Just a reminder that I'm taking liberties with the Uzumaki clan and its backstory! This one got really long.
Chapter Thirteen
'Uzuchiisai'
Road to Uzushio Arch V
Obito collapsed unceremoniously into the chair across from Nagato's Deva path, releasing the squirming, shrieking toddler he'd been holding on to.
Naruto scrambled off of him, covered in dried paint and smelling foul, and began to circle his chair. The boy ran too fast for his little legs to keep up and he kept stumbling and falling over, but he just got back up and kept circling.
"Ane!" He yelled when he stopped, kicking the side of the chair.
Naruto had already been talked to about kicking people and it seemed that, maybe, the scoldings were finally hitting home.
"Fū is on a mission, Naruto." Obito told him for what seemed to be the thousandth time. He was completely exhausted, and turned his masked gaze onto Pain. "She's not going on extended missions again until the boy is old enough to understand."
Pain did not blink, and his face was half hidden under his Akatsuki cloak, but there seemed to be agreement in his eyes when he nodded.
Naruto had already gotten the woman who'd agreed to watch him while Fū was gone, a competent, experienced, and stern nanny, to quit in the first few weeks. Today, Naruto somehow got into his paint set (that had been placed on a high shelf he should've been able to reach, and managed to draw a very sad looking impression of his sister all over the living room wall in the Uzumaki suite.
Konan had her own duties, she couldn't watch him all of the time and Obito was in and out trying to work on the Kiri situation.
He steeled himself for Nagato's reaction to what he wanted to discuss.
"Since you seem to have grown fond enough of these children to proclaim yourself their clansmen and elder, perhaps you can dedicate one of your paths to watch the boy. He needs someone who can anticipate his actions and thwart them – you may be the best option."
'Besides,' Obito thought ruefully, 'it was Nagato's foolhardy idea to send Fū on her first mission so young. He should have to suffer those consequences.'
"I will use the Animal Path to watch the boy." Pain agreed, putting up zero fight whatsoever and Obito frowned in annoyance. He could've stepped in much earlier! "How fare your efforts to restore Kirigakure?"
Naruto was kicking the back of Obito's seat as the Animal Path stepped into the room and plucked the boy up by his shirt, kicking and flailing all the way while he was marched out of the room.
Fū would be furious if she'd seen Naruto get manhandled like that, but Obito just felt the sweet relief of the sudden quiet in the room. Fū was some kind of miracle worker, because Naruto always behaved for her. Nagato wasn't going to harm Naruto, and Naruto was definitely more resilient than most kids his age would be. He'd be just fine with the Animal Path.
"Poorly." Obito deadpanned, relaxing back into his seat. "Kiri's shinobi are resistant to the new policies Yagura is implementing. Namely, our fresh attempt to protect the targeted clans. There are whispers among such clans about fleeing Water country altogether."
"So let them flee," Pain offered, crossing one leg over the other, Obito did the same. They seemed to be settling in for a long talk. "There are clans with strong kekkei genkai in Mist. Should they leave then Kiri loses that strength, weakening the shinobi forces of one of the five great nations. That should still be a part of our goal."
Pain was making a valid point. Peace was the goal – the great villages were largely to blame for the Shinobi world's inability to come to an accord and work towards establishing such peace. Weakening their shinobi power by allowing them to drive their strongest clans away… that could have long term benefits for the Akatsuki.
And Kiri wasn't the only village that was alienating their strongest clans.
Konoha was doing the same with the Uchiha, after all, the leaf simply wasn't as violent about it. If Danzō got his way, based on his own interactions with the man, the Uchiha would be involved in direct conflict with the village in the near future. They were too proud to allow the ill treatment of the last few years to stand for long, especially as the Uchiha felt they were owed respect as a founding clan.
But where would these displaced clans go? Would they seek to form a new nation? That would just create more of the same issues; a strong new nation full of powerful clans and shinobi that could contend with the greater villages – with knowledge of their former homes that would be worth more than gold in wartime.
Such a thing, under the wrong leadership, could mean yet another war.
"The problem is that I want to keep such ability in my grasp, I would not prefer to see these strong clans run off into obscurity and lose track of them."
Pain was quiet for a moment, contemplative.
"Perhaps all that can be done is to wait and see what comes of the changes that you are implementing. Making moves too early could make things worse for the situation in Kiri." Pain sounded more like he was thinking aloud than actually talking to Obito. "Amegakure has successfully created new trade agreements with Rivers and Grass, our economy should experience a boost soon, and we'll have less need for you to funnel the Akatsuki funds from Kiri."
"So your meetings with the Daimyo's went well, then?" Obito asked, he'd been so busy trying to fix Kiri and take care of Naruto that he'd been slacking in his duties to the Akatsuki.
Pain nodded, folding his hands together on his lap. "Relations are well on their way to gaining strength, for now it is a tentative trust. It will take time for that trust to grow but I do not foresee much issue. Both Daimyo wish to see their people prosper as I do. As we speak Konan is reaching out to the Land of Waterfalls, and afterwards will be traveling to Tea to speak with their Daimyo. Still no word from Birds. I'm beginning to grow concerned for the state of their nation. A Daimyo should not ignore a meeting request from a foreign leader."
Obito's forehead creased at Pain's last sentence. "Konan cannot do everything for us, it creates unnecessary strain on her to have to constantly travel and maintain foreign relations. That, and she is needed here. We need more members – level headed and strong. Perhaps five more."
"Do you have anyone in mind?" Pain asked. It had been Obito who'd suggested Kakuzu and Sasori, after all.
Obito shook his head. "Not yet, but I will keep this in mind and consider it. You should do the same, check the bingo books and see if anyone stands out."
"As you wish."
"What are your plans for the future regarding your clan? You've raised Konoha's awareness to your existence, claimed Taifū and Naruto as your responsibility, and have potentially made yourself a personal enemy out of the Leaf village." Obito finally asked the question that had been bothering him for days, his tone borderline accusing. "They're going to want the nine-tails returned to them, and they're going to use the Uzumaki's former relationship with Konoha against you. This has the potential to spark a war between Ame and Konoha."
He couldn't do anything about what was already done, of course. He wished that Nagato would have told him of his intentions beforehand. They could've come up with a plan together that might've avoided a future conflict that seemed inevitable at this juncture.
"There's no need to be so concerned over a conflict between Ame and Konoha," Pain said, that same monotone drawl driving Obito absolutely insane at it's flippancy in this situation, "the Third Hokage is not aware that I know what he has done, and once Taifū reaches Uzushio she will know as well. Amegakure, and the Nine Tails, will be the least of his worries when the Heir of Uzushio learns the truth and the depth of Konoha's treachery."
Dread settled in the pit of Obito's stomach. "What are you talking about? Did the Third Hokage have something to do with the Uzumaki's downfall?"
Pain's head raised and Obito watched the corner of the avatar's lips twitch upward.
'What the hell, Nagato?' Obito thought, idly wondering how long Nagato had been keeping a secret like this to himself. Not to mention when and how did he uncover whatever it was he was hiding?
"Apologies, Madara-sama, but it's Uzumaki clan business. If Taifū wishes for you to know then you'll have to learn from her upon her return. Be content in knowing that I sent her to Uzushio for a reason – and that reason was only partly due to the need for her to grow her fūinjutsu skill."
"Tell me what you can tell me, then. I do not like to be kept in the dark, Nagato."
'Especially not when it comes to Taifū' went unsaid but was nevertheless understood.
By now it had to be clear to the entire Akatsuki that the girl held favor with Pain. But to Pain and Konan it should be clear that their actual leader considered her family in some way – if it involved Fū, he needed to know about it, and Nagato would be wise not to defy Obito's fraternal need to care for her.
Pain was silent and unmoving like a statue. The Rinnegan was trained on Obito, who's Mangekyo Sharingan was active and met the Rinnegan head on, unfettered.
After a few moments, Pain reached a decision on what he wanted to say.
"... The Uzumaki did not create fūinjutsu, the knowledge of the art was granted to our ancestors after they made a certain contract. A summoning contract. That contract still holds today – but only one Uzumaki per generation bears the burden. And it is a burden, despite the power it grants the contract holder. It cannot be used lightly, for each use has the potential to kill the user contingent upon the whim of the summoned. I could not accept that burden. But Taifū, I'm afraid, will have no choice. Her mother made her the heir without realizing what that would entail."
"What summons?" Obito bit out through clenched teeth, his fingers digging into his own biceps painfully when he crossed his arms to keep from lashing out. "What summons are so dangerous that they could, on a whim, decide to kill their summoner?"
"Interesting." A flicker of something unidentified passed through those ringed eyes as Pain said; "As per agreement during the founding of Konoha between the Senju and the Uchiha, both clan heads were aware of the Uzumaki clan's secret." Pain did not look away from Obito, pinning him in place with a look so sharp Obito thought it might cut him. "The real Uchiha Madara knew the answer to your question. So tell me, who are you really Uchiha-san, and why should I continue to trust you around my children?"
The door opened, and four other paths stepped inside, slowly stepping around behind Pain in support. All ringed eyes trained on the masked Uchiha.
'Shit.'
Fu could smell the salt of the ocean on the breeze miles before they reached the coast, but the squall of the seagulls didn't reach her ears until the glittering blue waves were visible in the distance.
"Wow." Fu said at the end of a content sigh, standing at the peak of a hill on the road to the coastal village of Uzuchiisai, literally 'small whirlpool.' They were a colony of people who settled off the island to farm the mainland — but were still considered a part of Uzushio at the time of the Uzumaki's downfall. "Beautiful."
Sasori harrumphed, and she imagined him rolling his eyes inside that puppet of his. "Too humid," he complained as they began to descend the hill.
"For someone from the desert, I guess that makes sense."
This was nothing to Fu. The mountains of Appalachia were humid — at least here there was a nice breeze coming off the ocean that helped.
"Humidity swells wood," Sasori explained and Fu's brows rose.
"Right, that makes sense. I didn't think about that." She supposed that would mess with his puppets and change the way he had to use his attacks.
"Those are the types of small, seemingly inconsequential details you should train yourself to consider. They can mean life or death in a fight."
Fu's lip twitched as the sounds of the small village reached them. "Yes, shishou."
"And keep your henge in place this time."
"Yes, shishou."
They'd been traveling with little break for the last several days. Thus far there hadn't been any pursuers, but if Kumo were after them they would've had to go around the long way to avoid dipping into the Land of Fire. So they weren't out of the woods yet, Kumo could still be coming after them.
Hopefully they could go to Uzushio, find what was needed, and leave before the Kumo nin showed up. That was the plan, anyway, and Fū could see the island in the distance as they drew closer to Uzuchiisai.
But, before they could make it to the mouth of a narrow street that looked to be the village center, a voice called out to them and stopped them in their tracks.
"You lost? We don't take outsiders."
Fū and Sasori both turned their heads at the same time to see a young teenager. Judging by the baby fat that rounded his cheeks, he was maybe five or six years older than Fū, standing in the tall grass off to the left of the road. His pink hair was dripping wet and he carried a basket full of dead fish over his shoulder.
"Just passing through." Sasori told the boy, and a chakra string lashed out, wrapping around Fū's wrist. Once again, he was warning her. But again she didn't know what she was being warned about.
The boy looked at them with distrust in his eyes. He stepped the rest of the way through the grass and onto the road. Fū noted that his pants were rolled up to just under the knee, and the bottoms were wet and his black sleeveless shirt was dirty and wrinkled.
"Go around, then. My village doesn't want any trouble." His tone was bordering hostile and Fū's brow raised while he brushed past them, shoulders back and spine straight.
'Okay, tough guy,' Fū thought as he passed, the smell of the fish he carried was strong. The boy was side-eying her, so she blatantly stared back at him; openly defiant.
"What are you looking at, brat?" He stopped, folding his arms over his chest and glaring down at her like he was somehow superior in anything but height alone. "No one ever taught you that staring is rude?"
"Why are you so defensive?" Fū asked, her body language mirroring his, feeling sassier than usual because this little punk thought he was better than her for some untold reason. "Brain a little slow? Ingest too much sea water?"
"You little–" the boy's face scrunched up and his eyes narrowed, he took one step closer to her and was immediately knocked back by an invisible force.
"What the–" he grunted, eyes wide and fearful while he regained his balance by flailing his arms. An odd way to do it, but if it worked for him Fū wasn't going to judge. Lucky for him, he didn't lose a single fish.
"Say what you wish, but step no closer to the girl." Sasori told the boy, the puppets' eyes narrowing dangerously when the boy had the nerve to glare at him with grit teeth. "Unless you wish to die."
Fū felt a little bit of warmth spread through her chest and she smiled over at her shishou.
"What are you, her tousan or something?" The boy bit out, that borderline hostility was now more of a fearful tremor as he dusted his shirt off and righted his basket, trembling.
Fū tried not to let the immediate clenching of her heart, the flash of Minato in her mind, get to her at that comment.
"Kyo, leave the travelers alone!" A deep, gravely new voice called out from the tall grass where a stocky man was stepping toward them with a much bigger basket of fish. The man was tall with sharp cheekbones, dirty blond hair and a friendly smile. "Forgive my son, he's weary of strangers. We all are these days. Had some issues these last couple years. Come, come, welcome to Uzuchiisai. The name is Uzumoto Kenshin. What brings you folks this way?"
"Oto-san," Kyo admonished, smacking a hand against his forehead. "We can't–"
"Uzumoto?" Fū asked, smiling up at the bright, happy man with her hands clasped behind her back. "The Uzumoto were the foundations of Uzushiogakure, weren't they?"
"Quite right! The Uzumaki clan branched off from us. We were the farmers, they were the fighters. We fed them; they protected us. Not that there are many of either clan left. Haven't seen an Uzumaki in well over a decade and a half; when the Leaf sent a team to assess the grounds." Kenshin smiled good naturedly, adjusting his hold on his fish basket, beckoning them to follow into the village. "I'm surprised you knew that. Didn't think anyone knew about us outside of the Uzumaki themselves."
Sasori's chakra string on her wrist tightened, but Fū ignored him.
"My Okaasan told me a lot about Uzushio before she died," Fū admitted, falling into step with Kenshin and ignoring how both Sasori and Kyo sighed in frustration with them from behind. "She wanted me to know about her homeland. She would've been the leaf kunoichi among the team you saw after the battle."
Sasori growled low in warning as another chakra string wrapped around her waist. As if he was preparing to wrench her back. Kenshin's step faltered, and he looked down at her as if seeing her for the first time.
"You're an Uzumaki?" Kenshin asked quietly, his expression unreadable and her heart hammered away in her chest, hoping she was making the right decision. "Uzumaki Kushina's daughter?"
"Namikaze-Uzumaki Taifū," she placed her palm over her heart and bowed her head just a fraction and let her henge fall away, dull brown igniting into deep crimson as it went, and steel gray eyes brightening to match the glittering ocean, "it's a pleasure to meet you. Please feel free to call me Uzumaki Fū. I'm distancing myself from my Namikaze roots for my safety."
"Why didn't you say that before?!" Kyo's voice was shrill, Fū looked back at him to see his arms were thrown out over his head and a vein popping out from his forehead as he shouted at her. "Lead with that next time!"
Fū blinked, taken aback by the complete shift in behavior from the rude, surly boy. Her own anger increased and she squared her own stance, yelling right back at him.
"Well you weren't exactly friendly with us were you, Kyo-san?"
"Ha!" Kyo pointed an accusing finger at her. "Stay a while and you'll see why I'm not nice to outsiders. Especially not weird-looking ones!"
"What's that supposed to mean!?"
Sasori and Kenshin stood by, watching this back and forth. The latter with an amused expression.
"It means you're weird looking!" Kyo laid his hands on his hips and lowered by the waist to look her in the face when he said this. "Well, you were when your hair was dark — it didn't fit your face!"
"Oh so now it's about my face?" Fū growled with narrowed eyes and hair lifting of its own volition and Kyo's smug look dropped immediately. "Bold of you to get so close to me when you're insulting me."
"I didn't mean anymore!"
"Now, now children." Kenshin laughed nervously, waving a hand in between them. "Kyo, mind your manners. It's been a long time since an Uzumaki came to our shores. You were barely walking when the last one visited but we treat Uzumaki as we do family in Uzuchiisai – so bring down that hostility." Kenshin turned to Fū and Sasori as Kyo backed down, grumbling under his breath. "Come, I'm sure you're hungry and there's plenty to go around. You can tell us of your journey and why you've come over a meal."
Sasori's chakra strings never left her as they followed the two Uzumoto into the small, quiet village.
Quiet and destitute, Fū realized as she looked around. Their small market stalls were almost empty and what was there for sale looked like it was just a day away from rotting. She couldn't hear any children playing — and the people…
The forlorn people walked down the streets carrying their minimal goods with their eyes set on the horizon. It gave the distinct impression that these people were waiting for something to come their way.
It reminded her of the Gulf of Aden, in Yemen, after dozens of reported Somalian pirate attacks. The piracy was always reported off coast, but that didn't mean the damage wasn't felt when shipments were lost at sea and the people went without. In this world, there wasn't much to deter pirates from coming ashore to harass villagers.
Add this to both Uzumoto's comments about recent hardship and weariness around strangers and Fū was starting to paint a pretty bleak picture in her mind about what had been going on here these past few years.
Fū glanced at Sasori, as if looking at him would convey her thoughts, but he wasn't looking at her. She decided perhaps it was best to keep her thoughts to herself for now, and wait to see if the Uzumoto would tell them what had been going on.
Following a long, tense conversation Nagato watched through five of his Path's as the man he'd thought was Uchiha Madara for a few years now slowly reached up and removed his mask.
He was not, in fact, Madara. He was Uchiha Obito — one of the young shinobi who had been placed on Fū and Naruto's father's genin team.
Nagato wasn't certain he believed everything Obito told him. Much of it seemed far fetched.
"As for what I want with the kids — I just want them safe." Obito's voice was subdued, and seeing his face there was an earnestness, an honesty, there. Hidden beneath bone deep anguish. "I'll do whatever you want me to do so long as you don't try to force me out. Wait for Fū to return and ask her what she thinks. She knows who I really am."
Nagato was silent for a minute, thinking.
"It was you who proposed the change of the Akatsuki's goals after Yahiko died," Nagato said through the Asura path. "You and Zetsu."
He watched Obito rub both of his hands over his face, leaning his elbows on his knees. The younger man looked haggard, the scarring that marred his face pulled tight when he frowned.
"Things have changed. We cannot trust Zetsu – again, you'll have to speak to Taifū for a full explanation. As the Uzumaki have secrets you would entrust her to share if it is her will, so to do I."
After another brief silence, Nagato spoke through his Deva path again. "Here is what is going to happen from today. I am reclaiming full leadership over the Akatsuki," Nagato began, and Obito nodded, eyes downcast, "and you are going to Uzushio. Catch up to Taifū, wait for her to finish on the island, and bring her home through your Kamui. Tell Sasori he is relieved of his burden for the time being and may continue working at his leisure. He will be summoned when he is needed."
"My work in Kiri?" Obito prompted, fixing his mask to his face again.
"You will continue it once I've spoken to Taifū and corroborated your story," Pain draped an arm over his crossed legs, looking casual, "should I sense that you are controlling her… or should you not return with her, there is no place you will be able to run to. No place you can hide that I will not find you. So choose your next actions carefully, Uchiha Obito. I am not interested in entertaining games."
Pain continued to sit in the dark office long after Obito had gone, eyes boring into the wall as Nagato, in his rooms, began to plot how best to proceed forward from here.
He did not realize he was wasting his efforts. None of his plans would be viable after speaking to Uzumaki Taifū.
Kenshin had insisted that there was enough food to go around but, judging by everything she'd seen since entering the village, there wasn't enough for the people who lived there. Adding two more mouths was a burden they couldn't afford.
'People who have nothing to share are often the ones who share the most.' Fū thought as she sliced through the flesh of her fourth fish. She'd volunteered to help prepare, feeling like she needed to do something to earn her meal, especially after seeing how little the village had to spare.
The fish that Kenshin and Kyo had caught were meant to feed everyone in the village that night. Evidently it was tradition to have their evening meals as a community and they congregated in the village center.
"It's a tradition – no one eats alone in Uzuchiisai," Kyo's mother, Risa, told Fū as they fileted the fish together. Now there were children running about and people talking and laughing together, gathered near a large bonfire where Sasori had been roped into helping Kenshin and Kyo cook the meat and a ton of vegetables one of the farmers from the outskirts of the village had brought. "We've been like this since long before I was born. I think it brings us closer after a long hard day, to gather together like we do. When I was a child, sometimes some of the shinobi from the island would come, too. Usually whoever was on guard duty shore-side."
Risa was a pink haired, short, slim woman in her mid thirties with high cheekbones and a pleasant smile. A trusting smile. In a world like this, Fū hadn't had much opportunity to run into people who were happy and trusting. Kenshin and Risa… it was no wonder Kyo was such a surly boy. He was trying to protect his loved ones and his village who had, despite whatever had been going on causing their clear problems, welcomed her and Sasori with warm smiles and open arms.
She wasn't sure if it was her hair and clear Uzumaki roots that had prompted the warm welcome or if they really were that nice in Uzuchiisai.
"It generates a sense of community," Fū smiled as she passed over the four filets she'd gotten from her fish and pulled another one out of Kyo's basket, "all for one; one for all. I think it's nice. Uzuchiisai is a lovely village."
They shared everything, right down to the most basic goods and it worked for them. They seemed peaceful, despite the shadow of poverty that loomed in the empty food stands and the people's hollow eyes. It reminded her of some of the small communes she'd visited before. In the other world, the Uzumoto would've been labeled as communists.
"What's your village like, Fū-san?" Risa asked innocuously and Fū paused. The question was innocent enough. Risa definitely wasn't an undercover kunoichi looking to gain information from her. So she decided there was no harm in being direct, instead of skirting the question.
"Ah, well," Fū rubbed her forehead with the back of her arm and lifted it to shove some hair out of her face, "I don't really have a village that I call home. I was born in Konohagakure, but I've lived in another village the last two years. I don't see either as mine. But as long as people I care about are there then it's home enough for me."
"You can't accept a home because you're Uzumaki," Risa stated as she relieved a fish of it's head in one clean chop, "the island calls to you even when you do not realize it. It's why you're here, now, yes?"
"What do you mean, Risa-san?"
"I'm surprised. You seem to know a lot about us and about the clan." Fū saw the older woman shrug her shoulders and turn that pleasant smile onto her. "It's just that the Uzumaki and the Uzumoto are beholden to the island. It is our home, for better or worse, and it makes sure we remember that."
Never one to let her curiosity lay, Fū's brows raised and tone level as she asked; "Why?"
"Oh, you'll have to go to the island yourself to find out. We were all shocked when your okaasan was able to leave. The yellow haired young man that came with her, it was clear they loved each other very much. My guess is her love for him was what gave her the strength to deny the island. I only met them once but I liked them. They were young, then. Tell me, was he your Oto-san?" Risa asked her, still pleasant and not at all meaning to offend.
Fū wasn't offended, but hearing that Risa had met Kushina and Minato and had sensed how much they'd loved each other almost fifteen years ago made her heart squeeze and emotion sting her eyes. The ever present guilt from allowing them to die, from doing and saying nothing that might've stopped it or given them a fighting chance – it was like a weight in her gut that grew heavier by the second.
"Oh, no, honey." Risa dropped her knife and wiped her hands on her apron. She pulled the soiled cloth off just as Fū started crying in earnest about Minato and Kushina's deaths for the first time, the woman wrapped her arms around the small girl and pulled her into a tight hug, rubbing her back. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. You lost them so young, didn't you?"
The words, the hug, and her overall presence. Risa was so maternal that she'd opened the floodgates of Fū's repressed emotions and she squeezed her back, feeling like she didn't deserve such comfort but accepting it nevertheless.
"Fū? What happened, are you okay?" A deep voice called from behind her and Fū stiffened in Risa's hold, pulling back to look over her shoulder in wide eyed shock.
"Obi-nii?!" She wiped at her wet eyes as Risa pulled fully away, but left her hand on Fū's shoulder for support. "What are you doing here? Is Naruto okay?"
Obito was standing there, right behind her. Close enough to grab her and drag her back if he needed to, dressed fully in his Akatsuki cloak and mask in place. She hadn't heard or felt him arrive at all, but she supposed that with Kamui (and at his skill level) that wasn't impossible. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Sasori make excuses and begin to shuffle over toward them.
"There's been a development."
"Uh, okay. Uhm." Fū cleared her throat, realizing she was being rude. "Risa-san, this is my Ani, Tobi. Tobi-nii, this is Uzumoto Risa. She's the wife of the Uzumoto clan head and village leader of Uzuchiisai, Uzumoto Kenshin."
Obito simply nodded to Risa as Sasori made it to them, Hiruko's eyes narrowed. "What is it?"
Immediately, Obito's 'Tobi' personality took over and his arms flailed as he stepped up to the puppet.
"Hey hey hey, Sasori! I've missed you, are you helping cook fish? It smells soooo good, Risa-san, can I join you guys?! Oh please please please? I've been traveling for so long to find my little Fū-chan and I'm absolutely starving!"
Fū fought the urge to roll her eyes and looked over at Risa and Sasori took a swipe at Obito with his poison coated tail, just for Obito to dodge it effortlessly.
"Do you mind an additional intrusion? We can pay," Fū asked while Sasori and Obito were trading snipes.
Risa just smiled at her and patted her head, calling out to Obito. "Any family of Fū-san's is welcome to join us, Tobi-san," and Obito did a very loud cheer at the news while Risa directed her attention back to Fū, "no money – we're happy to have kind guests for a change."
Fū's lips pursed at the casual implication that they usually don't have kind guests. She was just about to ask for an elaboration when arms wrapped around her from behind and she was lifted into the air and squeezed, while being rocked side to side.
"Fū-chan~" Tobi sang, and Risa's hand came up to cover her peels of laughter while Fū was getting manhandled and losing brain cells from being rattled. "I missed you so much, you have no idea how wild Naru-chan is without you. I guess they don't call it the 'terrible two's' for nothing! I really really really missed you, and so did Konan and Pain-sama~"
"Oh dear kami, Tobi-nii, put me down!" Fū shrieked while onlookers laughed at the scene.
She was glad Obito had answered her question about Naruto's well being off handedly, though, easing her worries.
"Oh great, another one," a scathing voice called out, and the laughter died off as everyone turned just in time to see Kyo scowl down at his plate, then toss it aside and stand. He threw one glare over at Fū, Obito, and Sasori before he stormed off into the village and disappeared behind some buildings.
The jovial mood evaporated after that and Obito set her down on the ground.
"Uh oh, looks like Tobi offended the pink boy," Obito said, pressing a finger to his mask.
"That boy," Risa sighed deeply, shaking her head, but the look on her face showed her concern as she stared after her son before turning back to the group. "I'm sorry. He's… well we've been struggling lately. Uzuchiisai has fallen on some hard times and my son has been more affected than most by recent events."
"Oh no, hard times? What's the problem?" Obito asked, his high pitched voice right near Fū's ear, almost causing her to flinch. "Tell Tobi and Tobi will take care of it!" He gave a thumbs up, wrapping one arm around Fū's shoulder and pulling her to his side. As if he was planning an escape at any second.
"I have no idea how they let you join the Akatsuki," Sasori growled, wrapping a chakra string around Tobi and wrenching him back. He let Sasori do it, and even let go of her shoulder just in time so she wouldn't be caught with him. "Sit down over there before you hurt yourself or someone else."
"Waaa, Sasori!" Obito cried, like a four year old. "Don't tell me you've been treating my Fū-chan like this the whole time!"
Sasori didn't know enough to understand that there was a threat in that comment.
Fū decided to jump in before Sasori could say something that might damn him. She actually enjoyed his teachings, and how level headed he was. He could've been a lot less forgiving of some of the shit she'd pulled than he was, and he could've killed her and turned her into a puppet by now.
He'd been a good shishou, so in return she would protect him.
"No, he's been great. I've learned a lot," Fū said, interrupting whatever Sasori was about to retort and turning back to Risa, "but I'm curious about what's been happening here myself?"
"Pirates," a new voice said as Kenshin stepped up next to his wife. This was the first time she'd seen a frown on his face and Fū was sorry to learn that her instincts had been right. "They've tried to get into Uzushiogakure, but since they're not of Uzu blood they can't make it past the seals, so they got angry, and they took it out on Uzuchiisai. They come twice a month and take whatever they can get from our stores, eat whatever we have available, ransack the village, and go. "
"Do you know who they are?" Sasori asked, and Obito went still.
"They say they're part of the Funato clan, from a small island outside of Waters. Bunch of vicious high-sea thugs," Kenshin's words were as harsh as his tone and his eyes were trained on the spot where the sun was sinking below the horizon, "but enough of that. Let's get everyone fed and off to bed. I'm sure you all are travel weary."
As Fū sat down with her well earned portion of fish and vegetables, she stared out at the waters and pondered the question;
'Kenshin said; 'we fed them, they protected us' so how can I do my duty to the Uzumoto as an Uzumaki and protect them from these pirate bastards?'
Something was wrong with Fū and Obito had seen it the moment he'd appeared in the small farming village on the coast of Whirlpool. He had gone to the island first, but he'd felt Sasori's chakra signature not far from where he was so instead of setting up a small camp for himself to wait he decided to go ahead and meet up with the two.
After they'd eaten and been given a room in a small inn the village had (it was literally only two rooms, one of them being an old-school private bathroom) he'd gotten her to agree to take a walk with him to 'settle their meals' before turning in for the night. Sasori made a lot of grumbling protests about splitting up and Fū put some protection seals up, which silenced Sasori as they left.
They'd walked down to the beach and were about a mile away from the village when they came upon a large cove. He decided it was safe enough to talk here, and Fū threw down some powerful privacy seals on the stones around them as they settled to look out at the moon over the water.
"So what happened?" Fū prompted as Obito shucked his Akatsuki cloak off and draped it around her shoulders. He didn't want her to get sick and the autumn breeze off the ocean was chilly. Fū couldn't regulate her body temperature yet, not like he could. She wasn't at the appropriate skill level.
"A lot has happened since you've left. Namely, Nagato has ousted himself to Knona via Jiraiya," Obito watched Fū's brows reach her hairline as he continued, "he did so to claim clan rights over you and Naruto – there's nothing Konoha can do to get you back now."
"But he's put himself in a bind, now. Especially being as immobile as he is," Fū mumbled, pulling the cloak around herself until she was just a blob of Akatsuki cloak with a head sticking out. Obito thought she looked adorable, he wished he had a camera but he settled for capturing the moment with his sharingan instead. "I wonder if there's a way we can help him regain his health and mobility, despite the damage wrought by the Gedō Mazō."
"We can look into it but he doesn't trust me anymore. He's realized I'm not Madara, and I was forced to tell him the truth. He's now reclaimed his position as the leader of the Akatsuki. That's why I've come; he wants you to return as soon as you're finished in Uzushio. I told him that you were the one who would have answers to his questions, not me."
Fū's head shot up and she stared at him, wide eyed. "How the hell did that happen?"
"Evidently the real Madara knew some things about the Uzumaki clan that I don't and Nagato does. He caught me by leading me into ousting myself, which means he'd already suspected."
"I'm going to have to tell him, aren't I?" Fū rubbed her forehead with her hand through the cloak, smothering her face for a moment. "The universe just stuck up a whole ass middle finger at me, didn't it? Fuck me, I guess."
"I don't understand what you just said, what was that language? The one from the last life?" Obito asked, noting the strange sounding gibberish that had come out of Fū's mouth.
"Yes, sorry. I was just complaining about the universe – What's the probability he's gonna kill me if I tell him?"
"Surprisingly low," Obito said, trying not to laugh at the worried frown Fū turned on him, "he's started calling you and Naruto 'his' children and I really believe he fully intends on taking responsibility for the two of you. He's making moves like that's his intent. What did you do to him when you were alone together, genjutsu?"
"Well I kind of promised a revolution…" Fū admitted with a shaky smile and Obito laughed, wrapping an arm around her shoulder and dragging her into his side. "How are things in Kiri?"
"Not well."
"Tell me about it." Fū prompted, un-pretzeling her legs and letting them dangle off the edge of the boulder, leaning into his side.
Obito had missed this. This calm camaraderie between himself and Fū since she'd told him the truth. Not only was she his little sister he needed to protect, but she'd become his best friend in the last several months with the knowledge that she was mentally much older than she appeared. He trusted her more than he trusted himself and it was nice to just be able to be Obito, whoever that was anymore, in her presence. He assumed that she felt the same, that it had to be a relief to speak to someone who knew the truth about Taifū–
That line of thought reminded him he wanted to ask her something.
"Before we get into that, I wanted to ask what your name was. In the last life."
Fū's face went blank and Obito had the sinking feeling that he's just made a terrible mistake in asking that question. She was quiet for a long moment, almost a minute, then she laughed. It wasn't a pleasant laugh, and it caused him to frown under his mask.
"It was a mash up of my parents' names in that world, a testament to their narcissism. I don't like remembering them or that name. I no longer wish to be associated with it," Obito suddenly realized that Fū's previous life hadn't been a good one as she continued. "But since you asked, it was Tylin. That's why I usually ask people to call me Fū instead of Tai, because Ty was my nickname my whole life in the old world and I don't want to have the memories resurfacing every time someone calls me that. Only one person in this life has permission and I gave it to him before I realized I didn't want to remember."
Seemed to him like Fū wanted to run from that part of her life. Far be it from him to call her on it, he was still running from 'Uchiha Obito – the dead last' after all.
"Noted," Obito said gently, deciding that he should divert the conversation so she wouldn't get lost in her thoughts about a past that she no longer lived in. "Kiri shinobi are growing more violent towards those who have kekkei genkai. There's also an issue with trade that is causing poverty levels to increase, and civil war is looming closer."
"Does the trade issue have anything to do with pirates? Because this Funato clan seems to be active in these waters, it's not a surprise if they're causing issues up and down the east coast. It's not likely they just come this way to harass a small farming village."
Obito thought about it, but Yagura hadn't received any reports about piracy. Not that it wasn't possible.
"I couldn't say without investigating."
"I'm going to stay here long enough to see for myself what's going on, maybe speak to these pirates. It could be a good chance for you to get the information you're looking for and help Kiri. Many problems can stem from poverty – I wouldn't be surprised if a lot of Kiri's issues dry up if their economy improves. While we wait for these assholes to show up, I'll see what I can uncover in Uzushio."
"Dry up? Was that a pun, Fū?" Obito laughed, jabbing her side and she launched away from him with a squeal. "Did you just make a bad pun?"
Fū jumped into the water and soaked the cloak, laden arms trying to fling water at him while he dodged, laughing outright when she managed to surprise him by dragging him down into the water with chakra strings, of all things.
Fū can't even have an emotional release without the one who caused most of the turmoil showing up, can she? Lmfao, poor baby.
The Funato Clan is from Boruto. I literally refuse to watch Boruto but I happened upon them when I was browsing the wiki so I've put them in this story.