The Greek Kunoichi

Chapter 2: Age three to age eleven.

Author's notes: I am really glad to see that my stories bring people to enjoy them. When I started again, I was afraid it would be like my challenges, people who like them but wasn't willing to try them. I was wrong. I am still looking for a beta to round about my weaknesses with the grammatical part of the English language. Well, let's go with the next chapter shall we? Oh, before I forgot, yes I borrowed Naruto's weapon from Bleach, but it will be all there is from Bleach. No Hollow mask, no Bankai, no Division Zero. Only her weapon.

Time wait for no one. It was a saying translated in many languages. Time did seem to be getting away quickly when you had fun. After an interesting visit from her grandfather, Naruto was put to bed at her designated bed time. She was grumpy the next morning if she did not get enough sleep. Once in bed and asleep, Kushina partially closed the door and went back to the kitchen to continue to talk with her father. Seeing his daughter's grim face, he decided to be serious in turn. Once seated, Kushina was silent a few minutes and Poseidon did not prompt her to speak. If he had learned something in his long immortal life, it was patience. When she was ready, Kushina declared

"Naruto is a Greek demigod. Yes, I know about the Romans. I met and saved from drowning, last year, a son of Vulcan who was stranded by we don't know what and how, here. He stayed for a few days before the Roman Wolf Goddess Lupa, somehow managed to come fetch him. It's not like the kid was a blabbermouth, but I'm a Kunoichi and a mother. I know when children are lying. He wasn't a good liar either. To be fair he was thirteen years old and in front of a good looking woman. From what he said, he was on patrol around Camp Jupiter in full gear and some sort of portal opened and he was pushed through only to fall into the water. You will really have to do something about that, I thought only you and the members of your court could come in Uzu No Kuni. Any others divine visitors needed your express permission before. I know Artemis, Leto and Apollo still have some influence on the mainland on Delos, but here on the archipelago?

I tested Naruto with a text in Latin to see if she was Roman and she couldn't make head or tails out of it. Her A.D.H.D could have been her Uzumaki genes boosted by her part of the Nine Tailed Fox sealed into her at birth. It was the dyslexia and her great difficulty to read the language of the Elemental Nations that told me the truth. But something doesn't fit. Minato has not reacted as if he knew what I was talking about when I revealed my secret to him. I could always read him like a book; he never could lie to me. I also saw him bleed red more times I can count. Even when you take a human form, your blood is not red. I am glad that no monsters can come here; she can have a peaceful childhood, well as peaceful as a ninja in training can have. I know how to raise her and how to teach her. It's the fact that my "Husband" though I were the kind of woman he could make a child with and then go looking for the next conquest and forget about us that infuriate me. Another thing that doesn't add up, why would he marry me if he would be leaving? It doesn't add up with the characters of the bachelor playboys gods. Mother told me that if they heard the word "marriage" they usually run away as fast as possible."

Kushina finished her observations/rant and sat down again. She had stood up and started to walk around when she was talking. Poseidon had a frown on his face, thinking. Everything her daughter was telling her was pointing to the sentencing of Apollo two decades ago and his "return" a few years ago, three years ago in fact. But his hands were tied. While some of the Ancients laws could be broken or circumstanced around without too much problem if you were sneaky and careful about it, like the fact that Uzu No Kuni was a haven where mortals and immortals could live side by side in harmony and ruled by a divine binding contract. But telling an unclaimed demigod the name of his divine parent without the permission of said parent was not one you could break with impunity. When a demigod knows what and who he/she is, their scents become even more potent, risking their lives way quicker than they were ready. It was one of the reasons that the majority of the claiming were done into both Camps' borders. Deciding not to break this law, but to put her daughter on the right track, he then said

"This is an Ancient Law that I'm not going to break. I have my suspicions of which God Minato really was, but nothing concrete. It's not enough to break a law made in place to protect our demigods' children, even if no monsters can come here. Watch your daughter as she grow, she will begin to show abilities akin to her father's domains or traits. With that, you'll be able to deduce who it was and then plan retribution. When it is time for her to come to New York, come with her and I will grant you both an audience in a Winter Solstice Council. Zeus will surely help you by temporary turn your husband into a mortal or tone down his godhood enough for you to manage to express your displeasure. If our King is many things, he can be quite cooperative when there is a show included. I can tell you right now that Naruto is not a forbidden child. Her father is neither me, Zeus nor Hades. For the rest, let's take it one year at the time."

Kushina really wanted to have all her answers right now, but motherhood taught her patience. Yes, she would be patient and see to her daughter's training. This way she would see what demigod's powers she inherited. She was bound to pick some from her grandfather and her, but it would not be as strong as a child sired by him. The fact that Poseidon circumstanced his oath without breaking it in fathering her was icing on the cake. She was born from mortal parents who had been blessed by him and his wife. It really was like having two sets of parents. And when her days on Earth would end, she would ascend to Immortality at the court of her divine father. But she wasn't in any hurry to go through that yet. She would bow to her father's hard earned wisdom. After all, vengeance is a dish best served cold.

After that night, time did pass again. Yes, it never stops still. Naruto was now a happy and energetic child of 8 years old. Her pranks had also improved with all her skills. She was fast and agile enough now to outrun civilians and cunning enough to know how to manipulate her target's destination. Jiraiya would come and go, how he managed each time to navigate through the Mist and the whirlpools without her aid or one of the soldiers her father positioned to the borders of Uzu No Kuni, she had no firm idea. Probably with the aid of a sea toad, since regular toads couldn't bear too long sea water. Her sweet daughter was becoming something of a sport star and her accuracy was top notch. It seems that she had taken her lessons in Bō staff fighting that Hiruzen gave her when they went to Konoha on visit a few times a year seriously, as she was beginning to be quite adept to it. She was quite good with a bow and a crossbow also. Kushina was a bit sad, at Jiraiya's last visit, he informed her of the Uchiha Clan massacre perpetrated by Itachi, with only his little brother Sasuke as a survivor. Said survivor once back to full health, began walking a dark path. Sasuke has black eyes as well as black hair with a blue tint to it. His hair is spiky in the back, and he has chin-length bangs that parted down to frame both sides of his face. As a young child, his bangs hung above his eyes. Later, they would hang on both sides of his face too roughly frame his cheeks and later again return to their original style. During his early childhood, Sasuke wore a simple long-sleeved black shirt with a raised collar and the Uchiha crest on the back, and black shorts.

Kushina almost offered to foster him, but she couldn't foster him in Uzu No Kuni could she? Well, from what she learned in the last visit from her mother Amphitrite, it seems that she could, as he was a demigod. Sarutobi gave his approval but Sasuke was to come back with Naruto when she would be twelve for testing to see if they needed a year into the academy or if they could be given the Genin (Low/rookie Ninja) rank. It seemed that Apollo and Artemis gave the rest of the gods' permission to go visit Delos with the proviso/decree from Zeus that in exchange for visiting Delos in their time off and siring Chakra infused demigods, they were forbidden to have more than two children each per century and only those with a heroic spirit would be permitted into America. That decree applied to all gods' class, from minor to primordial. Thus Kushina and Naruto where waiting at the docks of the main island for the boat with supplies from the mainland and Naruto's new foster brother.

Sasuke was in a bad way, a loner and not interested in anything that didn't give him a quick path to power to avenge his clan. Of course Kushina and Naruto managed to get through him each of their own ways. Naruto was like a ball of sunshine; she seemingly inherited her father charisma and could reach everyone. Also her puppy dog eyes were so cute that they could be used as a weapon! Kushina was an adult, thus she tried the gentle approach. When that approach failed, she pushed him to his breaking point, making him attack her. But there was a vast difference of power between the two. Sasuke was a skilled academy level combatant. Kushina was a jonin (high ninja) who lived through a war. That was without the fact of her half blood nature and without her Jinchūriki powers. It was no contest. Kushina destroyed Sasuke so fast and so hard that he was left as close as a smear on the ground you could become without dying. She did manage to divine who his father was and it was definitely not Fugaku. He looked too much like his mother, Mikoto, physically and there were no traces of Fugaku in him. With his anger problem and the temporary boost it gave him, she deduced that Sasuke Uchiha was a son of Ares. She first though he was one of Mars because he wasn't inclined to be a bully and he was oddly polite, but no, his brain was hardwired in ancient Greek. The strangest thing she ever saw though was when Ares himself asked for a meeting on the mainland. When she arrived at the designated meeting place at the said hour, she was face to face with a god who wasn't tied to the oceans for the second time in her life. He was oddly subdued though. Ares typically wears black jeans, combat boots, a leather duster, and muscle shirt with a bulletproof vest (his shield in disguise) and an iron padlock necklace. He wears red tinted wraparound sunglasses to cover his flame-filled eye sockets. He is described as handsome with scarred cheeks and tall with an oiled crew cut. After a quick inspection to see if somebody was around, she then dropped to one knee, one hand on her raised leg, the other on the ground. It was the stance that Shinobis addressed by their Kage (Shadow, the leaders of the Five Great Villages) took when assembled in platoons. She then took the parole

"You asked to see me Ares-Sama? I am Kushina Uzumaki, Jonin of Konahagakure No Sato."

For this meeting between a shinobi of Konoha and the God of War, she had dug out her old uniform. She wore a blue forehead protector with her hair tied up in a high ponytail and strands framing the sides of her face. Her attire consisted of a standard Konoha flak jacket over a black short-sleeved shirt and black form-fitting pants that reached her calves. The god seemed a bit put back from the respect given to him, but a warrior respect another. His smile became sincere and with a clear voice he addressed her

"Rise, Jonin Uzumaki. It has been a long time since I have been given respect like that. Your people have a saying "Look underneath the underneath", I love that phrase. It is so me I would be led to believe that I was the one to invent it, if it was not a mortal invention. I did not call you here for reminiscing though. I wanted to thank you for fostering my son, Sasuke. I openly admit that I am not the father of the year. I am a harsh taskmaster and I am hard to please. I am not good with positive emotions, but to you I say this. Thank you for taking in one of my few children that I feel fatherly love for. As recompense, you can ask of me for one boon and I will do my best to grant it."

Kushina did rise when commanded and listened to what he was saying. Well, it was a confirmation more than anything else. Sasuke was still broken; it was time to rebuild him. But she could do that with her daughter's help. What kind of thing would she need a boon for? She obviously couldn't decline, it would not be respectful. Suddenly, an idea formed into her head. Her daughter would need more training in Bo techniques than Hiruzen would have time to give her with his Hokage duties. Ares could find a teacher for that. Decision taken, she then said

"Ares-Sama, my daughter wants to learn how to properly manipulate staff weapons but we lack teachers who have time. Our Hokage is a master at the Bo staff, but his leader duties would kept him far too busy to help more than a few lessons here and here. I wish for a good and impartial teacher to teach my daughter how to fight effectively with staff weapons."

Ares' only answer was a smile which was kind and feral at the same time before saying

"Wish granted!"

Naruto, from now on, received demigod dreams every other night in which Ares himself instructed her in how to fight properly with all sort of staff weapons, bladed or not. As said when Kushina spoke her boon, Ares was impartial when instructed her. He praised her when she did good and showed her what she did wrong. On Sasuke's front, the boy still desired vengeance but it was tempered by his "aunt" and "cousin" presences. One day there would be a reckoning between the Uchiha brothers, but that day would be on Sasuke's terms, not Itachi's. He would not fall into The Curse of Hatred. Also, he began to learn how to wield a chokutō (a straight, one-edged Japanese sword) but it would take him time to master it, even with his heritage. Naruto and Sasuke, by that point had both unlocked fully their chakra and let me tell you, Naruto's reserves were massive! To help control it, Kushina did teach her the Kage Bunshin (Shadow clone). She worked out on her own that everything a clone learns, she learns it when it dispel. Sadly for the civilians, that technique became her cornerstone for making even more pranks and to escape before she could get caught. Oh, you have to feel sorry for those poor civilians. The prankster queen from hell became even more dangerous. Naruto also inherited the adamantine sealing chains from Kushina, though they were a pale golden compared to Kushina's silver. Naruto wasn't a genius by any mean. She was fairly intelligent but she was more a kinetic learner than a bookworm.

Sasuke wasn't a genius either in the proper sense of the term. Oh he was really good, borderline prodigious with fire techniques, well the few Kushina knew, he did learn them pretty fast. He could also learn pretty easily from a book or a scroll, such as his family techniques. While Naruto was the faster of the two, Sasuke was easily the strongest. It was to be expected, a boy was stronger physically than a girl in upper body strength. They were well on their way to become splendid shinobis. On the front of discovering who was really Minato, with all the clues, she had finally managed to point the finger on Apollo and her theory was that he had pissed of his father one time too many and he was sent on Delos to live as a mortal. That wouldn't save him from his rightful beating though. He could have come back anytime for a conjugal visit at least and to see their daughter if he had any sense of decency. That he did not point to the fact that he had forgotten. That one made her sad. She really loved him. Did she mean so little to him? She shook her head, better not get lost in her thoughts when she was training the kids. Both of them charged her on each side, wanting to trap her into a pincer manoeuvre. Good move, but too obvious. She dodged Sasuke's chakra enhanced punch, grabbed his wrist, and then she twirled him into the air to send him into collision with Naruto. The two children let out muffled sounds of pain from the collision but were quick to get back onto their feet. But Kushina had to cut the training short, because she could feel an increase of negative emotions coming from her daughter. She was on her knees, her hands clutching her head and gritting her teeth, while red bubbling chakra was escaping her pores. It was the third incident with Yang Kurama's chakra in a week. Something was wrong; her daughter shouldn't have access to that chakra yet. Her own relationship with Yin was cordial, having remodeled the mental representation of the seal into a gigantic forest where the Yoko could roam. They were not the best friends of the world, but they could work well together in a pinch.

Appearing near her daughter with the signature technique of her husband, Hiraishin No Jutsu (Flying Thunder God Technique) she then slammed her hand on Naruto's stomach and with a mental command, she put a restrictive seal to cut her connection with Yang. A few seconds later and the toxic chakra receded back into the seal. The Yang half of Kurama wasn't as cordial and reasonable as his Yin half. Half the time he was trying to tempt Naruto to release him in exchange for a quick death and the other half, when he was awake, was taking pleasure in screwing his container's training by sending bursts of his chakra through hers to screw her jutsus. They would have to find a way to resolve the problem. Kushina then addressed Sasuke

"It's over for the day, Sasuke. You know when the red chakra comes out that her chakra circulatory system is all screwed up. Go explore the island or something, come back at sunset for supper though. And no leaving the main island alone in your little boat you think I don't know about. I won't let you or Naruto go on expeditions on the other islands before I know for sure you can swim and how to sail a boat."

The dark haired boy bowed his head to that. Damn, he thought he was been sneaky enough. Evidently he still needed to work through it. It was not fair though, Naruto already knew how to sail and how to swim! That girl swam like a mermaid! Sasuke was well aware of the three chakra users living on the island being demigods, but for some reason most of the divine tourists tended to avoid him. There was a girl their age with long blue hair that wasn't avoiding them. Aquata was a Nereid, a sea nymph. She was immortal, true, but she was really their age. She was the first Nereid to be conceived and born in the borders of Uzu No Kuni, as such; she could use sea magic and chakra! Her parents were waiting that she was a bit more mature and able to pass for a human before sending her to a shinobi village to receive training. Kushina was far too busy training Naruto and him and also keeping in shape herself. When the time to go back to Konoha comes, she would be on active duty again, so it figures that she had to be in shape. The Hokage was very generous in giving her a twelve years pregnancy leave. With those thoughts in his head, the dark haired boy decided to go in town. There was always something interesting to see or do in town. Nothing was as funny as seeing the Pervy Sage getting chased and beaten to a pulp after getting caught peeping into the women side of the bath houses though. Naruto and Kushina were of the same opinion as him.

Years passed again and both children had grown. Today was Naruto's eleventh birthday, but only her grandmother could come. Amphitrite wasn't the most talkative of what was taking her husband's attention and time, so they just assumed it was one of his kingly duties. Amphitrite is described to be gorgeously beautiful, with black hair pinned back in a net of pearls and silk, eyes as dark as mocha, a kind smile, and a beautiful laugh. She usually dressed in a simple white gown, and her only piece of jewelry was a circlet of polished red crab claws across her brow. She always has a kind smile and kind words for Sasuke, even if he wasn't part of the family. The birthday party was fun, with cake and fizzy drinks. There was music, songs and games. There were also gifts, but Naruto was not a materialistic person. After every other child left, Amphitrite did declare that she had a gift for Naruto from her and Poseidon. It was a fabulous weapon. It was somehow a cross between a trident, a bishamon-yari (a Japanese spear), and a ji (a Chinese halberd) with a crystalline appearance. Like the ji, it bears a horsehair tassel, although it is blue instead of the traditional red; similarly the two side blades are straight with concave edges as opposed to the usual crescent blades of the bishamon yari. The end of the weapon turns into a corkscrew/drill shape.

Yes, Sasuke knew his weapons. He was a Son of Ares after all. Naruto was speechless; the hybrid weapon was fantastic and magnificent! She never saw something like that before! Her grandmother wasn't done though

"The Cyclops blacksmiths who made it used an interesting alloy of Celestial Bronze and chakra conducting metal. It means that your new weapon can be used against supernatural creatures and mortals. You have to be careful with it, it has never been done before, and so we don't know how the Mist will present it to mortals outside of Delos. If you twist it just under the tassel, it will shrink back and turn into a necklace. Also, when you are ready to start your elemental training, you will be able to channel your elemental chakra into your weapon to make even more deadly move."

Amphitrite did join word by action in showing her granddaughter how to do it. In a blue-green bubble like light, the hybrid weapon shrinks down to the size of a charm necklace. Now with her last gift around her neck, she looked a bit more feminine. Not that Naruto cared about that, she was a tomboy through and through! She was going to be a Kunoichi like her mother and Sasuke was going to be an awesome shinobi, and together they would track down Itachi and kick his ass all around the field and make him cry "Uncle" before bringing him to justice! She was brought back from her daydreams by her mother's voice

"Honey, how about you go giving your weapon a name in place of day dreaming about some future adventure? A hero's weapon needs a good name you know!"

Embarrassed to have been caught day dreaming, Naruto made a big cheesy like smile, so wide that her whiskers birthmarks made her look like a fox. So wide that it forced her to close her eyes, then she put a hand behind her head to rub it and her hair. That was a very Minato-like gesture. Kushina and Amphitrite both giggled at the cute gesture and Sasuke let out a mocking snort, making him receive a glare that promised retribution. At least his stuff was safe. There was a ban of pranks in the house after a paint bomb gone wrong gave the kitchen a new paint job. Lucky for Naruto and Sasuke, Triton was there to deliver news from Atlantis and to partake in the holy food that was ramen, so for a bonus bowl he was willing to use his power to clean the mess, but not before they were caught and grounded for it. When Kushina's hair was taking the form of nine tails and waving around, you knew she was mad. After thinking a long while, Naruto settled on a name. Taking out the necklace, she then twisted it under the tassel and in a flash; the trident look alike was in weapon form. Naruto then said out loud

"I name thee Nejibana, the twisted flower."

The newly named Nejibana then flashed in an inner light and once you could see again, the name was engraved in Hiragana on one side and in katakana on the other side.