Chapter 1

Introduction Arc I

No one would be able to blame Naori Uchiha for being pessimistic about her situation. As she slung her cousin Naka over her shoulder, her one lone functioning eye wandered over to the group of Kusa ninjas who were looking at the two tired Uchiha with something akin to disdain in their eyes. The dead members of the 2nd Uchiha Platoon had made the ground turn as deep red as the hair of a Uzumaki. Near the border between the Land of Earth and the Land of Grass, the 2nd Uchiha Platoon had completed their objective. Naori cursed the heavens for its divine irony. They had won, but discord had been sown over their forbidden technique and soon the entire platoon was at each other's throats. Of the 40-strong platoon, only Naori and Naka remained. Naka was barely conscious, his brown hair thin and his eyes nearly turning upward in a tell-tale sign of coming unconsciousness. Naori was in a better condition, but she could not fight off an enemy platoon. As her legs trembled with the task of carrying Naka and herself, Naori closed her eye and scrounged up the last remnant of Chakra inside of her and opened her eye again as the pinwheel of the Sharingan flared to life before morphing into a three-petal pattern. Her pinwheel eye and fluttering purple hair made for an intimidating figure, even in her fatigued situation. The platoon leader of the Kusa ninja stepped forward, conspicuously not meeting her eye. He had recognized the Sharingan. "Konoha Ninja. You are violating the neutrality of the Land of Grass and Kusagakure. Come peacefully."

Naori set her jaw so hard that it sent a jolt of pain throughout her skull. Her only functioning eye swerved to her cousin slung across her shoulder before focusing on the hostile platoon in front of her. Though the body language of the Kusa nin was non-threatening. All of them were watching her carefully, perfectly willing to cave her skull in with one precise attack if she tried anything. The dull green flak jackets twinkled in the afternoon sun, belying the danger that hid beneath them. Their faces were completely blank. Naori cursed mentally. It was just her luck that it was an elite Kusa platoon that had caught up to her. Truthfully speaking, the idea of surrendering was tempting. The Land of Fire and Land of Grass were nominally at peace. Unless the Land of Grass wished to admit that they were flouting their neutrality by taking sides with Iwa and the Land of Earth, then they would be treaty obliged to return her and Naka to Konoha. But as her eyes focused on the platoon leader, she steeled herself for a fight. 'They won't return me and Naka. We will be 'lost' on the way and suddenly find ourselves in an Iwa torture chamber.'

"Platoon Leader. I acknowledge the authority of Kusa nin on Grass territory." Naori began as her eyes darted toward the silver-white hair of the opposing platoon leader. Naori once again cursed her luck. The silver-white hair of Kusa featured in nightmares throughout the Elemental Nations. The Hana Clan of Kusa, or as they were more commonly known, the Grass Flower Group had earned a reputation for being ferocious defenders of Kusa for a reason. Ignoring the fear bubbling up in her gut, Naori pushed her hair's bangs aside and continued. "However, you are impeding an official Konoha mission and inquiry. As such I cannot in good conscience hand myself and my comrade over."

"Then Jonin Uchiha, we are at an impasse." Came the smooth reply of the platoon leader. The circular pattern of his eyes looked down upon Naori with perfect neutrality. Naori tried to find a weakness in his guard. But just as she was ready to leap forward for a surprise attack the platoon leader let out his chakra to saturate the air. Naori choked and fell to her knees. She just barely managed to catch Naka from face-planting to the ground. The sinister and hot chakra that the Hana clan was known for saturated the air. It felt like being burned alive. Yet there wasn't even a small ember attacking her. The sheer heat of the platoon leader's hostile chakra only added to the growing fear in Naori's gut. "Trying to attack me, Jonin Uchiha is not only a bad idea, but it also reinforces the opinion that whatever your mission was, it went against the laws of the Land of Grass."

Naori managed to regain her bearings slowly as she gently lowered Naka to the ground. She looked into the eye of the barely conscious Naka and ensnared him with a simple sleeping illusion forcing Naka to fall asleep instantaneously. Taking a deep breath, she turned to face the platoon leader once again, trying to shake off the sheer density of the chakra the platoon leader was using to saturate the air around him. The platoon leader looked at her with an impassive gaze before tossing his silver hair with a sense of finality. He waved his hand. Just as fast, other Kusa nin leaped forward, ready to apprehend her and Naka. Though they stood more than 50 feet away from her, they were making quick progress towards her. Naori clutched her sword tightly. But neither Naori nor the Grass nin would physically engage each other. As the Kusa nin made their way halfway through the field littered with bodies of the Uchiha clansmen, a body fell from the sky, landing in front of Naori and Naka with a sickening crunch.

The Kusa nin stopped immediately. Naori lowered her sword slightly. Both she and the Kusa nin gawked at the strange scene in front of them. The body in front of her was definitely a man. The man's blood-red hair seemed to blend in with the blood-soaked fields around him, taking in a deep saturation of the red color that Naori didn't think was possible. His hairy spikes stood up in an unruly manner, resembling the tall grasses that named the Land of Grass. With his hair color and the round face he had, the man also reminded Naori strongly of a tomato. The only thing that broke the resemblance was the long three whisker lines on the man's face that seemed to make him look vaguely like a fox. Wearing nothing but a fishnet shirt and orange pants, the man groaned and seemed to scrape at the ground to pick himself up.

The man picked himself up and groaned, clutching his bruised sides warily before noticing the spectacle around him. He suddenly stood up and looked around with a sense of both urgency and embarrassment. He rubbed the back of his neck as a blush seemed to force its way into his face. "Ah, this is embarrassing."

"Who are you?" The Kusa platoon leader growled out, his chakra presence becoming almost too stifling to bear for the tired and injured Naori. The redhead's whiskers wobbled a bit as his fox-like eyes narrowed a bit having evidently felt the growing chakra saturation being sent out by the platoon leader as a measure of intimidation. The redhead patted his back and let the dust on his shirt and pants fall down, shaking his body a bit. The redhead's azure blue eyes flickered towards Naori widening a fraction as they made eye contact. Naori didn't mean to do it, but she had been pushing chakra into her Sharingan in preparation for a defense and her Mangekyo acted subconsciously pulling the redhead into a genjutsu. Nothing happened. Naori's mouth fell slightly as the redhead turned to the Kusa platoon leader nonchalantly.

"My name is Naruto Uzumaki." The redhead answered with an even tone, though it had a hint of steel in it. Naori grasped her sword tightly. With that hair coloring, she supposed she should have guessed the redhead in front of her was an Uzumaki. Yet still, Uzushio, the homeland of the Uzumakis had been wiped out by Kiri during the ending stages of the Second Great Shinobi War. As far as everyone knew, there was only one remaining Uzumaki who lived in Konoha. She knew that the supposed Last Uzumaki was the girlfriend of one of her cousin's sensei's. Of course, it made sense that some were still scattered throughout the nations, keeping themselves hidden. Kiri and even Kumo would jump at the chance to slaughter an uncounted Uzumaki. 'Yet this Naruto guy just gave out his name without fear….'

Evidently, the platoon leader recognized the name. His eyes widened a bit before he reined in the level of chakra he was leaking, plastering a diplomatic smile on his face. "Mr. Uzumaki. You have accidentally I am sure, stumbled into an official inquiry of the Land of Grass. Please make yourself scarce. If you wish for lodging and the such then Kusagakure is not far from here. Simply go north for a few hours."

The now-identified Naruto Uzumaki inclined his head and then much to the surprise of everyone in the vicinity began to laugh. "Oh man, I'm in the Land of Grass?!"

"Why is this funny to you Mr. Uzumaki?" The platoon leader asked, tilting his head and seemingly genuinely curious.

"Well see, I was meddling with this old unidentified sealing matrix in the Land of Waterfall that I found and added some of my own variations to it. I push my chakra into and boom! Well, you all saw what happened!" Came the guffawed answer as the Uzumaki seemed to still be in the throes of his own laughter.

"Mr. Uzumaki." The platoon leader paused. Even the other Kusa nin, who hadn't let their guard drop went noticeably still. "Are you quite possibly, an idiot?"

Though the platoon leader was at this moment her enemy, Naori agreed with his assessment. She wasn't a master in the arts of Fuinjutsu at all and knew only the basics from the academy and what her sensei had taught her, but even she knew that meddling with unidentified seals was a horrible idea. Feeling her opinion about the newcomer Uzumaki sinking, she shuffled to protect Naka's sleeping frame against any surprise attack that she knew was coming. She felt her violet eyebrow twitch in irritation as the redhead continued to guffaw and chuckle in acceptance at the Kusa platoon leader's sarcastic question.

"Enough of this chat chat!" Came the voice of one of the other Kusa nin. "Get out of the way Mr. Uzumaki! This is Land of Grass business! We have entertained you long enough."

Suddenly the Uzumaki's demeanor changed. He stopped laughing and his posture grew rigid as his eyes flickered to every single one of the Kusa ninjas. His eyes flickered towards Naori again, resting on the Konoha forehead protector that she wore proudly. He placed his hands inside the pockets of his pants and smiled apologetically. The smile did not reach his eyes. "Ah, I truly am sorry. But as part of the treaty that allowed the Uzumaki clan to break away from the Senju clan, it was decreed that the Uzumaki would forever be the Senju clan's ally. That means that every ally of the Senju is an ally of the Uzumaki. Due to the treaty between Hashirama Senju and Madara Uchiha, the Uchiha are also Uzumaki allies."

Naori's sharingan barely kept up with the chaos that unfolded afterward. The platoon leader was about to respond when chains broke out of the ground and grabbed each one of the Kusa ninjas. Gleaming golden chains tightened around the bodies of the Kusa ninja as they gasped at the sudden attack. The platoon leader gasped and with quick hand seals, he tried to melt off the chains. The chains held. The Uzumaki looked at the Kusa ninja with hard sky-blue eyes before turning to Naori, who took a step back, despite the man's proclamation.

"Whoa." The Uzumaki raised his hands in a calming manner. He leaned towards Naori peering at her. "I am not going to hurt you. Not after I restrained them for you and that sleeping beauty next to you."

Naori didn't lower her sword. She raised her working eye's eyebrow at him and continued to build her chakra. "Why did you interfere?"

Naruto was about to answer when the platoon leader interrupted them, continuing to shout various Jutsu names in a vain and futile effort to escape the chains. Scratching his head, Naruto made the tiger seal and a new chain emerged from the ground which bound the Kusa ninja's hands and gagged him. Naruto turned back to Naori and spread his arms in another placating manner. "You did hear what I told that guy over there right?"

"You could be double-crossing me." Naori pointed out as she continued to train her eye on the redhead. The opposing Uzumaki made eye contact with her Mangekyo Sharingan without fear, looking at the legendary pinwheel eye of the Uchiha clan without even blinking. 'How? Why is my illusion not affecting him at all?!'

"Well nah, I'm not, believe it!" The redhead grinned at her, making her eye twitch in irritation again. The carefree and reckless manners of the Uzumaki in front of her managed to push every single one of her buttons. Suddenly the Uzumaki's grin melted away into a contemplative gaze. "Hm, hey Uchiha girl, have we met before? Your face seems to be familiar."

Naori didn't deign to answer the asinine question. One of the Kusa ninjas managed to loosen the chains holding them a bit and fired a fireball at Naruto's back. Before Naori could react she was lifted up by the annoying Uzumaki and then thrown into the air. Naka's sleeping frame received the same treatment. A frozen scream escaped her mouth as the fireball passed through onto the trees harmlessly as she tried to regain her balance in midair to catch Naka and land safely. Before she could turn around to do so, she was caught in the warm arms of the Uzumaki and let down gently. She was inclined to slap him but fear for Naka made her snap her head towards Naka with such speed that she was sure she pulled a muscle. A clone of the annoying Uzumaki caught Naka's body and gently deposited him on the ground. Sighing with relief, anger flooded every cell of her being. "WHY IN KAMI'S NAME-?!"

Naruto didn't answer her spluttered and angry shouting as he looked back at the Kusa ninja and tightened the chains wordlessly before turning to look at her with an apologetic grin. "Ah, sorry about that."

Though his smile was apologetic the twinkle in his deep blue eyes only spoke of mischief to the purple-haired Uchiha. Gritting her teeth, she suppressed the growing anger inside of her. Despite his troublesome manners, he had just saved her and Naka two times. She took a deep breath before loosening herself. "Mr. Uzumaki, what are your intentions here? Wandering refugee Shinobi do not just save village affiliated ninja for no apparent reason."

Naruto pouted at her serious tone. "Ah poo. What is it with you Uchiha's and the stick up your behinds? All of you need emotional psychology I swear. Loud one second and deathly serious the other. Is it too hard to believe that I would just like to keep my clan pride by honoring one of my clan's oldest tenets?"

Refusing to let the insult to her clan rattle her, Naori plowed forward. "Well, what is it that you want?"

"Well, I guess I've had it with being a wandering refugee Shinobi like you mentioned." Naruto shrugged, absentmindedly cracking his knuckles one by one. "An Uzumaki will always be welcome in Konoha right?"

"Why now?" Naori asked suspiciously as she maintained eye contact with Naruto, trying to ensnare him into a truth illusion with her Sharingan but failing again. Gritting her teeth in irritation at having failed thrice to make him fall in her Genjutsu, she continued with her question. "Uzushio fell more than a decade ago. You could have come to Konoha anytime. Why now? Why nearly 13 years after the fall of Uzushiogakure and the destruction of the Land of Whirlpools?"

"Ah, I was only 7 years old when the Land of Whirlpools fell to the forces of the Land of Water," Naruto answered with a nonchalance that bordered on indifference at the mention of the destruction of the ancestral homeland of the Uzumaki clan. "I was fortunate enough to have been smuggled out by some Jonin. I wandered around for a bit, grew up and here I am!"

Naori narrowed her eye at the man and shook off the realization that the man in front of her was the same age as her. She was about to question him further when Naruto interrupted her before she could speak, waving her concerns away.

"I mean, Konoha will not say no to an Uzumaki whose bloodline is active right? I mean you do see the Adamantine Chains suppressing the Kusa ninja behind us right?"

Naori's eyes twitched at the victorious and light tone of the redheaded menace in front of her. 'The worst thing is that he's right. With the war starting to erupt in full swing, we need all the bloodlines and help we can get! Lord Hokage would never turn down an errant Uzumaki claiming refuge in Konoha.'

Naori sighed, feeling mentally tired from the banter between herself and the Uzumaki. There had once been a time when the Uzumaki had been the second most hated clan amongst the Uchiha clan. After all, they were the most steadfast allies of the Senju clan and were blood-related with them. Behind every Senju platoon, there was always a Uzumaki sealing platoon during the Warring States Era. But those days were long gone. Like the redhead had mentioned before, with the union of the Senju and Uchiha to establish Konohagakure the Uzumaki became Uchiha allies as well. She sheathed her sword and nodded slightly. "Very well. You can accompany me and my cousin back to Konoha. But no sudden movements and stay in front of me throughout the journey."

Naruto nodded with an easy smile before he frowned. "I am not going to be carrying your cousin for hundreds of kilometers all the way into the Land of Fire."

"I can handle –"

Naori's reply was snapped shut when she saw Naruto race forward and seal Naka's sleeping body inside of a sealing scroll. As Naruto walked forward and handed her the scroll with a cheeky smile, Naori tried to suppress an angry scream that threatened to break out of her.

The Uchiha Uzumaki duo then turned towards the direction of the Land of Fire and left.

The Kusa Platoon leader just stood there and raised an eyebrow before his eyes widened in alarm. He swore mentally with a wild and animalistic growl that made his comrades land their exasperated eyes on him. 'That bastard left us here! Curse these damned chains! I will get back to you for this, Naruto Uzumaki!'

"Are we there yet?"

"No."

"Are we there yet?"

"No."

"Are we there yet?"

"For the love of Amaterasu, no! And in Susano'o's holy name, what in god's name is making that racket?!"

"That would be your cousin waking up and struggling inside the seal."

"…What?!"

"So not that I don't appreciate you helping me and my cousin, but did you have to seal me inside that scroll?"

"Well it did make travelling faster didn't it?"

"Well yes, but still. Being stuck in a scroll is not something I want to experience every again!"

"Come on, don't lie. You liked it."

"…. How did you know?"

"I seal myself into scrolls and then plop into some traveler's pockets when I'm feeling bored to run by myself. It's comfy isn't it?"

"…. Surprisingly yeah."

"Both of you are idiots."

In front of the great gates of Konohagakure no Sato Naori finally let a sigh of relief escape from her body. Pushing her purple bangs aside she went to the border guard and handed her mission scroll to the guard. The guard nodded at her and Naka before landing his gaze at the annoying redhead. Throughout the week that they had traveled together, the redheaded menace hadn't stopped irritating her at all. She felt her eye twitch as she overheard Naka and Naruto commiserating at the comforts of being sealed in a scroll again. 'What's worse is that he's roped Naka into his annoying ways as well.'

The guardsmen turned to her with a questioning look on their visage. Naori knew that Konoha needed all the shinobi it could get for the war, but still on a subconscious level, she wondered if introducing Naruto to her village was a good idea. Not because she thought that the redhead would be a hidden spy or something, but because she did not like the prospect of dealing with this redhead for the rest of her life. She twitched violently as Naruto blew a raspberry in greeting to the gate guards. She let out a defeated sigh. "This is Naruto Uzumaki. He is a wandering Uzumaki refugee who helped me and Naka during the last stage of the mission. He has come here to seek refuge in Konoha."

The guard turned to Naruto, noting his red hair. He smiled and spoke up. "Of course. It's always an honor to have a Uzumaki in Konoha. Ah, but I apologize Mr. Uzumaki. It is war protocol to cuff you with chakra cuffs and take you to the Intelligence Division. I am sure you understand the need for this?"

Naruto nodded happily and offered his hands. Only a slight upturn of his grin and the growing twinkle in his eyes gave an indication for the mischief that was sure to follow. Naori didn't dare predict what the redhead was going to do. As the guard brought out chakra cuffs and cuffed Naruto before turning around Naori's eyes bulged out as she saw the words 'JUICY' written on the back of the guard's flak jacket with an arrow pointing downwards at the guard's behind. Naori hadn't even seen the redhead whip out a pen and write it out during the small interaction. Snickering, Naruto threw a marker back to Naka who was trying and failing to hide his laughter.

She turned her eyes heavenward and prayed for strength.

She was going to need it.

As his blue eyes swept through the familiar yet foreign village, Naruto's resolve strengthened. None of the guards saw his hands curling into fists.

'Kakashi-sensei. Sasuke. Sakura. Kurama. Hinata. Mum. Dad. Obito. Everyone. I will save you. Believe it!'