A coastal flood or tsunami-like phenomenon of rising water commonly associated with low pressure weather systems (such as tropical cyclones and strong extratropical cyclones), the severity of which is affected by the shallowness and orientation of the water body relative to storm path, and the timing of tides.
4. Nagare: (ながれ - 流れ) Stream, current, flow, course of events.
-X-
Answers to reviewers:
1. About Naruto's power and disposition: Naruto will be powerful, but not overly so. When the chuunin exams start (don't despair, it won't be a long arc), he's going to be at roughly Gaara's level of power without the homicidal tendencies. As for his attitude towards killing his enemies… You have probably guessed that the Ame Orphans are going to teach him, so he'll be exposed to Nagato's (less nihilistic) philosophy about the Cycle of Hatred much sooner. Naruto will value human life and will hesitate to kill someone who does not deserve it. When he meets someone who does deserve it, however, things will get… complicated.
2. About Karin: She's going to be introduced in the next couple of chapters and she's going to be Naruto's sister in all but blood.
3. About the Uzumaki clan: Their most advanced fuuinjutsu are Hidden Jutsu passed down solely to clan members. They are feared because they have developed various kinds of seals, which they can inscribe on weapons and armor to enhance them (think: enchanted weapons). The masks inside the Uzumaki clan's Mask Storage Temple are simply the most exquisite and unique samples of the art. (Canon shows that they had somehow imprisoned the Shinigami inside a mask, so I think I have more than enough room to work here.)
4. About power levels: That's a tricky one. If you want comparisons in terms of raw chakra, the Uzumaki will always win, hands down. As to who is stronger than who, that's a lot more complicated, as it depends on the jutsu they know and on the battlefield. A Suiton user will have a disadvantage in the desert, a fuuinjutsu practitioner will be unbeatable if he has time to rig the battlefield with seals, and so on…
-X-
Character Information
Uzumaki Nagato
Age: 24
Height: 176 cm (5ft 9)
Weight: 61 kg
Rank: Jounin
Chakra Nature Transformation: Wind (affinity), Fire, Lightning, Earth, Water, Yang
Kekkei Genkai: Rinnegan
Yahiko, clan name unknown
Age: 24
Height: 177 cm (5ft 9.5)
Weight: 64 kg
Rank: Jounin
Chakra Nature Transformation: Water (affinity), Fire, Wind
Kekkei Genkai: -
Konan, clan name unknown
Age: 24
Height: 170 cm (5ft 7)
Weight: 47 kg
Rank: Jounin
Chakra Nature Transformation: Wind (affinity), Earth, Water, Yang
Kekkei Genkai: -
-X-
On a side note: Lava is written 溶岩 (ようがん – yougan) and Yang is written 陽 (よう – you). The result is that Lava Release and Yang Release are pronounced the same way: Youton. I'll always clarify which one I mean.
Thank you for reading. Please, review and share your thoughts.
Edit: 13 March 2016 - Fixed some spelling mistakes.