Chapter 11: Family trees and other forestry

Before we got very far, I had to do one of the hardest things you could ask of a human being.

Admit to a smug bastard that you had been wrong, and they had been right.

Surprisingly, I wasn't talking about Orochi. For once.

"Say it one more time," that annoying fucker demanded. Just from his tone, I knew that he was grinning disgustingly.

Maybe if I put enough chakra in the clone jutsu it would last long enough to make a turtle soup? Food for thought. (Hah)

"You were right," I gritted out between clenching teeth.

Isobu cackled in glee.

"Again!"

"… Do I hear you wanting to sing some Jonas Brothers again?"

"I'll be shutting up now."

Ha, can always get him with that. He doesn't like their stuff, says it's got no substance but is catchy enough to drive him mad.

I heard a sigh to our right and turned to Orochi just in time to see him glaring at the sky. He lowered his gaze onto us and drily asked:

"Why did I miss you again?"

It had the perhaps opposite effect of what he intended. I cooed, sour mood gone.

"Did you hear that, Isobu? He missed me! I missed you too, Orochi," I squealed and threw myself at him with open arms.

Now, I used to do this kind of thing every now and then. Because it was hilarious. The first time, I actually got Orochi to hiss as he recoiled away from my touch.

So, you can imagine my surprise when my arms closed not around air but around the real Orochi. Though he stiffened, he did not try to struggle free.

My heart just melted. Puddle on the floor. I felt like crying.

I shifted my hug from a comedic belly-hugging to a real hug. And maybe I shed a few tears into his shoulder. That was only for me and him to know.

The reason for me admitting that I had been wrong was that I felt better than before. Just a couple of hours and the world looked a hell of a lot brighter.

And the next few weeks of traveling confirmed that. It felt … It felt like the roundtrip I had gone on with my best friend after graduation.

We stopped at an inn for a couple of days where I finally gave Orochi his long-awaited longevity seal. I did not want to see my best friend being ripped apart in some inane quest of vengeance of mine.

After that, it didn't take long until we arrived in the Land of Grass. And to my surprise – it was actually kind of beautiful?

While Konoha was surrounded by trees, the majority of those forests were monocultures, remnants of the Shodaime's influence on the landscape of the Land of Fire. It was disquieting sometimes. To me at least.

My family, my first one that is, owned a small section of forest and as such we were responsible for it. We used the wood of harvested trees to heat our house and had to replant those trees. Each year, my father took me with him and each year, we planted a different kind of tree.

I admit freely that I did not understand the first thing about forestry. Still don't. But our little forest was beautiful in my biased opinion. And Konoha's surroundings were less so.

But these forests reminded me of my first home. Well, except when the trees turned to giant mushrooms or bamboo. Very different but no less amazing.

Though the shinobi-part of my brain judged them to be a good defense for the Kusa-nin. The ones who knew these woods and how to move in them had a clear advantage in a fight.

Shaking off unwanted thoughts, I turned my attention to the path in front of us. Hidden in the grass seemed about right. Of course, we couldn't take the main road, the road merchants and civilians used to get in the village. But off-road the weeds grew like it was no one's business. On some stretches it reached up to my hips.

I was almost certain that ticks wouldn't be a problem because they would avoid someone with as much chakra as I had. But almost wasn't absolutely. And I hated ticks.

It was also humid. Disgustingly muggy. It had me inordinately glad that I had ditched wearing a hoodie under my haori. Sure, it made some of my seals more visible, but I preferred the easier access. And I didn't have to rely on their surprise effect any longer anyhow.

I almost sighed out loud when we finally broke through the thick underbrush to catch our first glance of Kusagakure.

"Finally going to tell me what exactly we are doing here?" Orochi asked quietly after a moment of silent examining.

I could hear how he had his eyebrow raised at me.

"Nope," I replied cheerfully.

"Takeshi – " Orochi began to complain.

"You'll see soon," I interrupted him.

He huffed but let it be.

Sneaking in had been easy.

To be fair, we were round about S-rank as shinobi and Kusa was not one of the main villages.

The Land of Grass was a small country, wedged in between two big ones that did not like each other much; Fire Country and Earth Country. Supposedly, grass-nin were good at diplomacy and reading the tensions between other countries. No doubt because they had to.

Like Rain Country, Grass Country's location between the bigger nations meant that it would be ravaged in one of the shinobi's wars, even if it tried to stay neutral.

The hospital was smaller than I had expected. I knew that Konoha's was most likely the biggest one outside the capitals. Still, this one seemed tiny in comparison. Barely larger than your average family home.

It was nearing nightfall and with the sky darkening, Orochi and I had a great view of the going-ons in the hospital from the roof of the building on the opposite side of the street.

To his credit, Orochi had taken one look at the red-haired lady working tirelessly and the equally red-haired child trailing behind her and let out a quiet "Oh".

While watching the two and how they were treated, my face went from neutral to furious to murderous. I saw the mother having to hold herself up on doorframes and the edges of tables again and again while her mostly silent minder just wordlessly shoved more chakra pills in her direction. Little Karin clearly worried about her mother but her fearful glances at the tall shinobi, always in the corner of the room, made it obvious why she held back.

I wasn't much older than her when I first brought up that particular Uzumaki inheritance to Miko-baa-chan.

I had dug my way through her library of scrolls for weeks before I found even a mention of it. Unrestricted access to that library had been a birthday present (the best one, in my opinion) – as long as I promised to never ever try anything mentioned on my own without Granny's approval.

"Baa-chan? Baa-chan, I have a question!" I called out while storming into her study.

The corner of her mouth twitched upwards as she laid her brush to the side and turned to me, gracefully composed as always.

"And what is it this time?" she asked with a gentle smile, already used to this song and dance. It did happen almost every day.

"Is it true that Uzumaki chakra is so dense that it can heal just by ingesting it? That would be so handy!" I gushed excitedly.

It would give me quiet a leg up.

That excitement died a quick death as Mito-baa-chan's amused expression morphed into panic. Her usually measured gait was gone as she stood up and kneeled down in front of me in a flash. Gently, she cradled my face in her hands and met my wide eyes with a searching gaze.

"This is very important, Takeshi –" Oh. Oh, she only ever called me Takeshi when it was really bad. "- where did you hear that from?"

"I read it," I blurted out and weakly raised the scroll in my hand. "I didn't find much on it. Is the healing not good?"

Mito-baa-chan led her hands fall and she softly took the scroll from my hands. She opened and screened it.

"It's not dangerous, per se. Not to anyone but the Uzumaki themselves. Takeshi, I need you to understand, the Uzumaki fought long and hard to keep this information as secret as possible," she explained.

Then she walked back to her desk. She laid the scroll in the middle of a fresh page and let her brush dance across it. I loved watching her seal. Her fluid gracefulness captivated me enough to not take notice of what she was doing. So, I startled badly when the seal was completed and the scroll within turned to dust.

"Baa-chan?"

She sighed and returned to my side, pulling me into her arms as she began to tell me of my clan's history. Of how the ability to heal others through a bite had seemed like a blessing at first. And how it had turned into a nightmare when other clans caught wind of it. How they were hunted, for a long time.

Apparently, it had been that persecution that had led the Uzumaki to settling in whirlpool. And it drove them towards sealing.

"As the story goes, one of the elders, a master of Fuuinjutsu, developed the most beautiful, complex seal the world had ever seen. It sealed knowledge. All around the world, no one would remember," Baa-chan whispered.

There was wonder in her voice and melancholy in her eyes as her thoughts got lost in the past.

"Have you seen it?" I asked curiously.

"No. And I don't suppose I will," she smiled sadly.

I winced and hugged her tighter. She squeezed back.

"Such a magnificent seal came with a price, though. To protect his clan, the elder sacrificed his life. That is why we honor his memory by keeping the secret."

Because Baa-chan was amazing, she agreed to tell me everything that she knew. She trusted me to understand the consequences of my actions.

Apparently, almost any Uzumaki could transfer chakra that way. Though the healing properties of their chakras differed wildly from giving a little energy boost to healing almost any ailment.

"Personally, mine were quite strong," Baa-chan reminisced.

"Were?" I asked.

A sad glint appeared in her eyes.

"At some point my chakra got … contaminated for the lack of a better word. It's actively corrosive now."

Kurama, clearly. I didn't dare ask how she came to know what kind of effect her chakra had now. It must have been a dire situation with how insistent she was on keeping this secret. And it didn't seem to have ended well. That much stood written on her face. I regretted bringing up the topic in the first place.

Torn between the past and silently stewing in my anger, I waited, Orochi quiet beside me.

Finally, when the sun had long since set and even little Karin had trouble staying on her feet, the mother-daughter pair was sequestered into a small house out back. It wasn't hard to notice the bored guards, some chunin more occupied with playing cards than actually keeping an eye on the Uzumakis inside the house. It was even easier to knock them out.

I could hear the soft voice of the mother singing a lullaby for her daughter from outside the door. I knocked. The voice stopped abruptly.

A moment of silence.

Gentle steps approaching the door. It opened by a tiny margin, just enough that a sliver of candlelight illuminated my face. She froze and I could hear her breath hitch. I pressed down the urge to stiffen or throw around sound dampening seals in case she screamed.

"Hello. My name is Takeshi Uzumaki," I said and braced for whatever her reaction would be.

I did not expect her to push the door open and hug me. I could feel her relief wash over me like a wave. Carefully, I wrapped my arms around her thin frame and closed my eyes, savoring in the feeling of having gotten back a piece of family.

"Fumi," she said with a crooked grin when we separated again.

"Come in, I gotta show you to Karin," she announced and grabbed my hand to pull me inside.

I don't know who looked more startled, Karin or I, as we stared at each other in astonishment. She was tiny but not malnourished. Her long red hair was much bushier than mine, the color was the same though.

Finally, I smiled at her mischievously.

"I like your hair," I said.

She blinked at me, her brain computing my words only sluggishly because of how exhausted her body was. Then she laughed. She grinned conspiringly.

"I like yours too."

"Well, everybody is blessed with the ability to grow long luscious locks except me apparently," Fumi grumbled, a playful glint in her eyes.

I looked at her more closely. I had done so before when she had been at the hospital, but she seemed like an entirely different person now. The meekness was gone, no trace of it left. She looked much younger too. The only thing that hadn't changed was the tiredness around her eyes and how emaciated she was. Signs of chronic chakra exhaustion. And it was a bad case, he could tell from years of experience as a med-nin.

She wore her bold red hair in a bob that had grown out just enough for her to tie most of it back in a top knot. Her dark eyes sparkled with excitement that contradicted my knowledge that she should be near immobile with how sever the signs of chakra exhaustion were with her.

"And this is my trusty companion, Isobu!" I announced with played-up grandeur as I picked up the turtle off my head. He posed appropriately as I held him towards a giggling Karin.

"It is I, Isobu! The great turtle! It is nice to meet you, young Uzumaki!"

"Hello Isobu. My name is Karin. It's nice to meet you too."

As those two got acquainted, I turned to Fumi. I pushed my sleeve up and held my bare forearm in front of her mouth.

Fumi's eyes widened in surprise and flicked over my shoulder for a split second.

"I trust him," I confirmed quietly.

Her confidence in being able to trust me stood steadfast in a way that I couldn't dwell on in fear of my eyes becoming suspiciously moist when she opened her mouth and bit down on my arm.

The sensation was a weird one when my chakra started to leave through a more unusual place. It was uncomfortable though. And well, I had more than enough to spare.

I could feel Orochi's curious gaze on my back but kept my attention on how Fumi was doing. I raised my unoccupied hand to her forehead and used a simple diagnosis jutsu that had become so much of routine that I had been able to use it sealessly for years.

The amount of chakra it took to have her back at a level I deemed acceptable had me utterly furious with Kusa once again.

I was just glad that I could still use it this way. That Isobu's chakra didn't have the same corrosive effect that Kurama's had.

We three adults sat down after, each with a cup of tea in hand.

"This is very good tea," Orochi complimented, mild surprise in his tone.

I raised my eyebrow in surprise. Orochi was always very particular with his tea. It was a bit bitter for my taste, though I almost exclusively drank fruity blends which had Orochi exasperated with me.

"Yeah, I grow it myself. In my herb garden out the back."

I sighed and rolled my eyes.

"This is Orochimaru, by the way," I introduced my friend. "Could have at least said your name before getting to the tea."

Fumi laughed.

"I don't mind," she assured me with a bright grin.

Karin stormed to the table with an excited smile, holding Isobu over her head and setting him down with care before climbing the seat next to her mother and staring at her critically for a moment while they were at the same height. Then she brightened some more and threw her arm around Fumi's throat, letting herself hang. Fumi scooped her up in her arms and tickled her, setting off a giggle fit.

"She'll get along great with Naruto," Isobu told me.

"Naruto?" Fumi asked.

"My nephew."

A flash of longing in Fumi's eyes told me just how much she missed her clan. I couldn't imagine how the destruction of Whirpool had affected her, losing so much family and community all at once. Though there must have been more that happened to her to lead her to Kusa. She must have been desperate for protection if she used her Uzumaki chakra as a bargaining tool.

"I like them, Kaa-san," Karin announced out of nowhere.

"You do?" Fumi looked down at her daughter with fondness.

"Yeah, they feel nice."

Fumi booped Karin's nose, making the child scrunch her face.

"What did we say about verbalizing those feelings?"

"Hm, well… Isobu feels like water. Very calm and big. Takeshi-san feels like, um… Like the air after a thunderstorm in the summer! But also like you a bit? He feels like home. And Snake-san feels kinda like the garden snake I always try to feed. The one that just always looks like it's judging me…"

Definitely a born sensor then. And by the way her mother was teaching her, it was hereditary.

I had never seen Orochi look so insulted in my life. Trust a kid's honesty to burn your ego to the ground. I knew I had to try to stay quiet. Laughing would just draw his ire.

"A garden snake," Orochi hissed.

I let out a snort and clapped my hand over my mouth.

"Sort of slimy," Karin contributed helpfully.

I made eye contact with Fumi, who herself was desperately suppressing a smile.

"Sssslimy!"

It was hard to control the laughter after that. Isobu, Fumi and I laughed out loud as Orochi stewed in indignation. Even Karin giggled at him.

"Like some common garden snake," he grumbled.

"But much bigger," Karin tried to console him. Unhelpfully.

"I spy with my little eye … something green."

"Is it another tree?"

"… Yeah. I don't think this game is working anymore," Karin complained with a pout.

Well, it sounded like a pout. I couldn't see on accord of her sitting on my shoulders where she was braiding flowers into my hair.

"Such is the view on Konoha's streets," I agreed with a sigh.

"Your forest is so boring."

"I know!"

"Kaa-san! Snake-oji-san! I need more flowers!"

Orochi sighed. Deeply. Probably thoroughly regretting his decision to come along. Maybe I should have warned him about the potential child coming along for a part of the way. He was not great with children. Oh, they loved him. But the adults always quickly herded them away when he started looking murderous.

Getting out of Kusa had been easy. I took Karin, Orochi took Fumi, and we raced it out of there before the morning. Then we slowed down. They wouldn't follow us and even if, Fumi - as an excellent sensor in her own right – would warn us before they could get anywhere near us.

"I need some blue and white ones. Right here, don't you think?" Karin murmured to herself and Isobu who had switched one redhead for another and was Karin's studious assistant.

I didn't mind. Karin was adorable.

And it was hilarious how she drove Orochi insane.

"Hey, snake-bastard! What were you thinking!" a familiar voice called from afar.

A moment later we stood opposite from Jiraiya, Hiruzen and several Anbu squads.

… I knew we had been nearing the village, but this was one hell of a welcoming committee. We must have been spotted by a passing patrol. Still.

"Orochimaru, why did you just leave the village like that?" Hiruzen asked with restrained anger in his voice.

I leaned over to Orochi.

"I thought you 'cleared it' with the old man?" I whispered urgently.

"Mostly, I said," he corrected.

I gave him a look.

"I let Tsunade handle it."

I gave him another look.

"I left her a note."

I groaned. Well. Not like I could talk. Glass houses and stones and all that.

"Is that … Is that your brat?! Did you cheat on snake-bastard? Is that why you were gone for so long?" Jiraiya shrieked loudly.

"I – what?" I asked dumbly.

I gaped at Jiraiya who gaped back as I heard Isobu giggling and Orochi sigh next to me.

AN:

Karin is so cute and Fumi's character just wrote itself, not gonna lie. Damn, Uzumaki lore took over the chapter again when I just tried to steer the fic towards more action. Takeshi was like: hold up, not so fast. There's still shit for me to do.

But! Next up: Takeshi meeting chibi Naruto! Takeshi meeting a certain shark-boy! Takeshi spreading the word of the goodness that are turtles! (And maybe finally a little more actualy fighting. No promises on that tho. I just know that Naruto is gonna be a scene stealer.)