Chapter Two: Into the clouds
~A/N~ Due to a very large amount of I'll be sending Naruto to Kumo. Enjoy.
Naruto stood in a small shop looking over a new set of clothes. He was seriously considering tossing out his old orange jumpsuit. Sure he loved the color but now it didn't seem like it fit him anymore. He needed a new look for his new life.
"Find anything you like?" the shopkeeper asked.
"I was kind of looking at this Hakama… but that seems a little dumb since I'm heading pretty far north," Naruto said.
"Nonsense… it may not seem it at first glance but a Hakama is made thicker than normal cloths so it can take harsher climates," the shopkeeper replied.
"How much for it?" Naruto asked expecting a large number.
"I could do one hundred and fifty Ryo since it doesn't seem to sell well," the shopkeeper said.
"I'll take it!" Naruto shouted he'd never heard of such a cheap set of clothes before.
Now clad in a midnight black Hakama, shin high combat boots, a bright orange sash, a dark crimson kosode with hood and a mask attached and a pair of heavy gloves Naruto was ready to go to Kumogakure. He wasn't sure what it was but he felt like something was pulling him there. He left the small village following his gut feeling rather than a compass. As he started to venture further north he was forced to pull the hood and mask up to save him from the cold winds.
"God, how long does it take to get to Kumogakure? I've been walking for over a week and a half," Naruto complained out loud as he walked. Sighing heavily he just continued to walk following his gut feeling.
~Back in Konohagakure~
Sasuke stood in front of the rest of 'The Konoha Eleven' as he took a slow breathe. "Ok I'm not going to stand here and ask you to forgive me… I don't deserve your forgiveness… not yet… I still need to earn that. All I am going to ask is that you give me that chance. To prove that I am worth forgiving that you can put your trust in me. I know none of you like me because of what I did but all I'm asking for is the chance to show that that wasn't me," Sasuke said as he looked at the group.
"I will give you a chance solely because that's what Naruto would have done," Lee said
"Lee is right… it is what Naruto would do… and in his memory I will do the same," Shikamaru added getting most of the others to nod in agreement.
"You'd better show your worth it Sas-gay," Kiba said with a sneer.
"I will… also I've been given access to my clan's training grounds once more and I would like to open them to your use as well. No matter the time or day you are all welcome in the Uchiha compound," Sasuke said giving a light bow. Most of the group was surprised by this 'new' Sasuke. He seemed to have adopted Naruto's view and was doing everything he could to show he was loyal to the hidden leaf.
In the two weeks Naruto had been gone most of the civilians were partying in praise that the 'demon boy' was gone while the Shinobi felt a void having lost one of the most promising Shinobi. Tsunade fought against the council everyday trying get him back. While a small portion of the Shinobi council would vote with her the entire civilian council always voted no.
"This is getting redundant Lady Hokage," Danzo said before he took a breath. "I would like to set forth a vote," he added.
"What vote?" Tsunade asked with a growl.
"Simply to limit how many times you can make us vote on the same subject. Such as the Uzumaki's Banishment to once a year," Danzo said.
"I second that," Homaru said quickly.
"Third," Koharu added. Before Tsunade could squash the vote the entire civilian council voted in Danzo's favor along with roughly half of the Shinobi council.
"Very well it is passed," Tsunade said with venom. "Now then is there anything else to cover or is this meeting adjourned?" Tsunade asked.
"I would like bring up the suggestion of Uchiha Sasuke becoming a Chunin," a civilian councilman spoke up.
"Very well, Neko bring Uchiha Sasuke here," Tsunade said.
Naruto stood in a small village his face stuck against a window as he looked inside nearly drooling as he looked at a set of armor. "Woah that looks so bad ass," Naruto said as he eyed up the armor once more before entering.
"Anyone here?" Naruto asked as he stepped inside.
"Yes my boy what can I do for you?" a rather scarily buff man asked.
"I was wondering what you have for Shinobi armor?" Naruto asked.
"That's all I sell. I specialize in assault armor like the set in the window," the man said as he cracked his neck once while he eyed up Naruto.
"I saw that it looked badass," Naruto replied.
"Always nice to see someone take appreciation in my work," the man said. "Now what can I do for you?" he asked.
"I was kinda thinking about getting an armor set," Naruto said while he scratched the back of his head.
"Hmm… I think I have just the thing for you," the man said as he disappeared into the back of his shop. After several minutes the man reappeared with a manikin in a set of armor. [1]
"This is my masterpiece… the armor is damn near indestructible, is coated with seals on the side that makes it fit it's wearer, completely chakra adaptive, and can be sealed by the wearer so it can't be removed," he explained the armor as Naruto looked at it like it was a gift from Kami himself.
"Can I try it on?" Naruto asked.
"Sure have at it," the man said. Naruto nodded then moved to the manikin. He took his time removing the armor from the manikin so he could see how it went on.
"There's a lot to it," Naruto said as he pulled off the chest piece.
"Yeah but it'll be worth it," the man said. Naruto finished stripping the armor and but on the black body suit that was to be worn under it.
"This is kind of heavy," Naruto said as the suit shrunk to fit him.
"Yeah it's Ironweave. The stuff is strong enough to stop a kunai," he said as Naruto put on the dark grey plated greaves on the shin guards were three curved spikes. Naruto watched as they shrunk to size just as the suit had. Then came what Naruto would have called an armored kilt followed by the chest armor and shoulder guards. The shoulder guards like the greaves had three curved spikes on them as well. He then moved to the spiked wrist guards and chain mail gloves. He took a moment to see the gloves had two long claws that extended a good six inches. Naruto couldn't help but smile as he took a once over of himself to see how good he looked in the armor. The helm reminded him of the Sandaime's Battle helm that he had seen only once before. But this had what appeared to be a three pronged claw on the forehead that bed over the helm along with a mouth cover.
"Now this helm here is special. One put on it will darken the inside of the helm hiding your eyes and face away so nobody could tell what you look like. On top of that there is a seal over the mouth cover that distorts your voice and finally once it darken so your face is hidden it will make your eyes glow red… just to give it an evil vibe," the man explained.
"That. Is. So. Bad. Ass!" Naruto shouted as he took the helm and put it on.
"Damn kid I think this armor set was made for you," the man said as he looked Naruto over.
"Yeah now the big question," Naruto looked to the man the red eyes locked on him.
"Five hundred thousand," the man said.
"Holy mother! I can't afford that," Naruto said. Well that was a lie he could but he wanted to save that money.
"I just fucking with you kid. It's only fifty thousand… it's awesome armor but nobody seems to want it and for the life of me I can't make a second set without getting that one dude back to help me with the seals again… but I'm rambling you want the armor or not?" the man asked.
"Hell yeah I want it!" Naruto said as he grabbed his bad and pulled out his gama wallet that looked like it was about to burst.
"Dude you are freaking loaded!" the man said as Naruto counted out the amount.
"It was a gift from my godfather," Naruto said as he handed over the stack of ryo. [2]
"Enjoy the armor and tell people you got it here," the man said as Naruto pulled off the helm, gloves and shoulders.
"Thanks… I gotta study up on some sealing so I can put these into the armor for storage," Naruto said as he looked at the armor.
"That's what this is for," the man said as he poked a seal that sat on his right side just above the armored kilt.
"You seriously thought of everything," Naruto said as he pulsed a little charka and sealed away the helm gloves and shoulder guards. Once those were sealed away the put his black hakama and crimson kosode back on effectively hiding away his armor.
"I have my moments," the man said. Naruto gave a nod and left focused more on trying out his new armor. He was just about to leave when a weapon caught his eyes. It was a Naginata the how the blade shined is what really caught his eye. It seemed different from the other weapons.
"What's up with this Naginata?" Naruto asked.
"Oh that was my father's last weapon. The metal is something strange. It's harder than steel but lighter at the same time. I made a promise to my old man that I would only give it to someone that I truly believe deserves it. I'm not allowed to sell it. and he told me I'd know who deserved it when they touched it," the man explained
"What did he mean by that?" Naruto asked.
"He said it was made to it would react to a certain man's chakra… but he died years ago so it was never picked up. So dad said one day someone would be able to 'awaken' the metal," he explained.
"Awaken?" Naruto asked.
"Yeah right now that blade is weaker than tin… but once someone with the Uzumaki blood in them touches it that's when it will take on the stronger than steel property," the man said.
"Uzumaki," Naruto said as he grabbed the staff and instantly the blade shined crimson then returned to its basic steel color.
"You're and Uzumaki!" the man shouted.
"Half on my mom's side," Naruto replied.
"Leaf Shinobi, Uzumaki… You're Kushina's boy!" the man shouted.
"Should I be worried that you know that?" Naruto asked.
"I'm Jaken Uzushin I'm from one of the other clans that made up Uzu no kuni.
"There was more than one clan from there?" Naruto asked.
"Uzumaki, Uzhshin, Kageoni, Takioni, Rorana, Kamigate, and Uzuki where the clans made up Uzushigakure," Jaken explained.
"Woah there was a lot of us," Naruto said.
"Uzushin and Uzumaki are basically gone. Most of the other clans went far to the west completely out of the Elemental nations," Jaken explained.
"Wow," Naruto said.
"Come here kid," Jaken said getting Naruto to walk towards him. Naruto was confused when Jaken gave him back his money.
"I'm not charging the closet thing I have to kin," Jaken said.
"I don't know what to say," Naruto replied.
"Just say you got your badass gear here," Jaken laughed. "By the way take the Naginata, her name is Shinikiba or Death's Fang,"
"I promise I will wear this armor and use this weapon with the upmost pride my brother," Naruto said with a bow.
"I have a feeling you will," Jaken smiled.
It had been just shy of a week since Naruto had bought his armor and returned to his travels. He was deep within the land of lightning but had yet to find the hidden cloud village. Naruto stopped seeing nothing before him but water and massive rocks. He glanced around seeing a small hut with a sign on it. "Unraikyo… that's not Kumogakure!" Naruto shouted angrily and he stopped his feet a few times.
"And just who are you?" a feminine voice asked causing Naruto to spin around.
"Who's there?" Naruto asked seeing a blonde haired woman sitting on top of the hut.
"We are Kumo Shinobi, Yugito and Bee," a large man said as he exited the hut. Naruto simply stared at the two. The woman was stunningly beautiful with long blonde hair and just as stunning dark eyes. She was slightly pale and wore a black and purple short sleeved blouse with black pants. Whole the man honestly scared him a little. He work a pair of dark pants and a standard Kumogakure Jonin vest with one shoulder strap and a white hitai-ate. He also had seven swords adorning his back and the Kanji for Iron on his shoulder in blue.
"I'm Naruto," Naruto said offering his hand to the two. While Bee returned his hand shake the woman just stared at him expecting something more.
"So why are you looking for our home?" Yugito asked.
"I used to be a Konoha Shinobi… but I got banished so I was looking for a new home… Kiri is in the middle of a civil war, I don't like the idea of Iwa for some reason and Suna just seemed to dry for my tastes," Naruto explained.
"So you thought you'd just come and make Kumo your home?" Yugito asked.
"No… I know I'll have to earn my keep and I'm more than willing to do so," Naruto said.
"What skills you got, gotta know if it's worth giving you a shot," Bee said starting his rapping.
"I have shadow clones and the Rasengan… that's about it," Naruto said ashamed of himself.
"What rank were you?" Yugito asked.
"Genin," Naruto replied again ashamed.
"You were a Genin with the Rasengan?" Bee asked slightly shocked.
"Yeah… I'm a special circumstance… so I'd probably never become anything more than a Genin," Naruto said.
"What circumstance?" Yugito asked.
"I'd rather not say," Naruto said quickly.
"No way for sho?" Bee suddenly said.
"What?" both Naruto and Yugito asked.
"Ain't nothing to fear you've got the two and eight here," Bee said pointing to himself and Yugito confusing Naruto heavily.
'Two and Eight? What does that mean… there like me!' Naruto's mind screamed.
"You guys have Bijuu sealed in you?" Naruto asked.
"Yes I have the Nibi, Matatabi," Yugito said.
"And I'm rock a killer melody as the eight's Jinchuriki," Bee rapped.
"I have the Kyubi," Naruto said.
"No foolin?" Bee said.
"We should take him to the Raikage," Yugito said.
"Fo sho bro'll know what to do Aw Yeah!" Bee laughed.
"That's didn't even rhyme," Naruto said.
"Just gotta give it time," Bee replied.
"I'll kill you," Yugito growled.
"Then I'd be blue," Bee replied.
"Oh go eat an orange," Naruto shouted.
"I'll slap you with a door hinge," Bee laughed.
"Let's just go," Yugito said.
"With the flow," Bee said as he started to walk leading them to the Hidden Cloud.
Once they reached the Hidden Cloud Naruto instantly noticed that nobody was looking at Yugito or Bee with spite or hate. Instead they looked to them with respect and love. Yugito had just about all of the men's eyes while Bee had the women's. Naruto looked around seeing a few people waving to him while others looked at him cautiously.
"I'm guess you aren't use to this?" Yugito asked.
"No in Konoha I was quite literally spit on," Naruto replied.
"That's not cool yo, you should've come here sooner bro," Bee said as the three started to ascend a long staircase.
"So should I be worried about meeting the Raikage?" Naruto asked.
"Nah he's a big softy," Yugito replied.
"To you," Bee replied as they reached the door.
"Yo! Bro! Bee's here!" Bee said as he kicked in the door.
"You're paying to fix that door," the massive figure that what the Raikage replied. Naruto froze instantly seeing the large man in white and yellow kage robes.
"We have someone who would like to meet you," Yugito said.
"EH? Why is it you brought a little boy here?" the Raikage asked.
"Yo his name is Naruto and he's out little bro," Bee replied. With a raised eyebrow the Raikage took a moment to look over Naruto.
"Boy step forward," the Raikage commanded. Naruto obeyed and gave a light bow.
"Hmm he seems a little scrawny and short," A said.
"I didn't have the best life in Konoha Raikage-sama," Naruto said.
"Yeah don't do that," A replied quickly.
"You've lost me," Naruto said.
"I hate that's Sama crap. Just call me Raikage or A-san," A said.
"Raikage it is," Naruto said.
"Now I would assume you have a Bijuu since Yugito and Bee are both claiming you as a brother.
"Yes… I house the Nine-Tailed fox," Naruto said.
"That would make you Uzumaki that was banished from Konoha a short while back," A said.
"Yes Raikage-san," Naruto said.
"Well then… what makes you think you can make a home in Kumo?" A asked.
"I don't know… I just felt something pulling me here," Naruto replied.
"Interesting… explain this pull," A said.
"Well when I left Konoha I felt this pull in my gut pointing me towards Kumo. So I followed it and it ended up leading me to Bee-san and Yugito-san here. So all I can assume is the pull was something to do with being a Jinchuriki," Naruto explained.
"Well you'll need to be training in controlling that fox before we do anything," A said.
"Leave his training to me and Yugi," Bee said.
"I told you to never call me Yugi," Yugito growled.
"Aw but it rhymes so good," bee replied.
"Bee stop… How long do you need?" A asked.
"I say a one a two a three years to leave him with no peers," Bee rapped.
"Before you do that," A stood and walked around his desk to tower over the young Uzumaki. "Uzumaki Naruto. Do you swear undying loyalty and fealty to Kumogakure. To always place the village's needs before your own?"
"I can't swear something like that," Naruto said. "My friends no matter the nation come first as would any family I might have one day," Naruto added. To Naruto's surprise A burst out into laughter as did Yugito and Bee.
"Oh my boy that was the perfect answer. I hate having blindly faithful Shinobi," A still laughed. "Welcome to Kumogakure kid," A added before he handed Naruto a Kumo headband with a white cloth.
"I swear I will do everything I can to prove you are not making a mistake," Naruto said.
"I have no doubt," A replied.
~End Notes~ I hope you liked this chapter. Chapter three will begin in after Naruto has been trained by Bee and Yugito for three years.
[1] If you want a good idea of what the Armor set looks like look up The Shredder from the '03 TMNT series.
[2] I'm making Ryo equal to USD so I don't have to do too math… yeah I'm lazy.
NOW THEN! POLL TIME!... no not that kind of poll. Voting poll.
Which girl will become the lover of our emotionally damaged fox boy? The Two tails? The fiery red head? Of the ice cold blonde?
Let me know your Vote via PM. Yugito Karui or Samui.