Naruto: The Uchiha Chronicles

by RinneTaicho

The course of history changed when Madara Uchiha met a woman who pulled him from "The Curse of Hatred" once more. But the threat of the Eye of the Moon Plan isn't over. A new and mysterious figure lurks in the shadows. Now his grandson will set out on a journey to bring honor back to their clan and family. Sharingan/Magnet Style Naruto, Naruto x Fem-Sasuke x ?

50. Chapter 49

Naruto: The Uchiha Chronicles Re-Version:

Chunin Exams Arc Part 2:

Chapter 49: Dragon Tales at Ryugu Lake

x-x-x-x-x-x- NTUC -x-x-x-x-x-x

The dragon let out a growl and reared its head back. Dagger-like ivory fangs seeking to slash and maim. Naruto collected his nerves just in time to dodge its snapping jaws. He danced backwards on the water. Mizuchi snarled and reared his head for another attack.

Naruto held up his hands in a panic. "Wait … just wait!"

"So … you can speak." The dragon growled in its booming voice. A pair of long trailing whiskers quivered in amusement.

He nodded; his heart hammered against his ribs. "It might look like it, but I'm not trespassing, at least, I didn't mean too! I just performed the Summoning Jutsu and ended up here."

Mizuchi cocked his head disbelievingly. "Do you take me for a fool boy? That is not how the summoning jutsu works."

"It is if you haven't signed a contract!" Naruto insisted urgently. He didn't want to give the dragon any chance to attack again now that he was talking. "Since I didn't sign one, it took me to the summons that a had the highest affinity for."

Mizuchi cocked his head to the side curiously. "Are you claiming you think yourself worthy of summoning the dragons of Ryugu Lake, boy?" There was a note of danger, as if the great dragon found the very concept insulting. Naruto swallowed.

Jiraiya's warnings echoed in his head. He had to choose his words carefully. "I believe I am, but I don't expect you to take me at my word. I'll prove it too you." He waited with bated breath, the urge to place his hand on Senbonzakura was stamped down ruthlessly. To appear aggressive did not feel like the right choice.

Mizuchi snaked his head forward, he examined Naruto with large, curious eyes the size of wagon wheels. He sniffed curiously and his massive lips drew back in a terrifying smile. Finally, the dragon let loose a snort of amusement and withdrew.

"You're strong, but respectful. Good. Had you demanded to summon us, I'd have ripped you to shreds and let your corpse float to the bottom of the lake." Far from providing comfort, Naruto felt a bead of sweat fall down the side of his face. He was glad he'd chosen the words he did. Mizuchi spun about, presenting his back to Naruto. "Climb on. I shall take you to the one who leads us, the Blue Dragon Sage Ryuma."

Naruto was hesitant to obey, but he had little choice. He climbed onto Mizuchi's back and settled in behind his head. The dragon immediately shot off. Naruto applied chakra to his legs to stay astride the powerful creature. His hair whipped about as the dragon wound through the water as fast as the wind. A white wake trailed behind them as they raced towards the largest island, located at the center of the lake.

It was truly awe inspiring in scale, dwarfing Mizuchi himself who's head alone was the size of merchant's cart. The island was covered in old growth oaks and pines. Jutting from the lake like a great big tooth, the grey-stone was littered with hundreds of cascading waterfalls and cave entrances of all sizes. Mizuchi was headed towards the largest waterfall that poured from the gaping maw of a dark cave. Without warning, the dragon lifted out of the water. Naruto realized, with an excited thrill, that the dragon was flying!

They soared into the cave. From a distance it looked large, but Naruto only realized how truly monstrous it was when he realized Mizuchi looked like a python entering a culvert. His head swiveled about, taking in the wonderous sights. They passed dragons of all colors and sizes, and countless caves filled with ornate carvings and piles of treasure. The dragons seemed to lack traditional limbs, with four bird-like legs that came to clawed feet. Finally, they shot through a marble arch and entered a great hall.

A tranquil pool surrounded a dais along the far wall, though his attention was solely for the occupant of the dais. An ancient dragon the size of Mizuchi. His face was wrinkled with age and marred by a terrible scar. The dragon's blue scales were faded, though surely, they had once been magnificent. He wore a black kimono.

The Blue Dragon Sage raised his head as Mizuchi alighted upon the pool. "Mizuchi why do you disturb my nap?" The sage squinted, spotting Naruto on Mizuchi's neck. "Is that a human? What is the meaning of this boy?"

Mizuchi raised his head and began to explain their encounter. "I decided to bring him to you. It has been three hundred years since we accepted a summoner." Ryuma hummed thoughtfully, his tail flicked about.

"You have made the right choice." He concluded. "Come forward boy and tell me your name!"

Naruto leapt from Mizuchi's back nervously. He alighted on the water gently and followed the dragons lead in bowing his head to the sage. "My name is Naruto Uchiha."

"And you wish to summon our kind? To learn our ways and become stronger?" Ryuma enquired. Naruto looked up. He forced himself to meet the dragons gaze steadily and gave a resolute nod. "Very well. But you must pass a test before I allow this."

"That seems reasonable." Naruto agreed readily.

Ryuma snorted in amusement. "Do not be so sure." The dragon lay back in his throne and began to describe the test. "On one of these islands you shall find a special cave, guarded by two dragon statues. You have one hour to find this cave and answer the riddle that is put to you, and you are not allowed to receive help from any of my brethren. It will be your own power and wits that determine the outcome. Balance is key in everything, especially the strength of body and mind."

Naruto nodded in understanding. The mighty blue dragon dismissed him with a grunt and lowered his head back down to rest.

He took a moment to think, he only had two hours to find the location of the test. While it wasn't impossible to search every island in that time span, that felt like a waste of time. 'First, I'll narrow down the targets. If the cave is so special the chakra should stand out.'

He closed down his eyes and reached for his sensing ability. It spread out in a wave. Instantly, he had to fight the urge to retract his senses. There were so many powerful signatures it was overwhelming! Some held the gentle flow of water, others the static buzz of lightning, and still others the razor-sharp edge of wind nature. Naruto sifted through the sea of signatures. He looked for any that felt different. In the end, he could find only three targets. The first came from Ryuma himself. His chakra had an odd feeling to it, one he'd never felt. Slow and deep, ancient beyond measure. One of the remaining two felt remarkably similar to whatever was mixed into the dragon's chakra. Finally, there was a source of immensely powerful chakra, nearly equal to the sage. But it was odd. There was no elemental feeling to it, if anything, it was neutral.

'I'll check that one similar to the geezer dragon's first, it's the closer one. If I use Flash Step it'll take ten minutes. Plenty of time to explore the second source. And if all else fails, I can get your help, Nine. He didn't say anything about that.'

The fox chuckled in amusement. 'Foolish lizard.'

When Naruto opened his eyes, he found a pair of baleful yellow eyes watching him intently. He instinctually flinched and wondered if somehow Ryuma had heard them, though he dismissed it as ridiculous.

He shook off his stupor and turned around. With a few hand seals, he used the Flash Step. The tunnel blurred by. In seconds he was at the entrance to the cavern and took a flying leap onto the lake below. The landing jarred his knees, but he continued forward. His feet moved across the water lightly leaving rippling rings in their wake.

His first destination was an island on the north shore of the lake. As he crossed the white-capped waters, Naruto caught an occasional glance of the dragons, Thanks to his Sharingan, he memorized each one perfectly. They seemed to come in a variety of sizes and colors. Most of the green ones seemed to be small, while the rest were made up of blue, black, and white. Naruto had to wonder; did they change color with age? Was size proportional to power? But there would be time to sate his curiosity later.

The miles disappeared rapidly under foot. Soon, he found himself passing a tori gate set into the water. Finally, he set foot on the island's sandy shore. The air thrummed with an unusual power. A forest of pines covered the island in thick foliage.

Naruto strode forth cautiously towards a winding set of shallow steps carved into the earth, surrounded by a tunnel wide enough for the larges dragon to fit through. For several minutes he walked the path, until the forest widened into a secluded glade surrounding a pristine pool of water. Naruto frowned, tentatively probing the air with his sensing. To his surprise, he found the pool was the source of the energy. Though, there was a second source. And odd twisting tree that had a scaly trunk.

Now sooner had he thought it, than the odd trunk began to move. It twisted and turned, rising in the form of a large green dragon. The dragon regarded him with ancient brown eyes.

"This place is not for you, human." He said, his voice rumbling and vast. "Why do you trespass on our sacred land?"

Aware of his precarious position, Naruto swallowed nervously and bowed his head. "Apologies, mighty dragon, I'm in the middle of a test to become your summoner. I thought this was the place I was looking for. If it's all right, I'll be on my way."

The green dragon let out a low, rumbling growl. "Very well. You may go."

Naruto backed away carefully and turned to leave. He tried not to let his nervousness show. There was a heaviness and density to it's chakra that made him weary. He shook off his nerves and swiftly made his way back to the lake. That first island had taken longer than he'd expected, he had to hurry to the second. A deep breath steadied his breathing, before he took off in a blur. He briefly closed his eyes, and felt for that odd neutral feeling chakra.

It was an unsettling distance away, somewhere on the complete opposite side of the main island. He had to hurry, a third of his time was already gone.

By the time he spotted the island where the strange chakra emanated from, Naruto's chest heaved for breath and his legs burned. He was puzzled as he limped onto the sandy shore. 'Is this the result of using the Flash Step so much?' It was plausible, he'd used the Teleportation Jutsu as the base, which was essentially just invigorating the body to perform at a higher function. 'If you don't mind, I'll borrow some chakra on the way back, Nine.'

'Very well.' The fox growled.

Naruto took a moment to examine the island. It wasn't much, a jutting, thick spire of stone, with a cave entrance leading deep underneath the ground.

The tunnel was long, dark, and damp. The cool air soothed his sweaty skin. It felt like he was descending. Eventually, the light from above completely faded. Naruto frowned and concentrated fire chakra to his hand. A glowing orb white-hot fire sparked to life. It was a simple jutsu, easy to perform without seals.

About five minutes into his journey, Naruto spotted a glowing light in the distance. Soon the tunnel leveled off and the light grew brighter. He emerged into a vast cave, with a peaceful pool of water just like Ryuma's thrown room. At the center lay an altar, flanked on either side by a pair of dragon statues. On the left, a statue carved from marble, with sapphires for eyes. On the right was an onyx dragon statue, with rubies in the eyes. At the center of the altar was a stone tablet.

Naruto crossed the pool and ascended the shallow steps. He knelt down in front of the tablet and read it carefully.

I am white, and need to be fed form from imagination

And my fellow is black and needs to have vitality given to a lifeless form

What do we eat?

He frowned, turning the words over in his mind. 'Life without form and form without life. Imagination and vitality? This sounds familiar.' It was like an itch in the back of his mind. Naruto knew he had heard something like that before.

'Don't ask for my help, this is fairly obvious brat.' The fox scoffed.

Though slightly annoyed, the comment solidified that he would know the answer. Form without life, and life without form. Opposites, just like the dragon statues. Naruto stepped backwards and eyed the dragons speculatively. 'White and black. And opposite states. Then there's that neutral feeling chakra, perhaps that's a hint.' Inspiration struck him instantly. There was only one chakra type that was completely neutral, though few people even knew of it. As it happened, his grandfather had taught it to him.

"Yin-Yang Style, huh? Which means the answer is Yin and Yang chakra. The white dragon is yang, it needs Yin. And the black one needs Yang." Naruto smiled ruefully. Even if someone was to find the answer to the riddle, few could hope to do what was needed. With a brief bit of concentration, Naruto channeled yang chakra into his right hand. He approached the black dragon and touched it, pushing the chakra into the statue. He felt a rhythmic pulse as the chakra entered the dragon. He proceeded to the white dragon and gave it the opposite chakra.

As soon as he was finished a seal spread out from the tablet. Naruto pedaled backwards to escape its radius. Smoke erupted from the seal, and he felt two new chakra signatures appear. Amidst the clearing haze, were two dragons the length of his forearm, the spitting image of the statues. They hung in the air, coiled around a needle as long as Senbonzakura.

"Greetings, prospective summoner!" The white dragon spoke. His, for there was no doubt it was male, voice was gruff.

The other dragon, a female, continued where he left off. "You have passed the test, now take this needle, and present it to Lord Ryuma."

"Thank you …" Naruto approached them, feeling slightly bemused. As his hand closed around the large needle, the dragons unwound and proceeded to float in the air. Their tails flicked back and forth idly like a cat's.

"I'd hurry if I were you, you're running out of time." The black dragon chided him, it reminded him of the matron at the orphanage chastising him.

Naruto shook his head. After thanking the dragons once more, he took off using his Flash Step. There was no need for a light this time, his Sharingan helped guide him along the correct path. In seconds he was shooting out into the bright sunlight, eyes squinted shut against the shift in illumination.

The trip back was much rougher. By the time Naruto dashed up the waterfall on the main island, his lungs were burning as they had from the journey to the second shrine. When he finally burst into the cavern where Ryuma made his home, his vision was blurring. Naruto collapsed to a knee before the massive dais, struggling to maintain consciousness. His thoughts were as sluggish as his body. 'What's going on here, this isn't just the Flash Step.'

While he was busy gathering his wits, Ryuma raised his head curiously. "I see you have completed the test. Very well, we shall accept you as our summoner. Step forward and give me the needle."

Naruto fought his body's sluggishness and stood up. He limped forward and offered up the sword-like needle. Ryuma grasped it carefully between his teeth. After, his tail snaked into the folds of his kimono and withdrew a scroll, similar in size to Jiraiya's toad scroll. The scroll rolled across the ground and spread open. Unlike the toad scroll, there were only a few names. They were blackened and faded with age. Naruto stepped onto the dais and turned the scroll around properly.

One quick application of chakra too his tooth, he nicked his thumb and began to write his name on the contract, finishing by bloodying his fingers and pressing them onto the contract. It was done. He rolled up the contract and offered it back to Ryuma.

"You may keep it. Just protect the scroll, we prefer not killing unworthy summoners, but from time to time it is needed." Naruto nodded and sealed the scroll into his wrist guard. Ryuma noted the fact he didn't make to leave. "Is there something else, boy?"

"Yes. Right now, I'm competing in a promotion exam to become chunin, a higher rank. If it's not too much trouble, I was hoping I could stay here and train with the dragons."

Ryuma regarded him with amusement. "That is acceptable. We dragons are highly versatile. Though we use the elements, out main skill is in manipulating Yin and Yang chakra, and their combined form. For now, I'll send for someone to take you to a place you may stay. Tomorrow you'll begin your training to learn our techniques."

True to his word, Ryuma had a medium-sized green dragon come to escort Naruto to one of the sleeping caves. The dragon, Furyu, was fascinated by Naruto. He asked all manner of questions about humans. From how they slept to, bizarrely enough, what it was like having hands.

"That's hard to answer, useful, I'm not sure how I'd function without them." Naruto answered honestly."

"Weird, I don't know what I'd do if I suddenly had useful arms." Furyu commented as he twisted through the air next to Naruto. It would take some getting used to seeing dragons flying about.

Eventually, after traversing a tangled net of smooth-sided tunnels of varying size, they arrived into a tunnel clearly designed for smaller dragons. Furyu led him to the entrance to a cave that was nearly as large as Naruto's apartment. Though perhaps calling it a cave was disingenuous. The walls were smooth and curved, like someone had taken a giant ice-cream scooper and scooped out the rock. The room was lit with flame lamps that didn't seem to have a fuel source. Against the far wall was a raised platform of stone, it took a second to realize it was meant to be his bed.

"Feel free to make the room your own. The switch to the lamps is over there," Furyu pointed at a recessed indent in the wall. "I'll leave you to settle in." The dragon bowed his head respectfully before spinning about and zooming off.

Naruto stared after him with keen interest. "Man, that's cool! I wonder what techniques I can learn from them." Now that he'd had time to focus, he could feel that neutral feel from every single dragon around. With his interest in crafting jutsu, especially his barriers, the dragons were surely the perfect summons for him to take his skills to a new level.

After using an earth jutsu to create a desk and chair, as well as a makeshift closet, Naruto went about setting out his supplies. Finally, many hours later, everything was too his liking. He settled into his futon on the stone platform for a fitful night of sleep, too excited for the next day to rest easily.

The next morning Naruto woke up to the piercing ring of his alarm clock. With a grumble he rolled out of bed and swapped his clothes for a fresh outfit, he'd have to speak to someone later about where he could bathe. After unsealing the supplies, he hastily threw together a simple but hearty meal of fish stew, using some dried smoked salmon and vegetables. He was just polishing off the last of the thick broth when a green dragon the size of his arm poked its head through the entrance to his room.

"He … Hello, I've been sent to collect you." The dragon seemed shy. If he had to guess by the pitch of its voice, it was a younger male dragon.

"Got it, I'm ready." As Naruto followed the dragon back through the winding tunnels to the main throughway, he noted how jittery it seemed. "Nervous?"

"A little. I've never been asked to do a task personally by lord Ryuma!" The green dragon replied with wide yellow eyes.

Instead of taking the route towards the massive entrance, his guide took Naruto out a side entrance that was human sized. From there they took a path through the trees, until they reached the lake, where the green dragon began to move towards one of the larger islands. Naruto frowned as he noted his breath become labored, even at a relatively sedate pace.

Soon, their destination took greater shape. This island was tall, with a great spire of black rock at its center. Mountainous terrain gave way to lush fields on the outskirts, with scattered stretches of gnarled trees dispersed throughout.

The green dragon led Naruto to one of the open fields, where a red dragon awaited. It was large, but nowhere near the size of Mizuchi or Ryuma. The dragon had to be as long as a train car, with a black underbelly and white main. A wispy white beard trailed from its chin. The red dragon regarded them with narrow crimson eyes.

"You may leave, Goko." The small green dragon nodded nervously, before darting away. Naruto was left alone with the red dragon. The dragon looked at him as if he were a puzzle that needed to be solved. Naruto waited for him to speak first. He got the feeling impatience wouldn't be rewarded. Finally, the dragon snorted. "My name is Ryujiro. I'm still not convinced Ryuma should have let you sign the contract."

Naruto wasn't quite sure what to make of that statement. "What do you mean?"

The red dragon narrowed his eyes. "Our training methods are unique, they shouldn't be lightly shared. However, Ryuma has deemed you worthy, thus, I shall teach you. Now sit and listen." After Naruto had sat down cross-legged, the dragon continued. "We dragons manipulate the Yin and Yang natures to a higher degree than anyone. As we do not have useable arms, we train to use them without seals. It shall be my mission to teach you these methods. First, you must learn to create form from nothingness, like so."

Ryujiro's chakra pulsed, and a wooden puppet appeared out of thin air. "Then, give life to that which has none." The puppet sprang to life and began to dance about. With one last pulse of chakra, the puppet disappeared.

"I'm going to learn how to do that?" Naruto asked in wonder. The power to create anything was shocking, it seemed like a bloodline more than a regular jutsu.

"That, and more, though it will take some time to get that far. At the very least, by the time you leave here you shall have a far greater grasp on the role Yin and Yang play in jutsu creation, and how you'll have learned a few of our tricks. Though we shan't neglect your physical training. I'm sure you've noticed by now, there is something more taxing about this place."

Naruto nodded in agreement. "Ever since I got here, physical tasks are harder."

"That is to be expected, given we're miles above sea-level here. The air is thin, making oxygen intake harder. By the time you leave your physical skills will take a drastic leap. Now, enough talk, let us get to training."

Under Ryujiro's instruction, Naruto began the difficult first step to mastering Yin and Yang Style. The first, required him to visualize what he wanted to create, and then use his chakra to give it form. It was harder than it sounded, requiring immense concentration and a large amount of chakra. For once, he was actually pushing his reserves to the limits. Yang wasn't much easier, it required using his chakra to give life to things that had none. In this case, a rock or stick.

While his clones trained on the chakra side of things, Naruto himself was devoted to physical training. He spent grueling days trying to adapt to Ryugu Lake's harsh atmosphere. It almost felt like he was beginning his physical training all over again. That first day, it was all he could do to swallow down some dried meat and crawl into bed. Days turned into weeks. Weeks filled with not else but training.

In the few quiet moments he found two things weighed heavy on Naruto's mind. The first, was his relationship with Sasuki. Though he regretted how he said them, there was truth in the words he'd said to her. He couldn't put all the blame on himself. Also, he increasingly found himself mulling over the some of the things she and Sakura had said.

'Thought we meant more than that … leave it to a guy to be clueless? Could, does Sasuki have a crush on me?' Naruto nearly dismissed the idea as soon as he thought it. It was ridiculous, they'd been friends for so long, it was impossible to imagine Sasuki harboring those kinds of feelings for him. Even though now that his mind wandered there, he couldn't help but compare how she looked, and it made him feel compared to Temari and Samui. He found Sasuki was just as appealing, with her graceful form and budding curves, she was the spitting image of her mother, who had been his first child-like crush.

At other points, Naruto found himself thinking about his upcoming fight against Neji. Even now, thinking of the disdain with Neji treated Hinata made his blood boil. He couldn't fathom how anyone could so callously and intentionally try to hurt their family. It reminded him of Itachi, and the aftermath of his betrayal. Combined with the dismissive attitude the boy had … Naruto thought it was high time that someone knocked him off his high horse.

Finally, the day came when he had to leave.

Naruto stood surrounded by Mizuchi, his instructor Ryujiro, and a dragon named Tatsuya that had pale blue scales and a midnight black mane. Tatsuya was to be one of his personal summons, a transport dragon to get him back home quicker.

"So, you are clear what you must do after the finals to make communication easier?" Mizuchi asked in his low rumble of a voice.

"Yes, I need to set up a shrine that will connect this summoning home to the Hidden Leaf. The instructions are right here." Naruto held up his wrist, indicating a blue dragon tattoo winding around his wrist. It would serve as the basis for an array that would connect the Leaf to Ryugu Lake, as well as make it faster to summon.

As he mounted Tatsuya, Naruto waved goodbye to the dragons. It seemed early to call them friends, but a bond was already forming between them.

"Remember boy, don't forget to summon my daughter! She will be your main summon unless one of us bigger dragons is needed for battle." Mizuchi growled.

"Will do boss!" Naruto offered one last wave as Tatsuya leapt into the air. He was on his way to the finals!

x-x-x-x-x-x- NTUC -x-x-x-x-x-x

Well his summon is finally revealed, eastern dragons! Some people guessed this, a lot of people commented on how cliche it was. And to be fair, the trope of dragons has been worn down to a degree. The difference here is these dragons will be another summon species. So they aren't going to be unbeatable or anything. They have their limitations and I have equally strong summons lined up for Sasuki and Sakura.

They actually form a new "Triple Threat" As it were due to having animals inspired by the Guardians of the Four Directions.

Once again, I have to tell you how grateful I am for the support of my patrons. Chapter 52 is out on my pat reon now, membership begins at $1.

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Until Next Time,

RinneTaicho, Signing Off!