The Orange Daimyo of Uzushiogakure
A/N: OH MY! The response to the first chapter blew me away. I'm not sure how I got this finished with having to work too, but all the positive responses made me highly motivated! A huge, massive thanks to all the people who faved, followed and reviewed! I'm glad you're all along for the ride! :)
The Orange Daimyo of Uzushiogakure
Chapter Two – Intentions
"State your business in Konoha please."
"I am here for diplomatic purposes and to have an audience with your Hokage."
Airi passed the documents to the guard which showed her identity as an Uzu refugee and an ambassador. The guard's eyes looked deadly serious and he leafed through the papers, but his demeanor was bored. He didn't truly consider her a threat, which was a definite plus. Airi wanted her mission to remain as diplomatic as possible. The Land of Uzu was on the brink of reinstating itself as a sovereign, independent nation and her performance here was directly linked to that.
"Have a pleasant stay," the disinterested chunin drawled, passing her files back to her. Airi nodded briefly and passed through the massive wooden outer doors. The kunoichi gasped as she entered the village. She had never personally set foot in Konoha before. The place was huge! Whimsically coloured buildings fought for space with each other and the massive trees which grew throughout the area. Bright flags and lanterns hung in the spaces not taken up by the buildings and flora, and civilians and shinobi alike weaved in and out of the free spaces, going about their business.
In some ways, it reminded her of the home she had lost as a child. Uzushio had been similarly designed with taller structures working around the landscape. Both villages had cropped up in relatively confined spaces, although in the case of her home village, it was the island which was the limiting factor rather than a mountainside. Of course, the island village hadn't been half as colourful. The sea air wasn't kind to the paint on the buildings so many people opted to forgo it altogether.
The Uzu ambassador was drawn from her reflections by the realization that she had actually stopped dead in the street to look at the bustling township, and was blocking foot traffic. Moving to the side of the road, Airi pulled out her notes which provided instructions from one of their spies on how to reach the office of the Hokage. It was something that certainly wouldn't have been that hard to find out, but Airi thought it to be less professional if she had to stop to ask the locals her destination.
The office turned out to be some distance away, but she didn't mind. The air was fresh, and the route was scenic. She much preferred the look and feel of Konoha than her adopted village of Kusa, which was a low, sprawling village with a monochromatic palette.
Konoha was large, but not so huge that traveling on foot was too much of a hassle. In just over an hour, Airi found herself outside of the Hokage's office. A kunoichi with short black hair and a tidy black kimono greeted her and told her she would have to wait as she didn't have an appointment.
Airi took a seat outside the office, killing as much time as possible investigating her surroundings and rereading her notes on her target. A sudden smash ended the dull atmosphere of the waiting room and an orange blur flew past her and into the Hokage's office, ignoring the closed door.
"BRAT!" a feminine voice boomed, "what have I told you about opening the closed office!?"
"You said not to come in but I'm ignoring that right now because this is important and on a completely unrelated note how much was that vase in the other room worth?" The words were thrown out with such speed and intensity that Airi almost couldn't catch them.
There was a drawn out sigh, and the female voice continued. "Naruto, it was worth more than your house. Why the hell are you even here to break it?"
"Oh Granny don't make that face! I was here to see you…for a mission…"
"Ugh! We've been over this Naruto, you are still recovering! You are still OFF duty until next week. And I swear if you call me 'granny' one more time and I will punch you so senseless, you'll be off active duty until next year."
The groaning and bickering in the adjacent room continued, but Airi was no longer focused on it, instead focusing on the name 'Naruto.' She glanced down at her sheets. How common of a name could it be? Certainly the poorly mannered and somewhat clumsy boy in the other room wasn't the child she was looking to bring back with her? With a slight downturn of her lips, the woman watched as a blond child clad in a neon jacket and pants combo exited the room grumbling under his breath. He caught sight of her staring at him with a wary look in his eye. She smiled at him, and the effect was immediate. His face lit up into a grin, and his bright blue eyes twinkled. "Hey lady!" he said with a chipper tone, before setting off down the hallway in a half-run.
Airi was still chuckling to herself about the child's exuberance when the Hokage's assistant told her the leader of the Leaf was ready for her. Perhaps not all was lost with the boy. He only needed the right direction…
The Fifth Hokage still had Naruto's antics on her mind when she called out to Shizune to let the next appointment in. She had already told the genin no more than six times in the past few days that he was off duty until next week. She expected him to be antsy, but she didn't think he'd be antsy enough to break the Hokage's artifacts.
Truthfully, the boy had been physically healed long ago, but she wanted to allow time for him to come to terms with things. The past month hadn't been easy on any of them. With a heavy sigh, she looked up from her desk just in time to see the foreign nin enter the office.
The ambassador was a short woman who carried herself like a kunoichi. Her auburn hair was cut into a short, no nonsense style that bobbed as the woman bowed. "Lady Hokage," she started as she was bowing, "I am Yato Airi, a shinobi of Kusagakure, representing the interests of Uzushiogakure. I come before your ladyship with a…unorthodox request for aid."
Interest piqued, Tsunade gestured for the woman to continue. What kind of aid could Uzushio require? The island itself had been ravaged by the Third Shinobi World War and it's hidden village razed to the ground. It pained her to think about; she had relatives that had been lost in the slaughter. But this had happened decades ago. What could be done now for the Land of Uzu?
"I come to you representing the Whirlpool Independence Foundation. For the last several years we have been working to reestablish Uzushiogakure and give the Uzu refugees a chance to come back home if they so choose. It…has been rather difficult. As you likely know, most of the people in positions of leadership were lost, many along with their entire families. We have been struggling to find any living descendant of the last legitimate successor to the Uzu Daimyo."
Tsunade's mind leapt ahead of the woman's words, trying to figure out her true intensions. "I assume you found the person you are looking for? Who is this mysterious remote successor?"
"Please see for yourself, Lady Hokage."
The woman bowed again, and passed her a sizable folded document. Opening it up, Tsunade found it was a very detailed linage. Tracing through the ancestral tree, she found the last daimyo. Her eyes followed her finger down the page to the circled entry near the bottom of the sheet where in neat letters was the name 'Uzumaki Naruto'. Tsunade immediately felt the tension rise to her face, and fought the urge to tell the woman off outright.
"Are you absolutely certain that this information is accurate?" she asked the kunoichi, her voice low and tense.
"It's been triple checked my lady. We wouldn't have come to you unless we were sure. Furthermore, Uzushiogakure couldn't be stable unless it was a well established connection to an existing dynasty."
The new Hokage frowned and brought her hands up to her temples. Gods, she needed some sake. She didn't want to force Naruto out of his home, but at the same time, the reestablishment of a sister city, a cousin clan…there was a lot at stake besides one boy's future. And all of that was without even considering that the boy contained a tailed beast. There was a pregnant pause before she spoke. "This isn't something that we can take lightly. I'm afraid I will have to schedule a meeting with the council before any decision is made on the matter. In the mean time, you are welcome to the hospitality the village has to offer."
"I shall leave the documents with you to show your council. I have other copies of the information. Thank you for your time my lady. I am thankful for the hospitality of your great village."
With that, the foreign ninja left, leaving Tsunade to hold her head in her hands and think. She needed to talk to council for some advice but worse of all, what was she going to tell the brat?
Hinata dropped into her Gentle Fist stance, unconsciously correcting the angle of her elbow like Neji had been telling her for most of the previous week. Starting training sessions with her cousin had been very nerve racking given the history between the two, but Hinata was feeling more comfortable around the older boy every day.
The Hyuga Heiress glanced upwards at her father's face and then instantly wished she hadn't. His cool demeanor always made her more nervous, and her nerves were consistently her downfall while sparring. She swallowed thickly and glanced to her opponent, Hanabi, who gave her a small but encouraging smile. Both girls activated their bloodlines, and awaited the starting command.
"Begin."
Hanabi rushed at her, and like always she was quicker than Hinata expected. Hanabi's palm was headed in a smooth arc towards her chest, but the older Hyuga blocked it, and then the next one after it. The snapping noise of the two girls blocking each other's incoming attacks created a sort of rhythm to the room which started to pick up in tempo as the sisters became engrossed in the fight.
As was the norm, Hanabi had the upper hand. Her strikes were always more fierce and more precise than Hinata's and as the fight went on, this began to show. Still, it was the longest Hinata had lasted against her sister in a fight for a very long time. Inwardly, Hinata was proud but worried. She was torn between wanting to gain her father's approval, and ensuring that Hanabi was chosen as the next clan head. Suddenly, the raven-haired girl was concerned that perhaps she had shown too much skill.
Slipping her weight baring foot out to the side slightly, Hinata blocked Hanabi's next strike while leaning slightly backwards. The older girl's weight shifted with the strike and she was knocked backwards onto her rear end. She let out a startled squeak as her sister's hand stopped just short of her face.
"Match to Hanabi. Hinata!"
"Y-yes father?"
"Correct your footwork."
With that, their father left and Hinata was left on the floor, holding back tears at the blunt reprimand, despite the fact that her loss had been planned. Her younger sister however, was on her the moment their father left the sparring area.
"Hinata! What was that! You were totally doing fine and then you purposely fell over. Don't lie to me either; I saw it happen with my own eyes!"
The older girl opened her mouth to say something, but closed it again. Lying to Hanabi was pointless; she could always tell when Hinata wasn't telling the truth. "It's… it's not that big of a deal, Hanabi," she said softly.
"Not a big deal, my ass! These are matches are to see who is going to be the clan head! And you are purposely throwing them! It's like you want to get stuck with that…that seal on your forehead."
Her younger sister's tone brought a smile to her face. Hanabi was so unlike Hinata herself, which was why she would be a far stronger leader. Slowly, she picked herself up off the floor and smiled at her sister. "Every time you speak you prove my point,"
Hanabi flipped her long brown locks over her shoulder and raised an eyebrow at her. "And what point would that be?"
Hinata gently placed her hand on her sister's shoulder. "The point is that you are far better suited to leading the Hyuga than me. We both know that. And I could never l-live with myself if you got the c-caged bird s-s-seal!"
Both Hinata and Hanabi frowned at the small stutter that escaped the elder heiress. "I'm sorry. You know thinking about that seal m-makes me kind of anxious."
Concern filled Hanabi's eyes. "I know. But you know, the Hyuga don't necessarily need a powerful leader Hina. They need a kind one too."
"Lucky for them, you are both."
Hanabi laughed. "I'm a terror and you know it!"
"Not as half as you might wish you were, Hana!"
The laughter in her younger sister's eyes wasn't long lived and Hinata knew that Hanabi wasn't going to let go of the previous topic. "Hinata, promise me you won't throw another spar. If the worst should happen, and you do end up the one getting…well you know, I need to know that it was at least a fair fight."
Hinata's jaw shook slightly as she smiled weakly at her sister and nodded. As Hanabi left the room, Hinata decided to stay behind. She needed to work on some kata, and figure out a way to tinker with a form so that the next time she lost a match to Hanabi, her sister wouldn't be able to see the reason why.
Naruto slurped up the glorious lunch in front of him, thankful that he had run into Iruka right around lunchtime.
"How is it Naruto?"
"Ish gurd!" he managed to answer his former teacher, mouth still full of noodles.
Iruka smiled warmly and continued. "I heard what happened at the Hokage's office this morning. You shouldn't harass the new Hokage, you know. She has a lot of work to do without you pestering her for missions."
The blond genin shrugged and swallowed his mouthful of ramen. "I know sensei but I'm going crazy with boredom! I've been ready for a mission for days! No! Weeks!"
Naruto's declaration didn't have the intended effect. The joyful teacher chuckled. "You know, if you really need something to do, you could always come back to the academy with me and help me grade some papers…"
The reckless young shinobi almost choked on his noodles. That sounded worse than not having anything to do. "Do I have to?" he asked, suspicious, "Hey wait! That isn't why you bought me Ichiraku's is it?!"
Grinning at his former student, Iruka just laughed. "No, no, Naruto I was joking. Well, partly. I do have to get back to the school to grade some papers." The older man pushed himself up from the stool and paid for both meals. "Enjoy the rest of your day Naruto. And don't" he called over his shoulder as he walked away, "go back to the Hokage's office!"
Naruto watched his sensei leave, and stirred noodles around in his half empty bowl before picking it up, and slurping down what was left. With a satisfied grin, he placed the bowl back on the counter and wiped his mouth on the sleeve of his jacket. Right as he placed the ramen bowl down, he noticed that there was someone watching him from the road. He glanced at the woman, and it took him a moment to place her as that lady who had smiled at him in the Hokage's office. "Hello again lady!" he called.
A little bit of a blush hit the woman's face as he noticed her staring at him, but she quickly composed herself. "I'm sorry, I'm afraid I wasn't being very polite but I couldn't help but look at your jacket. It's very bright"
"It's really awesome, right!?"
She smiled and nodded in the affirmative. "I'm Yato Airi. What's your name?"
"I'm Uzumaki Naruto, one of the greatest ninja in the village! Well, I will be. I'm going to be the next Hokage, ya know!"
Amusement crossed the woman's face but she didn't say anything.
"Hey you look like a kunoichi! I've never seen you before though, are you new around here?"
"I'm from Kusa; I'm only here for a few days on business."
Naruto noticed that the woman had a couple pieces of paper in her hands, the largest of which was a hand drawn map. He was curious about the woman. She had a very warm demeanor, and had kind eyes. "Do you need someone to show you around? I know Konoha like the back of hand, so I'mma really good guide!"
"I think I'd like that very much!"
The woman had warm brown eyes and a kind face. Naruto decided that he liked her, and that he'd help her out as much as possible. "Where'd you need to go?"
"Well actually, I was hoping to walk through Little Uzu district this afternoon."
"I totally know where that is! I've been there…" he trailed off, realizing that if he was in Little Uzu, it was usually because he was hiding post prank. "I've been there a lot. Let's go, it's this way!"
Grabbing the woman's hand, he began speedily walking north, pulling the lady behind him. After a few minutes their pace slowed and Naruto found himself amicably walking beside Airi. "Why does a Kusa nin want to visit little Uzu?" he asked, suddenly struck by the oddness of it.
"Well, I lived in Uzushiogakure when I was a child. I only moved the Hidden grass after the village was destroyed in the war."
"Oh." Naruto frowned, never one to hide the emotion he was feeling.
The two walked on in silence for a moment or two until Naruto's rambunctious nature took over. He led the conversation until they reached the outer gates of the district. The pair entered the crowded area and Naruto found himself looking around with wonder. He hadn't really been inside little Uzu since he had graduated from the Academy and his pranking days slowed to a halt.
It was strange to observe this area of Konoha with fresh eyes. When he was younger, he always ran in and out quickly, using it as a hiding place and rarely paying attention to the area itself. The first thing that struck him is that it was a lot more crowded than the rest of the village. Every part of every building seemed to be used for housing and storefronts. Things also appeared slightly rougher here than outside. Still, the people seemed pleasant. A few people tending market stalls gave him wide, genuine smiles as he made his way past.
"Aha!"
Curious, Naruto watched as his new friend hurried over to a market stall with a faraway look in her eyes and a huge grin. She returned moments later with two giant swirls on sticks that looked a lot like the symbol Konoha wore on all its flak jackets. "Whoa! It looks just like this!"He pulled on his sleeve to show her the resemblance, and accepted the treat from her.
Airi paused for a moment, looking mildly confused. "Konoha has long used the symbol of Uzumaki to symbolize the friendship between the two cities. Konohagakure and Uzushiogakure were the strongest of allies. That is why the symbol still remains on the jackets, and there are so many former Uzu refugees living here. But…Naruto, didn't you learn about this when you where younger? I'm sure it would be something that was taught in the academy here."
"Ah, who knows? Maybe I was sick that day!" he said, perhaps a little too quickly. Naruto didn't really want to admit to the woman that he had probably been asleep or skipping school to pull pranks. He took a bite of the sugary treat, and was delighted to find that it tasted as good as it looked. "This is great! Thanks Airi!"
"You're very welcome Naruto. Consider it payment for helping me get here so quickly!"
Naruto noticed that they were stopped right outside a tea shop, and Airi looked poised to enter it. As much as Naruto liked helping people out, he drew the line at boring ceremonies and gross leaf juice. "Well, I'll see ya around Airi. Lemme know if you need any more help finding places!"
The older ninja gave her thanks and waved to him as he sped off in the direction they had just blond left the cramped Uzu district and relaxed on a tree branch while finishing his snack. He sighed; he was already bored again after his little adventure across town. And with that boredom came thoughts of his last mission…Thankfully a distraction came in the form of Konohamaru and gang, and he spent the rest of the afternoon playing ninja with them and helping them put some finishing touches on their own versions of 'Sexy No Jutsu'.
Naruto headed home after his long afternoon, deciding in his head which type of instant ramen he was going to have for his dinner. He had made it all the way to the hallway in which the door to his room was situated but before he could unlock it, an ANBU with a rabbit mask dropped down in front of him. Startled Naruto dropped his keys, and looked up at the elite ninja with wide eyes.
"Uzumaki, your presence is requested by the Hokage and Council. You are to report to the Hokage's tower immediately. "
There was a pause, and the silence only was broken by a prominent grumble from Naruto's stomach. "So, do I have time to have some ra… "
"No," the ANBU said, before disappearing in a puff of white smoke.
The young Uzumaki frowned but retrieved his keys and turned on his heel and headed back up to the centre of the village. What could the Hokage and council possibly need at this odd hour? He gulped. Surely that vase he broke wasn't that important, was it?