Chapter Nineteen - Welcome to Paradise
"Welcome to Uzushio."
Teams Seven and Ten just stared with wide eyes at the scene around them. The first thought that came to mind is that they entered a utopia that would be untouched by war, a paradise beyond mortal thinking. If not for the armed duos that walked through the village with black outfits and long katana at the hip, you would be none the wiser. Even the small rivers that cut through the village only added to the beauty.
The buildings and homes were not like those found around the Elemental Nations. These are a mixture of polished stone and brick, a foreign architecture that seemed more advanced than what the teams are used to but very beautiful. But from the halls and rooms that they past while exiting the building, the dry and boring exteriors of the buildings deceived the well-decorated interiors.
Even outside the village was beautiful as the walls were surrounded by large trees. While a few palm trees dotted inside the village, the ones outside were a mix of birch and yew. However, in the distance, the Konoha-nin can see a large active volcano smoking.
"Uh, Naruto, is it safe to be here?"
Naruto glanced at Ino before looking up at the volcano. "Oh, that's Mount Uzu. Don't worry, it's always like that and it hasn't erupted in… about three hundred years."
"Troublesome," Shikamaru muttered as he stuck his hands in his pockets. "At least the clouds are in clear view."
"I know you'll fall in love with the nighttime, Shika," Naruto teased with a grin before noticing a small group arriving. "Oh, and it looks like you will be meeting the Enforcers earlier than expected."
"Uzumaki-sama," Aizen bowed first, but his eyes drifted to the Konoha shinobi. "And guests."
The group noticed the man's cold voice as he spoke to them and know immediately that they were not liked.
"Aizen, it's good to see you again," Naruto gave a smile. "But let me introduce you all to each other. Everyone, these are my escorts for my visit here. My sensei Kakashi Hatake, my teammates Sasuke Uchiha and Sakura Haruno, Jonin sensei Asuma Sarutobi and his students Shikamaru Nara, Choji Akamichi and Ino Yamanaka."
"Hello," everyone greeted as the two older men bowed. They knew that by rank they were equals but because they are technically in foreign soil, they had to treat them with respect.
"Now, you guys know Ginrei Kuchiki, he is the Captain of the First Division and he and the First Division Lieutenant are always with me. The Lieutenant is Retsu Unohana."
"Greetings," she bowed respectively with a calm smile.
"The Second Division is led by Captain Kirio Hikifune and Lieutenant Hiyori Sarugaki. They will rarely be in the village as their duties require them elsewhere."
"Greetings," the tall and busty woman greeted.
"Hi," the younger girl said with a glance at them.
"And the Third Division is the ones you will be interacting with the most. For your stay here, they will monitor you and check up on you throughout the day if you are not with me. Captain Shunsui Kyoraku and his niece Lieutenant Nanao Ise. Please respect them and their authority for your stay here."
"Nice to meet you," the older man smiled while tipping his straw hat.
"Hello," the girl said, eying them behind her glasses.
"And lastly, the Fourth Division. They are not usually here as they are spread out beyond the islands, but they will be here for most if not all of my stay. Captain Sosuke Aizen and Lieutenant Gin Ichimaru."
Sōsuke gave a nod while Gin just kept his smirk in place.
"Alright," Naruto said as he looked at Shunsui. "Let's head to the hall and discuss what's been happening. Please also send for Lord Phantomhive and Lady Belserion."
"As you wish, Uzumaki-sama," Shunsui nodded and walked off to do as he was commanded.
"The rest of you may meet me at the hall, I will be answering some of my escorts' questions and such before I come."
Everyone but Fourth Division nodded their heads and began walking away, striking up their own conversations. However, Sōsuke and Gin stayed in their spots while keeping an eye on the foreign ninja.
"Is there an issue, Aizen? Ichimaru?"
The two men looked at their Prince when he asked the question, Sosuke taking the moment to answer. "I do not trust them alone in the village let alone with you, Uzumaki-sama."
Naruto sighed, not noticing the confused and offended looks from the teams behind him. "I understand your concern, but do not worry. If you don't trust them that's fine but at least trust me as your leader. I do not lead a rebuilding nation just by name, correct?"
"I would never doubt your abilities," Aizen said after a few moments of silence.
Gin nodded in agreement but his eyes never left the foreign teams.
"Then know that I would be able to handle myself if anything happens. The village is patrolled by countless Enforcers and shinobi and spellswords and mages. It will be hard for someone to not notice their Prince in trouble, don't you think?"
Naruto gave a grin at the taller man, gaining a sigh of resignation and a nod. "I will trust you, my Prince, but if they do anything or I sense something off I will handle it."
Naruto just watched as the two men walked away, calling out of brief farewell until the meeting.
"Well, he sure doesn't like us," Choji said while fidgeting with a bag of chips to get it open.
"And the others seemed alright with us," Sakura pointed out quietly.
"You will find that no one here will trust you so long as they know you are active and loyal Konoha shinobi," Naruto answered truthfully as he turned to them. "The reason is actually because of what caused the downfall of our people decades ago."
"Why would we be hated for something committed by three enemy nations," Sasuke questioned as he crossed his arms. "Seems stupid to me."
"Do you know how the combined forces of Iwa, Kiri and Kumo got here?" Naruto looked between everyone when he asked that question, having even the two Jonin stumped. "Prior to now, the Uzumaki maintained an isolationist policy in regards to the world. That is because of their distrust of the greed for power among many clans, mostly the Uchiha and Hyuuga who were arrogant of their special eyes back during the Warring States era."
"The Uzumaki barely communicated with the Senju due to their ongoing war with the Uchiha, finding them just as violent and untrustworthy as others if only slightly better. We had collected a manner of skills and objects that can bring complete destruction to many clans during the time so we tried to keep our location as unknown as possible."
"Then why did they help create the hidden villages," Ino asked, completely interested in this.
"Because they saw Hashirama and Madara's desire for peace as true and not a farce so they sought to give them the foundations of a safe place to settle down a cooperative society. It went well for a while and a bit of trust was given to Hashirama since he had married the Prince's sister, Mito Uzumaki. What they gave was a seal formula that acted as a key through our defense array."
"Wait, a defense array? Around an entire island chain?" Asuma repeated with a questioning gaze and got a nod. "That would require so much power and maintenance. Even the sensor barrier around Fire is maintained by ten hubs that control specific sectors. How can something like that exist."
Naruto raised and eyebrow at the man. "Seal experts. Uzumaki are seal masters, and we have perfected the art over a multitude of generations."
With a sigh, he continued. "Ginrei told me that they were surrounded by dozens of ships designed by Kiri but none of them approached the Whirlpools. A message had been sent to Konoha to ask Tobirama to send support. A denial was sent as a response, claiming to have their hands full."
"We were struggling in the war," Ino tried to justify with the Academy textbook answer.
"No, Konoha wasn't. Compared to Suna who was facing a famine and Iwa who had a lot of their agriculture burned, Konoha and Fire was doing very well in the war. The fact that most of Konoha's death was due to improper training of their Chunin and the rate of unjustified promotions to leading positions. Either way, the dismissal of aid was a stab in the back to the Uzumaki and retainer clans that had given support during the First and Second Wars."
"So they blame us for their destruction because we didn't help," Shikamaru asked.
"No, that would have been forgotten and we would have moved on from that. But it was on the third day of being cut off by the Kiri ships that our sealing array was taken down. Not dismantled or due to failure, but temporarily taken down from a key seal. That was when my people felt the feeling of betrayal at their throats like the cold blade of a kunai. Because only Hashirama had been given the key seal formula, then only Konoha could have betrayed us."
Naruto let it sink in for all of them. "That has stayed for a lot of the clans and while they seem friendly, they do it for my sake since I still have faith in the village. But do not be fooled, you will be watched closely at every minute of the day."
"Then why is Aizen-san acting outright," Kakashi brought up the man that treated them with open suspicion.
Naruto shrugged his shoulders. "That's how he is but I trust him. You'll have to get used to it."
"So you're okay with them treating us like some kind of illness," Asuma asked.
"As I said, the only reason you are not on house arrest is because of me, so you will have to deal with a few stares and being watched," Naruto answered with a stare at the man. "You are being paid for a monitored vacation, I do not need you as actual escorts but because I am seen as Konoha's ultimate weapon and I would not be allowed to leave alone. You are here to fulfill that requirement, that's it."
Naruto looked at the time before sighing. "I have to go do this meeting. If you do follow me, you will be seated in the back of the room and you will keep your mouths shut. If not, you can go explore but if I find out you had caused trouble and were arrested then I will personally contact Sarutobi-jiji to have you replaced with a different squad."
Naruto turned around and began walking away, leaving a stunned group lagging behind.
"He just got here and he's acting full of himself," Ino growled in frustration.
"He is the leader of a village, he must act in their best interests," Choji tried to defend while eating chips. "I actually appreciate that he trusts us enough to let us see his village. I saw a restaurant back there that I want to try!"
"Of course you would think about food," Shikamaru sighed as he put his hands behind his head and leaned back. "This is troublesome, but at least it gets me away from my mother."
"I think the village is beautiful," Sakura said as she continued to look around. "Certainly not like Konoha, but it's oddly majestic."
"Hn," Sasuke grunted and looked to his left. A group of the black uniformed people were watching them passively but a small glare made it to their eyes. "I already hate this place."
"Well that's not very nice! All we've done is stare at you with suspicion!"
The group looked around for the voice, even Naruto stopping to turn back, but the ninja couldn't find who spoke to them. The voice is deep and clearly masculine, but it sounded so close the person would have had to be next to them.
"Wow, if this is what Konoha-nin are reduced to, then I am concerned for Naruto-kun."
A black cat jumped down from the canopy of a shop to the group's right before walking to the middle of their path but staying far enough away. She is an average sized cat with pure black hair and yellow eyes that stared at them with intelligence.
"Yoruichi-chan," Naruto smiled and crouched down when he got the cat's attention. "Come here. I've been gone for so long and the first time you see me you take the time to tease my escorts instead! I'm hurt!"
The cat trotted over and brushed her head against his hand. "You seem to be the one who misses me the most."
"Yeah, yeah, whatever," Naruto chuckled before taking Yoruichi in his arms, getting a small yowl. "Come, we have a meeting that I'm sure you would be trying to avoid."
The cat grumbled and buried her head in his arm.
"What kind of person names a male cat a female name," Shikamaru asked more to himself but was heard by Yoruichi.
"I wouldn't be commenting on my name when your head looks like a pineapple," she responded loudly.
Naruto chuckled but scratched Yoruichi's ear, "hush."
"Okay, I've arrived," Naruto entered the room and to the front.
The room is a barren room with an oval table in the middle, at one of the ends being a large chair for the Prince while at the other end is empty. A row of chairs lined the wall opposite of the door they entered from, which teams seven and ten took their seats in. In the room are another thirteen individuals. Eight of them known to the Konoha-nin as the Captains and Lieutenants of the Enforcers.
The first is Sui-Feng, the supreme commander of the Onmitsukido. She is a young woman with gray eyes and black hair that she wears short with two long braids bound with white cloth, and ends in a golden ring. She wears a similar uniform as the Captains and Lieutenants of the Enforcers even though it is clear she is not part of the same organization.
The next is a voluptuous woman with scarlet hair and dark red eyes. This is Irene Belserion, the Archmagus of the Chaos Academy that teaches magic and chaos. Her black top has a diamond-shaped opening, exposing a portion of her breasts, and a heart-shaped pattern around the borders. It extends down to her naval. She also wears a long black loincloth with the symbol of the Uzumaki clan emblazoned on its front, having white borders on its edges and being connected to another cloth piece with the same heart-shaped design.
Next is the youngest of the large group, a teenage boy no older than Naruto with gray-blue hair and a light blue eye with the other hidden by an eyepatch, as well as a very feminine appearance. This is Ciel Phantomhive, the Lord of House Phantomhive and the owner of the largest mercantile company known as Funtom Corporation. He just leaned on his hand as if bored of being there, but straightened up when he noticed Naruto enter the room.
Next is an older man with spiky black hair and green eyes. This is Kaien Shiba, the cousin of Ichigo Kurosaki and the head of the Shiba clan. The Shiba clan is the main family with the brother clan being the Kurosaki, which is led by Ichigo's father. He is a Visored of the First Division, which is shown by the Enforcer outfit he is wearing.
Lastly is a man who looked out of place among the uniformed individuals; with blonde hair and gray eyes, a bit of facial stubble is growing on his chin making him look like a homeless man. But this is Kisuke Urahara, the closest related non-Uzumaki to the royal family as his family were only four generations loyal to Uzushio. He is also one of the most dangerous individuals not inside one of the military organizations, as well as his assistant that is not there.
"Ah, sorry I'm late," a dark skinned beautiful woman walked in with a relaxed smile, her dark purple hair in a ponytail revealing a familiar set of yellow eyes. "Had to get decent after traveling earlier."
"Good think too, I don't think Prince-sama's heart would be able to take you flashing a meeting once more," Shunsui teased with a small smile pointed at Naruto.
"Right, right," Naruto interrupted with a small shake of the head. "Before we descend into teasing at my expense, can I please hear what's going on first? And don't worry about my escorts, they're going to remain quiet. Hopefully, I don't think Sasuke has an off switch anywhere, and trust me I've checked. Fruitless."
Before Sasuke could say anything, a hand made it to his shoulder from Kakashi with a warning stare.
"Okay, first, how is Karin-chan and Honoka-san adjusting? Any issues?"
"Karin-san has no issues with her living conditions in the Royal Palace, having built a garden in an unused area in the back," Ginrei responded smoothly. "Honoka-san, however, is an issue."
Naruto raised an eyebrow at this. "Continue?"
"She refuses the authority of anyone claiming to lead a 'dead clan'," Retsu answered with a small sigh and frown. "The woman remains loyal to the Fire Daimyo, claiming him as the new lord of any Uzushio remnant after the royal family died during the Second Shinobi War. She says this as it was her father who had taught her to be loyal to the Daimyo."
"Is her father an Uzumaki?"
"No, her mother was an Uzumaki branch member and married after escaping Uzushio. She died during childbirth, and Honoka-san had no idea of her lineage until we told her."
"Has a blood test confirmed her heritage?"
Ginrei nodded at Kirio's question. "She does have Uzumaki blood, hence her understanding of Fuinjutsu but that seems to be the only ability she has inherited."
"Is she violent," Sui-Feng asked, being the supreme commander of the internal military enforcement.
"No more than any other Uzumaki, she just stays in the house given to her."
"Hm," Naruto hummed before glancing at his team as they watched with interest. "I will talk to her, we can decide what happens after that."
"Wait, you're going to keep that woman hostage here?!"
Naruto looked up at Ino with a frown, and the other individuals turned to look at the blonde. "This is a clan matter, Yamanaka-san. I would not have dishonored your family by having an outburst when among your clan. Do not let that happen again."
Ino gaped at the cold, professional tone the happy blonde gave before turning to her sensei for support. He just stared at Naruto and put a hand on her shoulder.
"If that is all about them then I will move on about the maintenance of Mount Uzu."
"Goody," Kirio smiled brightly. "The alternate realm array is working phenomenally with very little issue, only a few hiccups with tectonic shifts and Mount Uzu just being more active again. The Elders also seem content with what is happening inside, and from what Bazelgeuse has told them they are excited for more."
Naruto chuckled and nodded his head. "There will be more in the coming month if what Ginrei has shared with me is true. Okay, now, the main issue of what I came here for. The rebels. Three and Four?"
Sosuke looked to Shunsui for him to start, since his division handled the care for foreign visitors.
"The refugees seem to be doing alright, and we have began using their labor for reasonable tasks that wouldn't jeopardize our safety or security. The ninja, however, are wary of us and treat us with disdain and suspicion. The worst is the Terumi woman and her inner circle of advisors and commanders."
"The woman is fine, understanding of our caution and that their stay, while being generous and peaceful, is not for free and must contribute for the resources used. She, however, took great offense when it was brought up about her possible ties to stolen Uzumaki blood."
"Was it actually worded as stolen blood or are you speaking that in confidence," Naruto asked with a small narrowed stare.
"Just in confidence, the exact wording being 'the blood of Uzumaki taken to breed exceptional shinobi by a foreign nation'. Not much better, but it's hard to be worded carefully for such a subject," Shunsui answered back with a small sigh.
"True," Naruto nodded his head.
"Her advisors and commanders, especially that one-eyed man with the uniform of a hunter-nin, had tried to convince her that we are trying to make them loyal to us in hopes of stealing their country after they finished fighting. The only reason there hasn't been any violence is because Zabuza-san and Haku-san came to your defense."
Naruto noticed the ending of the report and turned to Aizen. "Anything to add?"
"Other than there having been multiple fights, Kyoraku-san shared everything." Aizen noticed the look for him to elaborate so he continued. "I've dispersed three rising encounters between Uzushio civilians and Kirigakure shinobi. I've arrested fifteen individuals for public fights that are instigated by both sides. Terumi wants our civilians punished but because the fault is from both sides we have just fined the individuals involved and let them go."
"How is Terumi and her officers handling the aggression of those under her command?"
"Not much that we know but other than her throwing a few threats around none of her officers feel like their people are doing any wrong. The older ones know about their involvement in our destruction and have grown up vilifying us."
Naruto just rapped his knuckles on the table in thought. This is a big issue. He knew that it wouldn't be so easy that there would be no issues, that is a fever dream not taking into account the different cultures and different sides they have grown up on. But to think there would be such aggression and tension that he will have to sort out is simply ridiculous.
"I will talk to Terumi-san tomorrow. If Zabuza is still here, please let him know I am here and that he can find me at my home in the morning." Naruto told Shunsui and got a nod in understanding. "Good. Now that those issues have been worked out for now. Sui-Feng, how is the security of Uzushio?"
"No issues in any of our islands, and it seems that many surrounding territories still see us as a cursed island," Sui-Feng informed her Prince. "I will receive the next report in about three hours and will update you when I read it."
Naruto nodded his head. "That's good, that means we don't have much to worry about immediate threats. Now, we will move on to the civilian sectors. Belserion-san?"
"The Chaos Academy is doing well, we have a current graduating class of thirty-three with a new projected year of fifty promising students," Irene answered with a smile. "Our most promising students are Kagenou-san and Midgar-chan."
Naruto nodded. That sounded very good. It would be good to have individuals who can use a different energy source than chakra. "Anything else to add?"
"You still haven't answered my proposal to marry my daughter."
Naruto blushed and glared at Yoruichi as the woman snickered, and sent an exasperated look at Retsu when she began hiding a giggle behind her sleeve. "That is something for Scarlet-chan to bring up to me if she wants to. Please let her decide on her own life herself."
Irene sighed lightly but nodded with a knowing smile. "That will be all, Uzumaki-sama."
Naruto nodded and turned to the twink- young lord. "Ciel-chan, anything to say?"
"Factories are working at full capacity, and our ships are reaching up around into the Land of Snow," Ciel answered with a small glance up at the Prince for the feminine honorific. "Thanks to Shanks and Luffy, we are the only ships left undisturbed from their piracy. Although, Luffy is more just traveling around picking fights and trying to recruit people to Uzushio."
Naruto chuckled at that, knowing it as something the boy would do. "Good to know we have unrestricted access to the seas. How goes setting up trades into Gaal?"
"Very little progress, the continent and their inhabitants don't trust us with the exception of Demon Country largely in part to our representative working to earn the graces of a priestess named Shion. She is the only political figure of the region."
Naruto nodded and thought more about that.
"I'm sorry, but excuse me?"
Naruto looked up at Sakura to see her with her hand raised and a confused look on her face. "Yes, Sakura?"
"What is Gaal?"
Naruto blinked before realizing that his yearmates had no understanding of that name. "Ah, sorry. The name Gaal is the name given to the continent beyond Water and Moon. While much of the eastern continents are much like ours but with different governments and different understanding of Chakra and Chaos, the farther west you go the more different they are. So when I speak of Gaal, I mean the entire continent and would elaborate on the region if I need to."
Sakura nodded her head in acceptance of the answer.
"Keep me updated," Naruto told Ciel and got a nod from the boy.
Turning to the last three, they are the advisors. Kaien is the lord of the Shiba clan who speaks as the ethical voice for all matters, Kisuke is a strong and wise person that is also pretty laid back, while Yoruichi was the previous Supreme Commander of the Onmitsukido before stepping down to relax more as Lady Shihoin. They are the three whose opinions he takes into account the most outside of the Divisions.
"How are the civilians and overall happiness of Uzushio?"
A loaded question, one taken easily by the trio.
"Other than the excitement of you coming home," Kisuke asked with a chuckle.
"Everyone has been happy with how things are going, but that seems to have been kicked into overdrive the moment they heard you would be coming to visit," Kaien smiled in amusement as even his cousin was excited.
"Your arrival seems to wash away any growing animosity with the foreigners," Yoruichi smirked at the young adult. "And it seems that more than a few girls are also excited of your arrival."
Naruto blushed and coughed into his hand. "Yes, that's good. For the citizens, I mean," Naruto clarified with a glance at Yoruichi when the woman began chuckling. "I guess if that is all, I think that I should be a good host and offer to answer any questions my escorts have for me."
With this, Naruto turned his attention to his and Asuma's teams. They all blinked at the sudden attention, and Naruto almost chuckled when he saw Sasuke shudder slightly under the extra analyzing stares of everyone at the table.
"It seems… you have been hiding a lot," Asuma started as he felt put on the spot when everyone was extremely quiet for a few moments. "How did this all start?"
"We found him emotionally and physically deprived," Retsu answered with a stare out of the corner of her eye. She is still upset with the condition she found Naruto in and while he may forgive the village she will only tolerate them. "He was thrown out of the orphanage with no knowledge of his parents' sacrifice and nothing but a stipend from your Kage and a rundown apartment. We didn't even approach him at first, but it turned out that he had contacted Kyuubi while in a coma after passing out in his apartment due to the extreme freezing temperatures."
Everyone tried not to be surprised, but from their looks it seems that his abuse had gone unnoticed to even the two Jonin.
"W-who is we," Sakura asked with a small whisper.
"Unohana-san and I traveled together after meeting up two years after Uzushio's destruction," Ginrei answered this time. "I had my son with me and together we traveled for a long time, making sure no one would know of our loyalty. Our group would grow when my son married and later had children and Retsu found her two daughters and adopted them. We had some belongings, history books and important Uzumaki scrolls, and when Naruto approached us we gave it to him. Since then, we would visit for one week every month."
"At eight years old, I told them I wanted to rebuild my home," Naruto continued, gaining their attention. "It was a few years before the time when I told my entire class what I knew. Ginrei-jijisan and Retsu-baasan went around the world to find the rest of the survivors and retainer clans and brought them here. They also went around and brought civilians in villages that were neglected by their local lords or in need of a proper home. Nearly a third of the civilians who live here are from Gaal, where Irene was a respected protector."
Irene grinned at that as she was very proud of her contribution to keeping people safe even after her home had been destroyed with no hope of going back.
"At first, I was planning to leave the village to be here and lead my people properly as it had gotten very annoying at being called 'Namikaze-sama' even when I wanted to continue having my mother's name. It was also very annoying that everyone acted like they didn't traumatize me throughout my adolescence and stripped me of any possibility of a childhood. Take Sasuke, for instance," Naruto threw his hand up at his raven-haired teammate. "The moment his clan was killed by Itachi, everyone treated him like a walking demigod. They forgot all the awful shit they said about his clan, slandering them to the ground despite being the military police of our village."
Sasuke frowned at that, having forgotten his childhood where his mother and father shielded him from the rest of the village. He thought they were just careful of his wellbeing or thinking that he would not ever amount to his sister, but this made much more sense when he thought about it. It actually made him question what else he has been told.
"You forget the rumors of the Kyuubi attacking the village and having Sharingan eyes," Asuma informed the blonde, since this was now declassified information but not publicly talked about since it is considered taboo to slander the dead. "There was fear of someone in the clan causing the attack, and considering how it has affected you most of all I did not expect you to be defending them."
"You don't know me, Sarutobi-san," Naruto said lowly with narrowed eyes. "I do not condemn people based on rumors. I remember the civilians also saying I was Kurama in human form, weakened by my father. Do you believe that rumor as well? That they were valid in their assessment? Answer carefully."
At that, Asuma looked around the room to see the tension set in everyone's posture. He recognized this as the ability to spring into action within a fraction of a moment, even being seen in the young Lord Phantomhive even though he seemed the least battle-capable. He slowly realized his mistake and raised his hands to backpedal. "I didn't mean it like that. I meant that since we did not know for sure, that it was caution that served as the best strategy."
Naruto is silent as he stares at the man, realizing his rising temper might cause the table to fight his escorts, and decides to take a few breaths. "Right. Either way, if it was not for Hokage-jijisan being repentant for his neglect and actually desiring to make it up to me I would have left by the age of twelve. I would not have turned back and no one would have known where I was until I decided to reveal myself to the world. And so, I have just bided my time and had my former home built and supplied money from my Konoha accounts to pay for everything. I still plan to move here and be an allied shinobi of the village but that is something Hokage-jijisan and I still have to work out."
Naruto looked at the time and realized it was getting close to nighttime and decided to end it there. "That's all we have for today. You can ask my Captains and Lieutenants any questions you have but for now I am going to go see Isane-chan. Farewell."
Meanwhile
"Ah, shit, these bastards can take a hit," Kisame hissed as he yanked the blade out of his stomach.
"Even now, Uzumaki are still producing scary shinobi," Itachi spoke quietly as she walked up to her partner's side.
Around them, four swirl-masked Uzushio shinobi laid on the ground. They had caught the two beaching their boat and moved to intercept them. While many Anbu teams would not be an issue for the S-rank missing-nin, these individuals were much more properly trained. They were also more varied in skills, including combat Fuinjutsu that goes beyond storage seals and explosive tags.
"At least they had enough chakra to feed Samehada," Kisame petted his sword affectionately. "At least this trip will be worth it, there are plenty of strong people here."
What one of them did not realize while the other chose to ignore, a fifth kunoichi was watching and listening before disappearing in a consuming darkness.
Uzushio has architecture that is mixed between Byzantine and Gothic, which are two architectures from different periods and locations. However, I like their looks and find it would fit for the Uzumaki since they are a violent scholar culture.
777torn777: Sadly the chapters will be slower for winter break but we will be back to our regularly scheduled program mid January :)
NinjaFang1331: Thank you
spirit of chaos: Few chapters will be like that but it is more for setting up a next arc, giving a bit of information important for later on, or if I combined it with the next chapter it would near 10k words. But I try to make sure each one has something happening you can catch on to.
Xerzo LotCn: You never know, Naruto already knows he's facing a Jinchuuriki like him. He already subdued the redhead once, he won't hesitate to do it again. As for the snake, that's to be figured out in a bunch of chapters later. Aizen is not what he seems, that's all I'll say. And the reason Naruto couldn't leave and come back is that the village would notice when their Jinchuuriki is missing. That's a very big chakra that would just drop off the radar for a month, and Naruto didn't want to rush. Only the Monster Hunter monsters will be used because of what I have going on for the Uzumaki clan and the history. I appreciate the input though :D.
PraetorXyn: This didn't reveal much but don't worry more chapters will come where I try to describe the island more. But sadly for now it will only be Uzushiogakure that will be explored even though there are many more villages dotting the large archipelago.
Freddielebron: The island is protected by whirlpools that is maintained by a defensive array, but because of them being taken down during the Second Shinobi War a new array is being worked out currently. So until then, the island nation isn't impregnable especially from S-rank missing-nin or if they are brought in by the Uzumaki transportation seal. I also never said the island was unreachable, as I believe I mentioned early on that people still try to get onto the island to steal from the "ruins" but they are killed and others call it a haunted island.
ichika aono: I explained this last chapter but I had worded that section deliberately. Naruto did not completely trust Kurotsuchi yet so he shared his preferred chakra natures but that doesn't mean that's what he's good at. And the whole Scorch Kekkei Genkai is due to Kurotsuchi's assumption due to the information she had.