Sound of Mindful Winds

by Havoc-Teir

Pain's attack decimated the Hidden Leaf. With the people saved, many questions, yet one of them suddenly was brought to the attention of many when the Fire Daimyo yelled "You banished the Namikaze clan!" it was then the Rookie nine noticed the absence of two of their members, Ino and Naruto. None would hear of them for over a decade but there return would shake the world.

5. Chapter 5

Chapter Four; Duly noted

Sunagakure; Kazekage office

"I'm telling you, I have a bad feeling about this…" Naruto states stepping into the office behind Tamari who sighed with a soft smile "You're too paranoid." As they step up before her brother who was staring out at the village, they all called home "There's been a situation." His grave voice called their entire attention to him, their relaxed attitudes vanishing as two shinobi now stood before their Kage "The wind Daimyo has given us an order to escort him to lightning country for trade talks."
"I was unaware that they even had correspondence, Lord Kazekage." Tamari stated to which her superior nodded as he turned back to them with a very serious visage "Neither did I. Seems some 'Unofficial' talks has been going on for some time and our lord simply didn't think we needed to know; not until now." He takes his seat, swinging back to them with his fingers immediately interlaced while looking at them both "This will be an S-class mission, ordered by the Daimyo himself. Lord Namikaze will be acting as primary bodyguard; Pick your squad from this list…" pulling out a folder from his top draw "…Tamari will be your second." Naruto nodded as he retrieves the folder as the Kage turns to his sister "Tamari; Although his second in command, you will be overseeing the interests of Sunagakure throughout the negotiations. As our top diplomat, your mission will be the hardest to pull off. I can trust you with this, right?"
"But of course, Lord Kazekage." She nods curtly and without hesitation "You leave for the capital in three days. Be sure to make it there before they depart a week later. Dismissed." The two salutes before heading to the door but Naruto stops and glances back "Hey Gaara, don't forget the gathering tonight. Both clans will be in attendance." His casual demeanour was immediately able to dismiss the professional atmosphere that had developed during the meeting and everyone, even the hidden Anbu, felt more at ease "I will be there." Gaara responds as stoically as ever but both Naruto and Tamari could see the ghost of a smile, he had at the thought of a family get together.

Sunagakure; Namikaze Compound

Gaara could be seen entering the grounds of the Namikaze, the seals on the gate to the clan only area leaving him unhindered. Stepping into the yard he was greeted by his entire family, wife and child among them. It was weird to him for but a moment, he pondered about how much his first friend and brother in all but blood had changed the course of his life. He now had precious people, a family of his own which are now here filling his ears and giving him a sense of contentment "Gaara, my friend…" Naruto smiling in his approach taking up his arm in a shake "…my brother."
"Naruto. I was just reminiscing of our friendship." Gaara says as the two move toward the party "With or without the beating I gave you?" Naruto says in jest causing the sand beneath his feet to begin to swirl viscously "I'm kidding…" with his hands raised and the sand settles down "…mostly. Anyway…" swiftly changing the subject "…the business is going well and all but the kids are getting restless. When are we hosting the exams?"
"Two months. Though, last I checked they weren't even in the academy yet. Why do you ask?"

"As true as that may be, I was wondering if we could discuss that particular issue tomorrow morning, if you have the time." Naruto asks and his friend nods "Very well. If you've personally trained them, I have no doubt in regards to their strength." Naruto beamed at that "Thank you, Gaara. Means a lot."

After a night of family bonding and smiles, Naruto and Ino retreat to their bedroom and as Naruto lays spooning his wife she speaks up "Hey… Whiskers." Her soft tone and nickname use puts the clan head on high alert as he also senses the growing tension in her body as he continues to stroke her lovely sily platinum blonde hair "Mmm." His elegant response that allows her to know that he was indeed listening "…I have a request."
"A request?" he questioned, and she nods very meekly, too meekly for Naruto who is now on a full red-alert mode and his eyes drift to the window, partly open with a soft breeze. Eyes then turning to the draws with the emergency chocolate stashed, the wardrobe he knew held the reserve red wine from vegetable country in case she needed to forget tonight "Yeah. I request." He notices her biting her lip and no considers that sushi place should still be open, a shadow clone could get there and back in about twenty minutes "I know this could spell trouble… an… an all…" this stutter just upgraded this from Red to Black alert, she was about to do something stupid, and he knew it. Still, he couldn't do anything but let her as she had aloud him to do some really, really stupid shit. Absent mindedly Naruto also decided to grab some chocolate ice cream they had in the subterranean pantry. Perks of being in league with merchants "Just tell me." He presses slowly, softly running his fingers down her back as she lays atop his chest "I wanna see my brother." a heavy silence drops over the duo "…I wanna see my papa, my moma." Silence. Some minutes later he speaks up "Let's hear what you have and let's go from there."

Konohagakure no Sato; Outskirts

A flash of yellow proceeds the two blondes leaving a small shake in the outskirts of the hidden leaf village. "It's been a while since I saw this sight." Ino chuckles softly as her daughter adjusts the bracer and disabling the seal that contained her father's chakra. "So that's Konohagakure?" a young blonde girl of almost eleven barely whispers as she stands outside one of the many small safehouses of her grandfather "Yes, Tsunade-chan." Ino as she finishes strapping the final kunai to her pouch as before joining her daughter staring out at the village in the dusk sky "The place your father and I grew up." Sighing before continuing to explain "Where he was banished from, and I abandoned to follow him." The twin tailed girl looked up to her mother confused "Why was…?"
"It's a story for another day." The older blonde states firmly with a raised hand "Right now however…" holding up a tri-pronged kunai "…I believe your father showed you how to connect to your grandfathers' seals, right?"
"Yeah but it takes a minute or so longer than dads." Tsunade mentions as her mother nodded at her "That's fine. We aren't engaging in combat." kneeling down Ino places her finger upon her daughter's head and focuses "Connection open. Link Achieved." A mental whisper and both their eyes glow slightly before fading "Now then. I want you to supress your signature and wait here. I'll be back in less than an hour."
"Just as dad showed me, right?"
"Exactly. Do not wonder off or allow yourself to be caught by anyone." Ino ordered with all due seriousness "Yes, mama!"
"Oh…" Ino remembering the last point "…and do not mention your name if confronted and call upon me if you are discovered, okay?"

Konohagakure no Sato; Yamanaka Compound

Inochi Yamanaka just stepped through the flower shop to reach his office only to pause upon noticing a familiar silhouette "Hi Daddy." He froze, stepping back before looking over at his smiling daughter with a wave "I…Ino…?" a massive blonde missile smack into him, hugging him "I've missed you so much, daddy!"
"Ha… how are you here?" the man struggles as his daughter slackens her grip on him "Well…" she sighs before looking up into his eyes "Shika came to spy on Suna and…" his eyes widen "That was you?" and she nods solemnly "Dad. I need you, even if it is only just you, to understand why I did it." He guides his long-lost daughter to the kitchen and made two cups of tea.

A sip of the calming Jasmin mix of tea prepared for her by her father caused Ino to develop a small, soft smile that was observed by her father who leaned forward after his initial sip, arms upon the table around his cup "So, do you want to tell me why you feel the need to vindicate yourself to me?"
"Naru doesn't think I did anything wrong, though he also said that it was the best of numerous bad options." Ino began as if trying to fit together the bigger picture "Neither of us wanted to just…" she looked dead into her father's eyes "…we didn't want to…"
"I understand." Inochi smiles with a soft smile, and she nods "…but as we talked, he spoke of things and I just needed… to see you all."
"I doubt you came through conventional means." Inouchi's lips twitch upward "Did you?"
"Well…" Ino then pulled her gaze to the cup in her hands, a heavy sigh slips through her lips "…no." pulling out an all too familiar tri-pronged kunai with a smirk "…though, seeing as this was lodged in the compound…" a shrug followed by a smirk as she notices the wide-eyed look from her father "You… you know…"
"Kinda." Ino cuts in "Though I can't use it as well as the others." an exasperated sigh again "Even had to get my daughter to bring me most of the way here." The word daughter caught the immediate attention of every Yamanaka within the compound and out of no where they all appeared around the duo.

"Lady Hokage will be pleased at that." One Yamanaka kunoichi squeals "To think, the Namikaze had a kekkei genkai and even that could balance with our own." Another shinobi offers "Saru is a prodigy…" Ino chuckles as many cheers with raised teacups of various tea blends "…though he's a lot like his grandfather." The whole room looks to Inoichi who looked surprised "Oh, his other one." Chuckles light up the room "I'm joking." Ino chuckles "He's more introspective, kind, but also stern, unwavering, and damn right stubborn in the worst ways…" the last part was spoken in a growl which caused her mother to chuckle as she too drinks her tea "…he's a lovely kid, my lovely kid." Her family could all see the love she held for her youngest but that all vanished rather suddenly, and they all seemed to overhear a conversation "…how many?"
"…eight. I can't get clear."
"Right, jump to me!" Ino jumping up, pulling out a black bladed tanto with a sealing script upon its handle which was promptly thrown into the garden. As soon as the blade punches into the dirt, a flash of yellow as a girl rolls into the garden, panting hard and covered in cuts and bruises. Ino was at her side in a moment "Dear… you, okay?"
"Yeah…" the ten-year-old girl breathing heavy but eyes slowly focusing on her mothers the silent conversation heard by the clan as a whole though "How man…?"
"Eight. They were fast but not as fast as Uncle Akito, or Kankurō when you insult the make-up."
"They were Anbu. Any idea whether they tracked you?"
"Possibly. Though, as a blonde, I can't really hide in many places."
"True."
"There's only one place with blondes… the other being the hokage."
"Seeing as I am clearly not her."
"Right. We should leave. Can you connect to your gramps network?"
"Sure. Give me a minute." The young girl pauses before speaking aloud "Perhaps we shouldn't have used the mental link with all these eavesdroppers."
"It was good training." Ino also speaking aloud now "Well, whatever…" an eye roll as she is pulled back to her feet by her mother "…I'll get working on…" her eyes fall upon Inochi "Ah, you must be my grandpa, Inochi Yamanaka." The girl bows respectfully "My name is Tsunade Namikaze, daughter of Naruto and Ino Namikaze. It is a pleasure to…" everyone stiffened as they noticed the heavy presence of Anbu operatives all around the compound, but none dared intrude "Inoichi!" the hokages voice could be heard "I need a word."
"Whatever you plan on doing to leave, I suggest you…"
"…and bring that girl out. We know she's in there."
"Damn it…"
"Nade-chan." Ino calling her daughter who looks genuinely scared "Keep gathering your fathers chakra and as soon as you are ready, grab my hand." The younger blonde simply nods as her mother turns to the grandfather "Dad. I'll take care of this."
"No." he instructs firmly "I will…
"…not get involved. I left. Then entered illegally. If you shelter us, then it won't end well for you." Ino says guiding the young girl toward the garden arches, her clansmen all around watching on in pride as their heiress takes control of the situation.

Tsunade Senju was pissed. Apparently, a blonde-haired girl had ran circles around not one but two squads of her Anbu. As bad as that was, she then heard from said squads that this girl somehow used the flying thunder god technique and vanished toward the village. The only place a blonde could hide would be the Yamanaka, but that then raises more questions. How can a Yamanaka use the fourths justsu? It wasn't until she was standing outside the Yamanaka shop and compound that it hit her. Inoichi's eldest left with her Naruto. If they were to return, then…

From the Arch steps a confident twenty-six-year-old blonde bombshell that none have seen in the village since its reconstruction after the pain attack. All eyes were on her, oblivious to the younger blonde in her shadow silently drawing on the power her father had given to her to assist in this crazy plan of her mother's creation. Dad was always so accommodating for mommy she mused before returning to her task of saving her and her mother. "Ino Yama… ahem… Ino Namikaze. You're not the one I was expecting." Tsunade with a raised eyebrow at her one-time student "Oh? Then perhaps my father was?"
"No. We suspected…" Tsunade paused upon noticing the second presence but even a cursory glance around couldn't locate the source. It didn't take long for Tsunade to notice the ever so confident smirk upon her old students' lips as a small hand is held by Ino who waves and flashes away. "SPREAD OUT! FIND THEM!" the hokage ordered and the Anbu all vanish in all directions.

Konohagakure no Sato; Minato's Safehouse

"That was terrifying." Tsunade Namikaze declared as she flops down on the small bed within the secret hideout of her grandparents. "That it was." Ino chuckling as she rummages through the cupboards for anything of value "Nothing here."
"It's been like forever since anyone's come here, right?" Tsunade questioned to which Ino simply nods at "Then I doubt anything would be."
"True." Ino sighed "I guess. We'll sleep then move out in a few hours."

Sunagakure; Kazekage office

A flash of yellow before Ino and Tsunade appeared in the Kazekage's office, said Kage raises an eyebrow at that entrance before turning his stone face to his left where his brother in all but blood stood looking out at the village "Report." Naruto calls and the two girls stood straight "We infiltrated without issue though, we hit a snag which forced us to make a hasty retreat."
"A snag?" the tallest blonde finally turning back to see his wife and second eldest daughter "I was found by patrolling Anbu." Tsunade growls out "…but as both mom and daddy told me not to hurt them, I didn't just kept running and called mom."
"…that's when I told her to come to me and poof she came."
"Did you meet your old man?" Naruto asks knowing that was the reason, one of the big ones at least, for this crazy ass plan in the first place "Yeah…" Ino nodding with a melancholy smile "…he said he was proud of me."
"What happened that caused you to flee?" Gaara reimplanting himself into the ongoing discussion "Ah, right. We were confronted by four squads of Anbu and the Hokage." Tsunade announced that caused both men to stiffen notiably "Relax you two…" Ino waving their concern off "…I hid her under my genjustsu whilst I confronted them."
"I channeled the chakra from this…" Tsunade raises her gauntlet that her father had made for her "…and connected to grandpa's network and we ran quick and they couldn't get us in time."
"I want a full report on my desk by morning." Naruto ordered toward his daughter who looked why too serious for an academy student "Yes, sir."
"Dismissed." Naruto ordered and said girl vanished back to the family estate much to Ino's amusement "Did you really have to…?"
"It's good practice, right Gaara?" Naruto says looking to his best friend who nodded back, as he leans even further so "Though, they are already Chunin material, we'll start them at Genin for now, as promised."
"Thanks."
"Then, I believe it's time for dinner, no?"
"It is." Naruto confirms for his Kage.

Iwagakure no Sato; Outskirts

"Summoning… justsu…" a puff of smoke tells of the completion of the jutsu "I need you to tell Naruto that my cover was blown. I need an out." The woman tells the brown fox who nods in agreement "I'll be heading to our spot and should be…" she coughs blood, leaning against the cave wall. Her blooded form looked far worst then it was, but her mission was a critical success even though she had been saved yet again by her allies within the village hidden in the stone. A tired sigh followed by a deep throaty growl from the depths of her throat "Tell Namikaze he better hurry, I won't be staying there long." A muted yip from the small fox that pops back out in a puff of smoke, the same way it entered "So, you are a traitor then!" A voice echoes through the small cave system to which the women stiffen "Only now though I have proof. You said Namikaze just now and that was a summoning animal that just left. Foxes can only be attributed to by…"
"Save you breathe, Amir. What do you want?" Kurotsuchi sighs out with annoyance "You're dragging this out for a reason, right?"
"How did…?"
"Please. You think you're the only one with more than a single brain cell?" the kage level kunoichi questioned exasperatedly, turning around with a playful smirk "Besides, I'm not even here right now." Before that statement could be rebuked the girl vanishes in a puff of smoke which only served to confuse the Gem, Hidden Rock version of Anbu, shinobi that were moving to surround her. This caused a brief lull in action as none had known what to do at that point. This would eventually allow the real Kurotsuchi to reach safety much to her Cheshire cat smirk upon her face "Man, I love these shadow clones." A soft chuckle as she continues to speed on to her rendezvous with a certain blonde.

Kirigakure No Sato; Kage's residences

Mei Terumi was pissed, no, damn right furious. To think, this long after peace had arrived, the water daimyo was almost assassinated in her presence. Not only that, the one who did it was a former student of hers and a radical in the worst sense. Now, after having to put one of her own students down for good, the Water Daimyo has intrusted her to get her forces in line. The damn council, in its infinite wisdom, had decided to forgo her authority and tried to go behind her back but unlike in the Hidden Leaf, Mei Terumi was not to be taken lightly and melted the entire council chamber in a pit of lava. Her message was well received by now a nagging feeling on the edge of her senses is driving her insane. It's there but also not. What the hell? Her eyes land on a blank masked Anbu dropping down on her.

A/N;

I have received word that a few are wondering about the previous relations between Tamari and Naruto. I actually have a chapter, probably six at this point, that will basically be one long flashback though I think I may just have a drinking night where Tamari, Ino, Kalia (Kankuro's wife), and Matsuri (Gaara's wife) have a get together to which the girl explains how unusual their relationship begun and how it expanded and how things are now. Ino knew all this and largely stays quite, or blushes at the more raunchy parts. where as the other two, well blush up a storm. I'll decide later but I hopes this will sate your curiosity for now. Thanks. o7

A/N/N;

I'm in two minds about how to handle the Idiot Uchiha. Could have him back in the leaf, relatively sane, or be a complete ass and lead the sound into a loosing war. Spoiler alert I guess, the Sound village is about to get screwed seven times till sunday, and with such a sense of finality to it, that as a writer, i feel bad for it. Kinda. Not really. Pfft. sounds fun no?