Hello! I hope you'll like this chapter!

Disclaimer: I own the OCs in this fic, the rest is Masashi Kishomoto's. Sorry for any spelling mistakes or any OCCness.

Character age:

Akane, Itachi: 24

Naruto, Sasuke: 19

Shisui: 28

Kakashi: 33

"Are you Sasuke-nii's girlfriend?" Sakura blushed a bright red.

They had left the country easily, Min being the guide until they got there.

"Wh…what makes you think that?"

"You were glaring at me when we met."

"Sorry about that…Sasuke-kun is not really…friendly with many people."

"He didn't change then." Sakura didn't know what to respond to that. Sasuke had not been keeping in touch since he left Konoha and was keeping to himself since they reunited. "But isn't he handsome, and strong, and intelligent, and mysterious, and…"

"Are you trying to hype him up to me?"

"Is it working?" She smiled.

"I've known him since we were six, I know all of that."

The country was small, Sakura could very well search it in one day, two days if she paid attention to everything. Min could not follow her kunoichi speed though, and she was the one who knew about the place.

They went to the capital city, where apparently the biggest library and schools of the continent were. When they got there, they were taken back by the people. They were walking in sync, one behind the other, reading books and all dressed in dark colors.

It looked like a macabre choreography they had to join. Min led them to the library, Sakura not understanding the language. They stopped in front of a very high pagoda.

"Just nod if they look at you," Min whispered to her. She talked to the receptionist, who looked at them strangely. He gestured the stairs with his head, his eyes never leaving them as they went. "Stay confident," Min whispered to her once more.

People, as they climbed the stairs, would give them weird, suspicious looks.

Once they were in the good sections, they went through many books, Sakura only reading what she could.

"It's censored," Min stated suddenly, looking up from the book. "There should be books in your languages and translated versions, but they're nowhere to be found. All I'm reading is how…Izanagi is our lord and savior and stuff like that."

"Censoring knowledge and things that allow people to doubt your word is the first step for all dictators," Sakura replied with a frown. "Do you know if there's a reserve?"

"There should be."

"Alright, we'll come back at night then."

In the dark of night, Sakura picked the lock of the pagoda. They shared a look and went down the stairs, straight to the basement. The door there was in metal and bigger, heavier, more solid. Sakura attempted to pick the lock, but to no avail.

"Min, step back." Min did. Sakura cracked her knuckles and planted her feet in the floor. Then, to Min's shock, she took the handle on each door and used her strength to open it.

They stared at the man inside, destroying all the documents in there. He tried to leave, but Sakura was faster and punched him unconscious in the wall, a bookshelf falling on him.

"He was getting rid of information," Min stated, looked at the torn-up pages.

"Search for anything useful." While Min was doing just this, the medic removed the shelf from the man. She healed him enough so that he wouldn't be too injured and tied him up.

It took them a little while to go through everything, but eventually, Min found something. They left quickly, Sakura taking Min on her back to be quicker. It was better not to linger there.

"I think it's a village that was destroyed during the war," Min told the older girl. "I guess it should be deserted."

"On the outside." She looked at Min from the corner of her eyes. "If it's important to Samuru, he will not take the risk to leave it unguarded. We need to keep an eye out for hidden traps and enemies." The Uchiha girl gulped.

It did not cross her mind. Shinobi and kunoichi really were something else.

They reached their destination after a few hours. As Min said, the village was destroyed, the houses in ruins. Some spots were covered in dusts, over still covered in ash due to fires. On the other end of the village were stairs. They climbed them easily and found a shrine. A crescent moon was above the door.

"Tsukuyomi," Min stated. They entered it.

There, in the middle of the shrine was a slim, vertical stone with writings on it. Min moved closer to it.

"Here lay the heart of the god Tsukuyomi, which will find its container. May the container…succeed in taming his power?"

"Find a way to break the stone Min."

"Sakura?"

Soldiers were outside. They were all gray, armored from head to toe. They had metallic kasa and when one of them raised its head, Sakura gulped. The eyes glowed golden behind the protection.

Golden like the way Samuru dressed.

"Doton: Earth Wall!" She made a wall surrounding the entrance and jumped on it. She cracked her knuckles with a grin. "Alright, time to have some fun." She jumped down and punched through the soldiers, sending them flying in the air.

Min shook her head at the soldiers flying above the wall and looked at the stone. She pushed it, but it did not move. She walked around it, biting on her thumb nail. The bottom looked thinner, so she had to use that. She opened all the closets in the shrine, finding nothing but dust and mirrors, as well as an old, rusty katana. She took it.

She could not fight with it, it would break. She carefully poked the base. The stones seemed glued together. She tried to hit it; the blade flown into pieces.

"Calm down and think, you can do it." A seal? She knew some, Hyo taught her.

With a piece of the blade, she cut her finger open. She winced, tears prickling at the corners of her eyes at the pain, but she drew a seal like she could on the rocks.

She didn't need a proper seal. She made it wrong on purpose and activated it. She was sent to the floor with the blow, a spot of her cheek burned. The stone was in pieces on the floor though.

Min crawled closer to it on all four, a curious look on her face at the silver sphere in the remains of the stone. It was almost as if there was energy in it, it was warm to the touch.

Without a second thought, she smashed on the floor. It was dead silent for a few seconds, and she picked up the silver stone that was in the sphere. It no longer was warm.

Maybe the sphere was condensing the power in it?

"Are you okay?" Min looked at Sakura, now on her knees next to her.

"I'm…fine, I think." Sakura took her opened finger and healed it before looking at the stone. "There was a sphere inside the stone, and then this…"

"Let's bring it back with us, you did a good job."

On the way back, Sakura did not stop thinking. Akane's source of energy for the Shinigami, ultimately, was Natural energy running through her seal. The mark was a way for her body and chakra to connect to each other so she could use this Natural energy in its raw form. Then, her third upgraded allowed her to consciously mix her chakra and Natural energy to make senjutsu, which allowed her to enter Sage Mode.

Did it mean that, in each shrine, there was a stone gathering a certain type of Natural energy, each singular to their kami?

The Elemental Nations used chakra when here, the few competent fighters were relying directly on Natural energy.

No wonder Sarumu was messed up, if there was no proper training to control it and he had access to all of it at once and not gradually like Akane, his mental state was a lot more logical.

She needed to tell the others this because who knew what this madman would do.

"We won't get anything from them," Naruto stated as he regrouped with Haku.

"We have no way to know who could work for Samuru, asking them would give out our position." Haku looked up at the, his hand shadowing his eyes.

"Are you going to be okay in this weather?"

"I'll manage. Just…try to check if there are people around so you can use Kurama or not." The orange cloak around Naruto appeared.

He was quiet for a few seconds.

"Naruto." Naruto blinked at Kurama's voice.

"Yeah, what is it?"

"Do you feel this faint chakra in the air?"

"Huh? Now that you mention it…"

"Go to it."

"Kurama, if you know something then…"

"I'm not sure of what I know, the old man only mentioned hitogamis as something that would die out with time as kamis were more and more forgotten."

"It's more than we knew before coming here!"

"You never asked if there were more people like Akane, idiot." Naruto groaned at Kurama.

"What did he tell you?"

"I can feel a faint chakra and he wants us to go find it."

"Nobody else?" Naruto shook his head. "Can he take us then?"

"Ice boy has more brain than you outside of fights."

"I didn't sign to be bullied today!" Kurama only laughed in his head, Haku muffling a chuckle behind his hand.

Kurama came out and ran away from any civilization. They did not meet many people and were heading toward a chain of mountains. Kurama went to the right before heading to the path between mountains. He disappeared, leaving the two shinobi at the bottom of a steep path. They exchanged a look and went up.

There was a small cabin once they reached the top. An old man came out of it, threw some water on the ground, and went back inside.

"Hey old man!" The door shut behind him. "Is he deaf?"

"Or doesn't want to answer."

"As if." Naruto entered the cabin. "Old ma…" He blinked at the two smoking coffees in front of the man.

"You could use some energy," the old man said in a firm voice. Naruto and Haku looked at each other, the Uzumaki following the Yuki when he sat down.

"Do you know about where we are from?" The man's black eyes stared at his own coffee, and he took a sip.

"Konoha and Kiri." He narrowed his eyes at Haku. "Are you here to finish the job?"

"I don't know what you are talking about."

"Then Kyubi's jinchuriki?" Naruto shook his head.

"We don't know who you are old man, we're here because some freak decided to force our sister to marry him." The man's eyes from one to the other.

"Your sister? You're an Uzumaki. He's from Kiri." Naruto raised a brow while Haku frowned.

"So? Akane's from the Uzumaki clan and the Yuki clan." The man widened his eyes.

"An Uzumaki with Yuki blood? That's…" Haku couldn't put his finger on what he was seeing in the man's eyes. Surprise, shock, but…relief? "They weren't killed when they went back then…"

"Heh? What are you…" Haku widened his eyes, gasping. "Haku, are you alright?"

"No, no…it can't be, you're…you should be dead, you're…"

"From what Aunty told me, it was not uncommon for Uzumakis to live up to a hundred-and-fifty years old if they got to die of old age."

"You…your name isn't Uzumaki Masashi, is it?"

"It is."

"Masashi? Why does it sound familiar?"

"That's Uzumaki Mito's brother."

"Right, nee-chan's great-grandfather th…" He stopped and looked at Masashi with wide eyes. "No way!"

"Why are you here and not with the other Uzumakis?" Masashi looked down. "I mean, weren't you the leader of the clan?"

"Wasn't it the Uzukage?"

"The Uzukage led Uzushio, the majority was Uzumakis but not all of them. I was the head of the clan after my father's passing a few years before Uzushio's destruction." Upon closer inspection, he looked relatively healthy for his age. His hair was still thick, shaggy and white, with a white bear that reached his neck.

His black eyes were still very sharp, if it was not for the sadness and guilt lingering in them.

"I left the clan…because I saw no point in staying with people I failed."

"You…failed them?" Naruto repeated. "How?"

"Because I failed as the head of the clan. When people started to attack…I felt them coming but…I didn't sound the alarm in time."

"Why?"

"I…was stuck." Naruto and Haku frowned. "I felt them coming and then…something took over half my body, saying it was the day my clan would die. When this…black thing released me, the village was on fire, it was already too late."

"A black thing…" Haku whispered, Naruto gritting his teeth.

"If Madara planned to destroy Uzushio and the Uzumaki clan, then it is very possible he tasked Black Zetsu of keeping Masashi from reacting. If he had, things would have gone down differently."

"How much do you know of him?"

"He is Mito's brother; I know enough to know there was something wrong with the way Uzushio went down."

"How could I possibly stay with them after that? I left them in Okuni's care, he would do a better job than me."

"Uzushio was destroyed in the Second Shinobi War, around forty years ago," Haku said. "Have you been living here ever since?"

"Yes."

"It's dead." They looked at Naruto, who was gazing fiercely at Masashi. "Black Zetsu, it was what kept you from fighting back. Nee-chan destroyed it during the last war."

"Last war?"

"The Fourth Shinobi War ended a year ago." Masashi looked at them both, then stopped on Naruto.

"It's…really gone?" Naruto nodded, Masashi clenching his mug tighter. "This…thing is…"

"Yup!"

"I…" He bowed to them brutally, hitting his forehead against the floor. His coffee was spilled on the side. "Thank you young man, thank you! You've…you've done justice for your whole clan."

"Heh you know, nee-chan dealt with this thing permanently, I would have just sent it to Kaguya."

"And this 'nee-chan' is…" Masashi trailed off, straightening up, not bothered by the red mark on his forehead.

"Uzumaki Akane, twenty-four but a lot older because she's the sixth Yuurei, also the Sixth Mizukage and she followed a guy called Samuru because he's insane and wants babies with her!" Naruto took a deep breath. "And daughter to Uzumaki Akiko and Uzumaki Ushio." The old Uzumaki stared at Naruto, who was grinning in pride. "Heh heh, she's not bad, is she?"

"Obviously not." He pursed his lips. "She became a Yuurei? Umiko was supposed to have destroyed the jutsu."

"My dad recomposed it from what Mom told him."

"Was your father an Uzumaki?"

"No, but he used fuinjutsu like one, Mom and Pervy Sage taught him everything!" Naruto pointed his thumb at himself. "I'm Uzumaki Kushina's son!"

"I see. It explains the Kyuubi then." He looked at them both. "Why are you in the Land of Onis then?"

"Right! We're looking for a shrine!" Masashi raised a brow at Naruto. "For…for…"

"Amaterasu," Haku finished for him. "The Land of Gods is in grave dangers now Samuru, Izanagi's hitogami, is ruling it. Uzu-nee sent a message about shrines and stones and…"

"The kami stone," Masashi cut him off.

"You know about it, sir?"

"It is hard to ignore when it is the reason for the state of this country. You have seen the sun, haven't you?" They nodded. "It is this stone's work."

"How?"

"A few months back, a man came saying he would save the world or something and that he needed Amaterasu for that. Most likely, he went to the shrine and did something to the kami stone that disturbed the weather." Masashi sighed, seeing they didn't see the connection to the weather. "Hitogamis, much like the Yuurei, is connected to a deity through natural energy. While a Yuurei has a seal on them that is used as a way to make the connection stable by mixing the natural energy with their chakra just enough to maintain the seal, other hitogamis have these stones that has a portion of the deity's natural energy in it."

"…so it went in a defensive mode because Samuru fiddled with it?" Haku summed up.

"I think so."

"Did you see him? You said a man came…"

"I am an excellent sensor," Masashi interrupted Naruto. "I sensed him, and he felt like a Yuurei. Your presence here only confirms something is going on."

"Let's go deal with this then!" Naruto stated before drinking his coffee and getting up. He opened the door and turned around when he realized no one was following him. "Heh? Come on!"

"Right," Haku replied, standing up. He finished his beverage as well. "Masashi-san?"

"This does not concern me." Naruto frowned deeply.

"Did you forget the part where your great-granddaughter is in danger because of this guy!?"

"If she is a Yuurei and lived this long, then she can handle herself."

"Wh…" Haku stretched out his arm in front of Naruto. He looked at the Kiri shinobi.

"How much did Uzu-nee tell you about her grandparents?"

"Huh? Just how she's related to Granny, why?" Haku looked down for a second.

"I see." He looked at the old man. "Your daughter was executed on the public place." This got his attention as he widened his eyes. "She was hung because she tried to help her husband." Masashi gritted his teeth. "I know you hated him, Uzu-nee told me. Him and Mamiko fell in love, and you were against it. You exiled her when she refused to leave him. During the Third Shinobi War, Madara sunk his teeth deeply in the Sandaime and ordered a purge of kekkai genkai users. Eito opposed it and was executed, and so was his wife for trying to help him. They were killed in front of their son, daughter-in-law and one-year-old grandson." Masashi hit his fist against the floor in anger.

"I knew this good for nothing would ruin her!"

"She thought the opposite."

"How would you know!?"

"Uzu-nee told me. After she put her soul to rest." Masashi looked up at him. "That's how I know this story as well. She was proud of her." He was grabbed by his collar by the older Uzumaki. One look from Haku kept Naruto from interrupting.

"Don't say things like that you worthless…it doesn't matter, it's your cursed clan that did it, that took my daughter away!"

"She chose to leave. She died probably thinking you were dead too. You can't do right by her, but you can do right by her granddaughter. Are you really going to let that chance slip away like she did, letting her think you didn't care about her?" It seemed to strike a chord.

He punched Haku, sending him through the wall and on the ground outside. Naruto went by his side immediately, stretching out his hand to him.

"Leave immediately!"

"You have a chance to do right by your daughter and your clan by helping the few survivors of the Uzumaki clan you left behind, don't waste it!"

"You little…" Naruto kept Masashi at bay with one of Kurama's arms.

"Enough. We're leaving now." Pulling Haku on his feet, they left swiftly. "Since when do you provoke people?"

"I didn't provoke him."

"You insisted a little too much on his daughter." Haku pursed his lips.

"I guess I identify a little too much to Eito." Naruto looked at him in surprised, especially when Haku looked away.

"Dude are you and Karin…" Haku just wouldn't look at him. "Dude, you didn't even tell me!"

"I didn't tell anyone, it's new anyway." Haku sighed. "With how people keep wondering how I identify myself and what my sexual orientation is, I just thought I would spare her the questions."

"What do you identify as then?" Haku shrugged.

"I just identify as myself, I deal with my physical appearance as I wish too, not accordingly to what is deemed masculine or feminine. I never thought about my sexuality either, I just…I'm interested in Karin because of her personality first. If I had been interested in guy that way, then so be it."

"I see. It doesn't change anything anyway." Haku looked at Naruto and saw his grin. "You're you, and we love you for that, it won't change! And anyway, being into an Uzumaki should be a sexual orientation with how awesome we are." It made Haku chuckle. "Once we find nee-chan, she'll tell you herself."

"I'm sure."

They stopped once they were far away and Naruto went in Kurama Mode, then Sage Mode.

"Do you think you'll feel Natural Energy even if it's not emanated by a human being?"

"I should be able too, but maybe it will be…wow!"

"What is it?"

"It's everywhere." Naruto frowned, his eyes closed and his hands in a tiger sign. "It will take a little bit more time to figure out where it's all coming from."

"As long as we're going in the right direction." Haku sat down, drinking from his canteen while Naruto was deeply focused.

After a while, he opened his eyes. They took off, Haku following Naruto quietly. They ran through an arid land for what seemed to be hours until they spotted what seemed to be a shrine directly built in the rocks of the mountain.

"It comes from here," Naruto stated once they were in front of it. "It's even hotter here."

"I noticed…" Haku panted, his hands on his knees. "So…so now…what?"

"We get in…" Naruto removed his hand from the door immediately. "It's scorching hot!"

"Use Kurama's arm then."

"Oh right, good idea." He did.

Both boys stared at the inside of the shrine in shock. High, black flames were littering the sides of the path toward the stairs, said stairs blocked by black flames.

"Are those the same flames as Itachi-san and Sasuke?"

"Yes and no," Naruto replied. "I mean, they're just as dangerous but…they feel different, it's Natural Energy." He frowned. "I don't think I can go through, even with Kurama's chakra."

"You can't, you'll be the centerpiece of a BBQ instead," Kurama agreed in his mind.

"Can you give me some of your chakra?" Naruto raised a brow. "I know it's not the same, but Isobu's power would make my Hyouton a lot more powerful and resistant, even more than Uzu-nee's when she's not in Sage Mode. Maybe I can make you an ice armor like Gaara-sama's sand armor and you can go through the flames?"

"Isobu is connected to water, they were a perfect match," Kurama told Naruto. "But, maybe it can work. Naruto, let me be in charge."

"Why?"

"I'll adapt my own chakra to Haku's directly." Then, Naruto was in the back of his own mind. "Hey brat."

"Kurama?" Kurama nodded.

"It's not a bad idea, but Isobu and you matched because he is connected to water. I'm going to give you some of my chakra, you do your armor and I'll adapt my own chakra to it as it will make it melt. You're good at chakra control, aren't you? It's time to show it." Haku nodded.

He was quickly surrounded by a cloak of Kurama's bubbling chakra. He created ice on him, which started to melt immediately. Haku frown and focused, Kurama doing the same. After a couple of minutes, the ice armor seemed stable, or more like Haku could follow the pace at which it was melting, creating new ice at the same time.

"Let's check this out then!" Kurama roared, running straight to the black flames blocking the stairs.

The ice melted immediately when he was in the flames, but Haku followed immediately, making it thicker in return. The flames actually covered the whole stairs and the altar on top of it. There was a shigandang there, but it was impossible to do anything. Kurama jumped on the ceiling.

Then, everything turned to ice. The flames kept moving inside, but now, Kurama and Naruto had their eyes on the target. Kurama used one of his arms to grab to stone tablet and pulled it out of the floor before going back to Haku and take him back outside. Once outside, he let Naruto back in control.

"Haku, you're okay?" Haku was panting and felt dizzy but nodded. "How did you do it?"

"I thought of what we'd lost if we failed here, it gave me a boost because of my emotional state." He sat down. "Break the stone now." Naruto did, finding a sphere inside. He squinted at the bright yellow light coming from inside.

"We can't just keep it like this!"

However, there was a deep growl behind them. As the ice melted in the shrine, humanoid forms rose from the ground, burning in black flames.

"Great," Naruto muttered.

Hey! Thanks for reading and please leave a review to tell me what you thought of this chapter! Thanks to Amaterasu53 for the review!

Bye!