A/N: Hey everyone! I'm so, so sorry for the late update. My life got super crazy, and it's only started to slow down in the past week or so. Since starting this story I got a second job, then switched jobs, and have been on two business trips for my new job. (Much crazy, very adult!) Anyways, I was slowly being eaten away with guilt so...guess what? I've already finished the chappie after this one! And it'll be posted tonight or tomorrow at the latest! I hope you enjoy the story!

The Orange Daimyo of Uzushiogakure

Chapter Four – Endings and Beginnings

The last couple days that Naruto spent in Konoha passed in a near blur. All too soon, he found himself standing in his mostly empty apartment. The noise of his footsteps echoed oddly in the barren rooms. Having everything removed from the place somehow made it seem a lot smaller. Airi had said that a large estate complex was being renovated and rebuilt to house himself, his staff and tutors, as well as workers to start rebuilding other part of the village. He found that his orphan's imagination was failing him when he tried to imagine what his new room was going to look like.

He quietly said goodbye to his old place, locking up the door for the final time and leaving the key under the mat as he had been instructed. Naruto had all of his most important things secured in a knapsack slung over his back, and it honestly wasn't very heavy. He didn't really have a lot of belongings. The most important things were Gama-chan, who was filled with his lifesavings, his favorite t-shirt, a book that Pervy Sage had given him and lastly, a framed picture of his parents that the Hokage had tracked down for him. To protect it, the picture frame was bundled up in the rest of his relatively few clothes.

Naruto was conflicted between extreme excitement and overwhelming melancholy as he walked down to Ichiraku's ramen for his final breakfast in Konoha. He had been eating almost exclusively there for the past three days, something the withered Gama-chan could attest to.

He sat down at his regular stool, placing his pack underneath. "I'll take a tonkotsu ramen, old man!"

Teuchi smiled at his most regular costumer and nodded. "Make that two, Teuchi!" Naruto turned to see his old teacher sit down beside him. "Hey Naruto, You didn't think I'd miss your last meal in Konoha did you?"

Naruto's mood perked up a bit, but only just. As the time for him to actually leave grew closer, his nerves did as well. "Nah, I knew you'd come to say goodbye."

Iruka's smile didn't waver much as he took in his former pupil's somewhat solemn expression. "Why the long face, Naruto? I'd think that you'd be bursting at the seams with excitement today."

The boy shrugged. "I guess I just started to really feel welcome here. I finally have friends here and now I leaving. Almost all of them don't even know where I'm going."

"Naruto…are you going to forget all the friends you made here?"

"Wha-? Of course not! No matter where I am, I'll be their friends for life!"

"Then why are you so worried that they'll forget you? Besides," Iruka said, ruffling the boy's hair, "you'll always have at least one friend in Konoha. Never forget that Naruto. You're like a younger brother to me. A younger brother I'm extremely proud of. I know leaving wasn't a decision you took lightly."

The young man's sentiments brought a huge heartfelt smile to Naruto's face. "Thanks, Iruka…I feel a lot better now!" It was at that moment that Teuchi placed two bowls of ramen down and both professor and pupil dug in to the steaming noodles in front of them. The rest of the meal had much more light-hearted banter, punctuated by slurps from Naruto loudly enjoying his breakfast.

At the end of the meal, Teuchi proudly stated that their food was on the house, and Naruto readied his backpack to leave. His earlier talk with Iruka had mostly abolished his fears of leaving his friends, and with high hopes he headed out to the Konoha gate to meet Airi.

Naruto didn't know exactly how the journey to Uzu was supposed to go, but he did know that the first leg of the journey was going to be on foot. He noticed as he headed up to the gate that his travelling companion was already waiting for him, with a small travelling bag strapped over her back. She waved genially as she saw him approach. "Good morning Naruto. Are you ready to leave?" she asked, voice soft. Her eyes betrayed that she was worried about him, although she didn't state it outright.

He grinned up at her. "Yeah! I'm totally ready to go!"

Airi's somewhat worried state dropped as she saw the young man's confident demeanor. Inwardly, she smiled. The boy was incredibly resilient. He was leaving the only place he had ever lived for a foreign land with someone what he had know for mere weeks, and yet he took things in stride.

Side by side, the pair walked out of the Konoha gates with Naruto glancing back every so often to watch his home village fade from view into the foliage.

Hinata watched Naruto walk out of the village, feeling wounded. She had meant to actually go out and say goodbye to him, but at the last moment her confidence failed her, despite bringing her sister along for support. She ended up diving for cover in a nearby garden, dragging Hanabi with her.

It was Hanabi who held her now, still concealed in the bush where they had been hiding. The younger Hyuga held Hinata's head into her shoulder and stroked her hair. "I should have pushed you out and made you speak to him," she muttered to herself, as Hinata continued to cry wordlessly into her shirt.

"I might n-never see him again," Hinata cried, "and I d-don't even know where he's going!" She began to sob even harder. Hanabi pulled her sister a little closer. Hanabi herself had never really understood what Hinata saw in the orange-clad shinobi, but Hinata's feelings clearly ran deeper then she had ever thought. She hadn't ever seen her sister in such a state, and watching it tore at her heart.

Neither one of the sisters had overheard their father's entire conversation, but Hanabi had a feeling that her father did know where the Uzumaki boy was heading, and why. Surely that had been a topic of the council meeting. Hanabi decided that she was going to find out where Naruto had gone to for her sister. Hinata would never violate their father's privacy enough to get the information herself; she was far too kind and far too afraid of being reprimanded. Hanabi herself had no such qualms.

"Don't cry Hinata, it's all going to work out in the end, okay? I know you'll see that Naruto again someday!"

Once Naruto and Airi had left sight of the village, their pace picked up slightly. Naruto figured that this was because they had a long ways to travel on foot, but soon found out that they were planning on stopping at the next village over and paying for a carriage. "It would take us weeks to walk to Uzu and still a couple days if we ran at top speed, Even so, we'd still need to hire a barge to cross over to the isle," Airi explained. "The barges can be unpredictable, but the carriage drivers usually have the times that they leave in advance."

Moving at their new, faster pace, the pair reached the next town in good time, and before the markets closed for the day. Airi said that they needed to pick up a few supplies before beginning the second leg of their journey, and soon the two were walking through a bustling marketplace. The market was far larger than the one in Konoha and seemed to be servicing a larger population. Even though it was late in the afternoon, there were crowds of people moving about between the stores and weaving around the market stalls. The blond felt himself craning his neck to see all the sights the area had to offer.

Airi didn't seem to take much notice of the boy's fascination with their surroundings. Naruto tagged along as the auburn-haired kunoichi procured supplies they needed for the journey and in Uzushio. She brought several boxes of rice, sweet potatoes and beans, with instructions for them to be delivered to their hired carriage. She also bought a supply of ink, various brushes and blank scrolls along with several other stops for various household items. The truth of it was that it bored Naruto to tears, but his interest was piqued when they stopped outside of a clothing store. "Last stop Naruto. We need to get you some new clothes before we set off for Uzushio."

The blonds' face contorted in horror. "What's wrong with what I'm wearing?"

"Um, well, it's just not very formal," Airi explained, "There isn't anything wrong with your jumpsuit for training and the like, but you can't have something like that for everyday wear. It's…vaguely inappropriate."

"So I can still wear it for training?" The boy's eyes were pleading.

Airi sighed, realizing that the bright orange outfit was here to stay, at least until Naruto out grew it. "You may. But only for physical training!"

With that reassurance, Naruto proudly opened the door to the shop with Airi following close behind him. A bell jingled above their heads a short shop-keep came bustling out of the back to greet them. The man was incredibly courteous, which for Naruto was something of a new experience. Airi demanded to see the clothes made with the best fabric the man had, and he happily complied. The most difficult part was deciding on colours. Naruto was, of course, drawn to several articles of orange clothing. Airi tried to steer the boy to varying shades of blue, a colour traditionally worn by Uzu's rulers. In the end, the two reached a compromise with Naruto getting mostly blue clothing with a few articles of a deep burnt orange colour.

The older ninja insisted that Naruto pick something to wear from the things that they had just purchased and with a small amount of direction from Airi, he ended up in a pair of navy pants and a long sleeved, dark orange top. The clothes were quite basic in design but also far, far more expensive than anything he had laid his hands on before. As they walked to the carriage, Naruto tried to get used to the strange feel of the expensive, soft cloth against his skin.

They reached the overburdened carriage in a few minutes. The items previously bought by Airi were already loaded on and the horses had already been made ready. The driver indicated that they could leave whenever the pair was ready to go. The kunoichi stood beside the carriage and swept one arm behind her back as she bowed and gestured to the carriage with the other. "After you, my lord."

Naruto peered at the woman, face incredulous, but climbed into the seating area. Airi followed soon after and closed the door. They sat in silence for a moment before Naruto spoke. "That was super weird."

The auburn-haired woman raised her eyebrow and smiled at the boy. "You had better get used to it. If you like, I can be more informal in private, but in front of other people, such as the carriage driver, I have to maintain that kind of respect."

Naruto simply nodded. He fidgeted into a more comfortable position and stared at the ceiling of the carriage. It was downright bizarre to have a grown woman speak to him like that. Some part of him had rationally expected it to happen, but it was very odd when it actually did occur. This was especially true for him, since he had basically ignored such protocols his entire life.

The train of thought he was on was beginning to make him feel uncomfortable, so the blond shinobi busied himself with reattaching his kuni pouch to his thigh. Having his weapons within easy reach made him feel much more at ease.

The relaxing feeling didn't last long. It suddenly struck Naruto that Uzu had offered him the position of Diamyo, not Kage and he was suddenly not sure if he was going to be continuing his training as a ninja. He had been so busy preparing to leave in the last few days that he hadn't thought to ask. Maybe the comment about using his old jumpsuit for physical training had been a trick?

Airi seemed to notice the sudden change in the atmosphere of the vehicle and turned to face Naruto just as he began to speak. "Airi, am I still going to be training to be a ninja?" He tried to sound casual, but his voice cracked slightly, giving away the emotion behind the question.

The kunoichi looked surprised at the sudden question. "Of course," she said. Her tone was very no-nonsense but almost immediately after she said it, she realized that the boy probably didn't know much about the differences between the Land of Uzu and Land of Fire. "The Land of Uzu is ruled a lot differently than other, larger countries Naruto."

She reached into her bag and pulled out a map to demonstrate her point. "Look how small we are in comparison," she said, pointing back and forth between the Land of Fire and the Land of Uzu. "Uzu used to have both a Daimyo and a Kage, but in such a small space, conflicts between the two kept arising. Eventually, the position of Daimyo became a sort of hybrid position. Uzushiogakure is more of a capital than a true hidden village and the affairs of the shinobi are overseen directly by the Daimyo. Because of this, the current dynasty of the Uzu Daimyo is very closely related to the most prominent ninja clans."

"Like my mother's clan?"

Airi smiled so wide that her eyes crinkled. "Like your clan, Uzumaki Naruto!"

The peaceful atmosphere was reestablished, but rather then falling back into comfortable silence, the pair became absorbed in a lengthy discussion. This was primarily due to Naruto's curiosity and Airi's plans to help educate her charge properly. Naruto's only idea of what a Daimyo should be like were formed by what he knew about the Fire Daimyo, which even he admitted, wasn't much. Airi regaled Naruto with stories about the old Daimyos of Uzushio and the important clans. They were fantastic entertainment and Naruto listened with enthusiasm. The storyteller inwardly smiled, feeling smug. She was sure that Naruto would glean a few things from the stories, even if it was just the names of the previous Daimyo and clan heads…

After a couple hours of storytelling, the young ninja fell asleep in the carriage, leaving Airi to dwell on the future for the both of them. Her godfather hadn't been specific in his explanations to her on how she would be interacting with the teen ruler once they reached Uzushio. She hoped she would still be involved in his training. Although it had been but a few weeks, she had grown attached to the Uzumaki boy. He was charming, and with a little help, he had the potential to be a great ruler. Even at the age of thirteen, there was an impressive charisma about him.

The sway of the carriage and a gentle snores coming from the other seat eventually coaxed Airi to sleep as well, and they didn't wake again until the driver stopped in the middle of the night at an unnamed coastal village to move from the carriage into a slightly larger boat. It was dark, and the night air was very crisp and cool. Thankfully, it didn't take long to pack the supplies over to the new sea faring vehicle and soon after the boat left the shore the soft rolling of the waves had both of the occupants fast asleep again. It wasn't until the sun began beaming through the window that the pair awoke for good. Naruto stretched the best he could in the cramped confines of the vessel, and rubbed his growling stomach. "Are we close to Uzushio? I'm starving!"

Airi's auburn hair moved into her face as she shook her head. "No, we still have around four more hours I'm afraid. But don't worry; we don't need to wait to eat." The kunoichi pulled a bag out from the storage compartment under the unused seat. The sac contained a few pieces of fruit and some dried travelling meat. The two ate in relative silence, with the occasional smacking of lips due to the saltiness of their breakfast.

The last couple hours of their journey seemed to drag for Naruto. This was in part from being relatively confined for the last day, and partly because it was during this time that Airi decided to give him a last minute crash course on courtly manners. The blond fidgeted madly but could hardly escape the lesson, given the circumstances. The subject matter bored him to tears, but he grudgingly accepted that it would be of at least a little importance.

At long last, the boat docked and they were in the Land of Uzu. It was still another hour by carriage until they reached the city, but it at least gave Naruto a reason to occupy himself with checking out the scenery from the window. They were travelling through a dense forest that seemed to be painted green in its entirety. Even the rocks were covered in a fuzz of moss. Ferns and other lush bushes grew up around the trunks of the huge trees, hiding the entry point of the roots into the ground. Although he had always lived quite close to the forest, this place seemed foreign. Even the air seemed different, thicker somehow. He coughed as he took a deep breath.

The shinobi glanced to his travelling partner to see her smiling lazily out the window. He knew that look and the feeling that went with it. Unconsciously, his own mouth turned up into a smile. "Home," he mumbled. The road eventually opened up so that on one side of the roadway lay the rain-forest, and on the other, rocky outcroppings that eventually gave way to the ocean's waves.

Naruto could sense they were getting close just by the excitement pouring off of Airi. As the carriage took a right turn inland, he wondered how long it had been since she had been home. Judging by her reactions, it seemed that it much have been quite a while. His curiosity was eating at him, but just he was about to ask the auburn-haired ninja the question, the carriage rounded another corner and the hollow shell of Uzushio came into sight. The interior of the carriage became deathly silent and the young ninja's breath hitched. It was a ghost town.

Grey cement structures lay in ruins throughout the valley. The tallest poles of what must have been a bridge were just poking out of the water that ran through the canal. The bright green fuzz of the forest seemed be to digesting the crumbled walls. Even still though, hope seemed to linger heavy in the air. The main roadway had signs of recent use. The hardy green plants that had sprouted up between the rock slabs had been dashed down by wagon wheels and shinobi sandals. Naruto felt a warm hand on his back. "We're going to rebuild all this," Airi stated in a proud but quiet voice. His hands tightened into fists. Damn right they would!

Their vehicle jostled as it rode over the last remaining bridge crossing the canal, and soon after, the palace at Uzushio came into sight. It was bizarre to see the mostly completed building sitting atop the rubble that was the majority of the actual village. Even more so, it was strange to see so many people!

The grounds were alive with people, most hurrying around, carrying tools or timber. Naruto could see some of the places where new stone and new woodwork had been fitted into the old materials, darkened in colour by the close proximity to the sea air. Even with said patchy appearance, the building was impressive. The stone slab roadway that they were on split into two directions, with one side heading up to the palace and the other heading off to what looked like overgrown gardens. The carriage began to slow, and Naruto could now see that the stone base of the palace was huge of its own accord. He found himself craning his neck to see the sweeping wooden beams of the roof.

The agape mouths of the workers they passed drew the blonds' attention away from the structure to the people. As they passed, men and women dropped their tools, stared and pointed. Naruto's first instinct was to wave and grin at the people, but an unexpected bout of nervousness hit him and he slunk back into his seat. The carriage was slowing now. He fidgeted in his seat and tried to focus on his breathing. Was this really happening?

The wooden wheels ground to a halt in front of the main entrance. His breath was coming pretty quickly now. He only had moments before he had to get out and greet those people…no, his people. Every doubt that he had ever had about himself being a leader swelled up inside him and for a split second, he had the queerest urge to run.

Airi opened the carriage door and stepped out. Standing to her full height, she stood rigidly by the opening. "This way please, my lord," she said. Her voice was soft but somehow stern; he had to follow. Naruto took a deep breath, and thought of his father. Thinking of the Fourth gave the young ninja a burst of confidence, and he stepped down from the carriage door, and into the sunlight of the late morning.

The courtyard was silent as he disembarked. He swallowed thickly; so many pairs of eyes were directed at him. He glanced up at the blue sky. There really was no turning back. Following Airi's example, he stood up as straight as he could, and with his chin held high he headed toward the palace's entrance, pausing frequently to smile and wave at the people who had stopped in the vicinity.

The atmosphere of uncertainty that permeated the initial atmosphere dissipated to one of tightly reined excitement. Eyes twinkling, Naruto approached the door to the Uzushio palace. His earlier fears had completely melted away. With one last deep breath, he threw open the doors and stepped over the threshold.

A/N: I hope you enjoyed the this chapter! The next chapter starts after a three year time skip! (Yay for time skips, I love them!)