-Hanzo the Salamander-
After nearly a full week of bliss with Hikari and his girls, Naruto was called to Ai's office. Ai told Naruto that it was time to get his game face on because the Ame delegation would be arriving tomorrow. Naruto had sorted through his feelings on the situation, and he decided to resign himself to his fate. He would just be himself and if things worked out then that would be just fine. The council had already amended the CRA, and he was the official first member of Kumo's CRA, which was pretty much the polygamy policy of the Uzumaki clan with no limits.
The next day came quickly, and Naruto found himself waiting at the front gate alongside Ai, Kushina, Samui, Mabui and the Kumo council. They saw the delegation from a way-out Ai had everyone staged and ready for a proper greeting. Naruto noticed Hanzo right away. He was a big man, about 6-foot 1-inch with broad shoulders. His Amegakore Kage cloak was a royal blue with white rain drops on it. His gait was powerful, and his aura was fierce, even for the intrepid Hanyu. Hanzo was walking in front of a horse-drawn carriage that looked fit for nobility that also bore the crests of Ame. As the delegation came to a halt, Ai greeted them.
"Welcome to Kumogakore Hanzo Hattori, Maria Hattori and Amie Hattori. We hope that your journey through our lands was pleasant."
Hanzo grunted. "Thank you, Raikage-Dono, it was a long walk. I must say, Kaminari no Kuni is much more impressive than I remembered."
Ai actually smiled at the compliment. "Yeah, we have Lady Shina to thank for that. So, could we treat you to some lunch after the long journey?"
"That would be appreciated. Might I bring my family?" Hanzo answered politely.
"That was the plan. Lady Shina wished to host a lunch at the Maki clan compound." Ai informed him, and the older, yet still powerful, figure cracked a smile.
Thirty minutes later, Hanzo, Maria, Amie and Nagato were seated around the family table at the Maki clan compound with Ai and the Maki family. They made small talk while the food was out, Hanzo really enjoyed the crab from Uzushio along with other delicacies that were not available in Ame. As with all things, eventually it was time to get down to business.
"So, Hanzo, might as well address the elephant in the room. Your daughter Amie wishes to be engaged to Ruto because Ruto beat her in combat after the right of conquest was issued. Does that about sum it up?" Shina asked, always straight to the point.
Hanzo grunted. "That about sums it up. I have my reservations, but there is no father that can deny his daughter."
Shina turned her gaze upon the blushing girl. "Amie, as Ruto's mother, I would like to know why you are so insistent on marrying Ruto. Clan customs are great and all, but I do not consider them a valid reason to marry a foreign shinobi."
Amie blushed and looked down at the remnants of her food. She steeled her resolve before meeting Shina's gaze. "Lady Shina, Ruto is a great guy with a gentle heart. Underneath all of that yummy muscle is a pure soul that cares for those he loves while sparing absolutely nothing for those that stands against him. He is a true leader and I believe him to be a man worthy of my heart."
Shina hummed as she thought the girl's answer over. Eventually, she asked, "And you got all of that from a couple interactions and a fight?"
Amie's eyes hardened and her resolve firmed. "Lady Shina, surely a warrior of your caliber knows that you can have a conversation with an exchange of fists. To be blunt, it is not hard to tell the quality of your son, especially when he gives you a glimpse of his true self."
Shina smiled genuinely and returned her gaze to Maria and Hanzo. "Well, I'm sold. Now, it is my duty to inform you that my son was recently, and forcibly I may add, placed under the Clan Restoration Act of Kumo. The law follows old Uzumaki tradition and lays out ground rules for it. To my consternation, the council did not place an upper limit but the control of choice rests with him and his fiancées or current wives."
Hanzo frowned at that, but Maria remained undeterred. "What makes your son so special that they would go to such lengths for him?"
Ai stepped in to back up Shina. "Hanzo, do you know of the origins of the Maki clan?" Hanzo nodded briefly, showing that he could put two and two together. "Okay, so as part of my agreement with Kushina Uzumaki-Namikaze, I agreed to help rebuild Uzushiogakore. In order to garner my early support, Kushina promised that Naruto would remain in Kumo. I waived that condition since she has done so much for Kaminari no Kuni, but Naruto has his sights set on being the Godaime Raikage of Kumo. I would add that he already has the full support of the people and I have announced him as my successor. On top of that, Naruto possesses a Kekkai Touta for Storm Release, which Kumo wishes to propagate."
Hanzo raised an eyebrow at this. "Kekkai Touta? A three element bloodline? There have been less than a handful documented throughout shinobi history."
Naruto entered the conversation here. "Hanzo-GiGi, since we are being honest, I wish to discuss something with you and Amie. Before I do, I need you to sign an Uzumaki blood contract stating that you will not disclose this information."
"Is that necessary? You have shared a number of your secrets already." Hanzo asked, now genuinely curious.
Naruto's look was deadly serious. "Yes, it is that serious. Only the Raikage and the Divine Bolts know this secret and I am hesitant to spread it further."
"Very well, I will trust you on one condition." Naruto gave him a nod that told him to spill it already. "I wish for a spar with you to test your strength. If my daughter is to share you, I wish to take my own measure of the man that she will give her heart to."
"I accept." Naruto spoke up before the Raikage could reasonably object.
Naruto then whipped out a quill and some ink to write up the contract and seal. He placed his bloody handprint on the bottom of the paper and pushed it to Hanzo. Hanzo read the agreement and did the same, which made the seal glow blue. Naruto took a deep breath before he began.
"Okay, Hanzo-GiGi, welcome to the inner fold. As my mother made clear, I am Naruto Uzumaki-Namikaze, jinchuriki of the Kyuubi no Kitsune. That might have been easy enough for a man of your stature to figure out." Naruto paused here and undid his transformation. Two blonde ears and three blonde, white tipped tails filled Hanzo's vision. "What is not so obvious is what happened to me on the night of my sealing. My father signed a contract promising me as the future mate of the Kyuubi. Due to my proximity to her in gestation and her residing in my body, I have transitioned into a Hanyu. I will tell you the Kyu is a wonderful and honorable woman that has my complete trust. Along with her, I have love for Samui and Mabui as well as my family. It may not be your typical love, but my mother asked me to father the new generation of the Uzumaki clan that will reside on Uzu. That is all."
Three jaws were on the table for different reasons. Hanzo had literally never heard of a Hanyu jinchuriki or anybody mating with a biju. Maria was wondering how this man would be able to provide for so many kids in the future, then she thought about how many grandkids by proxy she would have. Amie just wanted to touch Naruto's ears and wrap herself in his tails. The Makis let the group process their thoughts and an awkward silence settled over the table for five minutes or so.
"Ahem, so, ahem, Naruto-San, you are telling me that you are no longer human, is that correct?" Hanzo asked.
"I kind of ride the line, if I understand it right. I can still procreate, and my kids will be stronger than normal. Until I have a kid, I don't know if there will be any complications. To be straightforward, I am half human, half demon. Demon doesn't mean evil, it means a race of increased power and longevity that originate from Makai, a sort of parallel world to ours."
Maria decided to ask the next question. "Will your children have increased longevity or demonic traits?"
Naruto shrugged. "Maria-Sama, I honestly couldn't tell you. We are in uncharted territory. Never before has a biju selected a human as its mate. Never before has a Hanyu been made from a baby born of two humans. Tsunade-Bachan doesn't even know."
"Umm, ano, umm, can I touch them?" Amie asked, blushing and incredibly shy. It also served to break the tension in the room.
After the petting session, Naruto answered a slew of questions and it eventually turned into a proper family dinner. The treaty was de facto agreed upon that night, but Hanzo would still have to jump through the proper hoops. The Hattoris ended up staying in the Maki guest house and enjoyed the lively atmosphere that came with it. Amie spent just as much time with the girls as she did with Naruto. Hanzo spent time training with Naruto and evaluating him as a potential son in law. Nagato spent time bonding with every member of the Uzumaki family and agreed to play Ame's ambassador to Kumo and Uzushiogakore.
Hanzo was happy to have a new ally, especially one as powerful as Kumo. He agreed to have a Kumo survey group visit Ame and see if they could institute some of the reforms that brought prosperity to Kumo. The treaty was signed two days after Hanzo arrived in Kumo and the engagement of Hanzo's daughter and Ruto Maki was announced to the public. There was an article put out in the Kumo Times telling girls not to despair because Ruto was inducted in the CRA of Kumo.
Kushina raged when she saw the front page of the newspaper with her son and Amie's picture, accompanied by the announcement of Ruto being in the CRA. She raged because it meant another round of engagement proposals to her son, as if he didn't have enough on his plate already. On the second page, the exhibition match between Hanzo and Ruto was announced. How a friendly spar got escalated to an exhibition match was unknown, but it meant pain for Ruto.
On Hanzo's fifth day in Kumo, Ruto and Hanzo were standing across from each other in Kumo's stadium with Ai acting as the proctor. Both fighters agreed not to destroy too much of the arena, but that didn't stop Shina from setting up multiple protective barriers. Now, amongst the squeals of fangirls, the cheers of the crowd and the prayers of the Makis, Ai was laying out the ground rules for the match. Ai initiated the fight and jumped out of the way.
"Alright, kid, show me what you got. Shall we start with taijutsu?" Hanzo asked cordially.
Ruto shrugged before deactivating his weight and resistance seals. He shook himself out for a minute before locking eyes with Hanzo. Hanzo was in his battle regalia, which meant he was wearing his rebreather mask. Ruto really didn't want to face the poison of the boss salamander, but it may actually come to that. With a nod of his head, Ruto dashed at Hanzo. The old man was surprisingly spry for his age and the fast-paced taijutsu battle started.
Ruto was trying everything in his arsenal to land a hit on Hanzo, feints, counters, overwhelming speed and force, but it was to no avail. The man wasn't hailed as the strongest of his generation for no reason. Hanzo remained on the defensive, surprised to realize that the kid was pushing him. Maybe it was his old age? No, Hanzo was still a monster, and he was demonstrating why. It was just that his opponent was on the verge of maturing into a fully grown monster of his own. The haze of battle crept into Hanzo's eyes, his smile was hidden by his rebreather and his blood was truly starting to pump for the first time since his fight against Yahiko, Konan and Nagato.
After eight minutes of back-to-back-to-back blocks and counters, Ruto opened up the flood gates and spawned a shadow clone behind Hanzo that landed the first real blow of the match. The clone's jumping roundhouse kick caught Hanzo by surprise, and he ate the blow to the back. He was surprised by the sheer force contained in the kick, but he was able to right himself after skidding off the ground just once. He continued to skid back on his feet for another ten meters, but now it was on.
Ruto saw Hanzo unsheathe a yari, a Japanese style spear, but the spearhead was nearly three feet in length. Hanzo spun the weapon around his body with the grace and practice of a seasoned warrior. Ruto answered by unsheathing 'Heaven's Blessing' and charging the blade with wind chakra. Hanzo answered by encasing his yari with an absurd amount of wind chakra, which made the business end of the weapon nearly five feet long. The is where Ruto needed to gain a win, if it came to strictly ninjutsu then Hanzo's battle prowess would truly shine.
Ruto blurred forward and a kenjutsu fight began. Once again, Hanzo was pleasantly surprised by the boy's prowess. The weight behind each blow was staggering and the fluidity of the blows left minimal room for counter attacks. Ruto began with a bone crushing horizontal slash that Hanzo met with the blade of the yari. The wind chakras grinded into each other and emitted gale force winds with each impact. Ruto transitioned from the blocked horizontal strike by spinning rapidly and creating a whirlwind of mostly horizontal strikes that came from a variety of upward and downward angles. Hanzo repeatedly blocked these and during the milliseconds in between strikes, he lashed out with the butt of the yari and landed a painful blow to Ruto's chest.
Ruto went skidding back from the blow and found himself dodging or parrying stabbing thrusts from the yai before Hanzo performed a whirlwind attack of his own that Ruto blocked. The strike was so strong that metal met metal through the wind casings. The amount of wind chakra expelled actually blew each competitor back and the battle fell into a temporary standstill.
"Very good, Ruto-San, very good indeed. What was that opening attack you used there?" Hanzo's battle-crazed voice echoed across the stadium.
"Thanks Hanzo-Gi. That was 'Barbarian's Tide – Horizontal Tide into a whirlpool dance'. I adapted the 'Whirlpool's Edge' to fit my greatsword here."
"Ah, yes, where did you get such a weapon? It is truly fearsome in the hands of someone with such strength and speed."
"My eagle summons hail from the West. This was a common weapon amongst their ancient warriors and this baby is called 'Heaven's Blessing'." Ruto kissed the sword, which drew laughter from the crowd.
"Impressive indeed. Such a sword with wind chakra is a mighty weapon. Care for a battle of Katanas?" Hanzo challenged.
Without a second thought, Ruto latched his greatsword onto his back and unclicked the safety latch of his katana. Hanzo adopted an open blade, counter style of kenjutsu. Never one to wait for an invitation, Ruto bent his knees and almost fell into a runner's stance. Ruto disappeared from sight before a mighty clang rang out. Before the audience knew what happened, Ruto was re-sheathing his blade behind Hanzo. Hanzo's katana was severed down the center of the blade and the severed tip fell to the ground, much to his shock. It was also the first-blood strike that led to Ruto's ass whooping.
Hanzo couldn't believe what he just saw. Kenjutsu was not his best art, but he had never been bested, much less in a single strike. He looked down to the cut oozing fresh blood on his left arm and started laughing maniacally. He dropped his katana and began forming seals. When Ruto felt the chakra spike, he knew it was on. A deluge of stone was arcing over his position at a rapid pace from Hanzo's 'dotun – earth wave' jutsu. He flipped through seals before he sent a lightning dragon to penetrate through the tidal wave of earth. Ruto sprinted after his dragon and followed the path it tore into the earth jutsu.
Hanzo saw the dragon's head and prepared himself. As soon as Ruto exited the earthen tunnel, a foot met his face, and he was flung onto the back end of the earthen tidal wave. While skidding on his back, Ruto flipped through a couple seals and took a deep breath before he thought 'suiton – pressure stream'. A thin, sustained beam of pressurized water headed straight for Hanzo as Ruto continued his impromptu ride. Hanzo flipped to the bird seal and used successive 'futon – vacuum bulltets' to negate Ruto's attack.
At this point, the crowd was going nuts for the display of prowess. They were so hyped up that most people forgot this was supposed to be a friendly spar. The girls didn't appreciate how far this was being taken and they were scared it was going to get out of hand.
Amie was awed by the display and just a little upset that Ruto was holding back on her so much during their fight. "Nagato-Oji, doesn't it look like father is actually trying?"
Nagato nodded as his violet eyes took in every frame of the fight. "Indeed, he is. Other than his summon, he is not holding back."
Maria looked to Nagato, "You don't think he would bring ole' Sal out here, do you?"
Nagato found the trepidation in her voice kind of funny. "Haha, he might, I can see the look in his eyes from here. He is enjoying this too much."
Amie looked aghast at the battlefield where her now official fiancée was fighting her father. "Momma … he wouldn't … he wouldn't kill Ruto-Kun, would he?"
"No, sweetie. I don't think he would." This earned an aghast look from Amie and another chuckle from Nagato.
Back on the battlefield, the two had been trading jutsu and taijutsu for the past five minutes. Each jutsu escalated the fight and Shina now had both hands on the barrier to reinforce it with chakra. Hanzo had just jumped back to gain distance and he had a bulge in his cheeks and stomach before he called out 'salamander style – corrupted fog'. A great cloud of deep purple poison began to fill the stadium and it earned gasps from the crowd.
Ruto's eyes widen to comical proportions before he focused and called up a massive amount of lightning chakra to take form around him. Through the purple fog, the audience heard the familiar call of their Raikage's lightning armor. The next thing they knew, Hanzo was driven into the stadium wall by a 'raiton – lightning lariat'. The old salamander coughed out some blood into his rebreather before headbutting the younger opponent to get some space. Ruto reeled back which allowed Hanzo the opportunity to mule kick him in the chest and send him flying back into the fog.
Hanzo knew how terrifying the lightning armor jutsu was, so it was time to call out his old friend. He took some of the recently coughed up blood and smeared it on his right palm before flipping through some hand signs. Out of the poison cloud, a giant salamander that practically filled the stadium emerged. Ruto had recovered himself from the powerful kick, but during the brief lapse in his lightning armor he had inhaled some of the corrupted fog. His vision was swimming, and he was on the verge of collapse already. It was a truly terrifying poison.
Deciding to go out with a bang, Ruto channeled some yokai to clear the poison out of his system, enough to focus on the jutsu he needed to form. Ruto formed a storm ball in his hands as the giant salamander rose up in front of him. Knowing that this was the last hoorah of this fight, Ruto let the storm ball fly. Hanzo and Sal sensed the potent jutsu heading their way and Sal lashed out with his tail to bat away the oncoming jutsu. The giant salamander boss was in for quite a shock.
The storm ball burrowed into Sal's tail before detonating into a storm cloud. The brilliant blue and black bolts of lightning coursed throughout the giant salamander's body, and it even jolted Hanzo from his perch. The salamander's tail was completely engulfed in the explosion and dissolved due to the potent jutsu. The damage caused Sal to disappear back to his summon realm and left the shocked Hanzo to fall nearly 200-feet to the ground. The shock to Hanzo caused the corrupted fog to disperse and showed the crowd Ruto's unconscious form with Hanzo down on one knee.
The crowd gasped as they took in the downed forms. Ai and Shina ran to Hanzo, Ai took a vial he was holding before Shina began ripping into him. Ai left the shouting woman to go to the downed form of Ruto. He lifted Ruto's head up and administered the antidote. Ai called the match in Hanzo's favor and Hanzo stood to address the crowd.
"People of Kumo, I apologize for letting this spar get just a bit out of hand." Laughter rang through the audience. "Nearly 35-years ago I fought against a team from Konoha that gave me a good fight in Amegakore. What most of you don't know that is 12-years ago is I fought against three orphans. Both of those fights I commemorated my opponent's strength by giving them titles. In honor of this young man, the first young man to ever forcibly dispel Ole' Sal, I want to give him a title. To the fiancée of my daughter, I grant him the title 'Tenshi no Raijin', named after the god of lightning, in honor of that amazing storm jutsu he used."
In the audience, Tsunade beamed at her downed brat with pride in her eyes. Internally, she convinced herself that Hanzo was much stronger when the three Sanin fought him, but she was still proud of her brat. The people of Kumo considered this a great honor after such an amazing display. Ruto's girls could care less, they just wanted to see him back on his feet and Atsui was crying passionate tears of flaming passion.
Ruto recovered without much incident after the antidote kicked in and joined Hanzo at the compound. Turns out that when you fight with a man like Hanzo, drinks follow said fight. Hanzo did everything he could to get the kid drunk, but it wasn't until Naruto convinced Hikari to show him how to shut off his immunity that it was even a contest. Naruto laughed raucously as Amie hid her head in her hands, full of shame due to the drunk Hanzo telling old war stories. The slurred stories kept Naruto and the others entertained well into the night.
Hanzo left to head back to Amegakore two days later and left Amie in Ruto's care. Amie learned quickly how to fit into the rowdy house of Makis or Uzumakis or whatever they are called. She was insanely jealous of Samui and Mabui sleeping in the same room as Naruto, but she accepted that all good things come with time. Indeed, they did come in time for the Ame kunoichi, and she never regretted her decision.
A/N: I had a lot of fun with this fight, and I realize that Naruto didn't use his full arsenal. That being said, the kekkai touta of storm release would have been lethal and he was fighting against his fiancée's father, so please take it with a grain of salt. Plus, it's Hanzo the Frikn Salamander.
-Konoha – Uchiha Compound-
The prince of the Uchiha clan was in a foul mood. Yes, a foul mood. Uchihas don't get depressed, Uchihas don't cry, Uchihas aren't like the rest of those sniveling whiners. However, if Sasuke saw a qualified psychiatrist for once in his life, they would say that he was clinically depressed, and for a good reason. For the past couple months, Sasuke has continued to push down his emotions in order to live up to his father's expectations. Each time the memory of his mother and sisters surfaced, he forced it down with sheer rage.
This supremely unhealthy practice had forced him to develop outlets that were more girls were than happy to oblige. Sakura and Ino had been there for him and offered their bodies to him, so he accepted and their offers. Rough, hateful and rage induced sexual release was Sasuke's preference and the two whores should be grateful to assist the Uchiha heir. It didn't matter that they cried afterward or if they asked him to be nicer, he just needed his release. His father told him it was his duty to rebuild the might of the Uchiha, and Sasuke's one remaining, pure emotion was to be there for his father.
On this night, Sasuke left the two in bed and was out venting some frustration on the training ground of the Uchiha clan. He was venting his anger with fire and steel, as all true Uchiha do. Thoughts of his mother and sisters haunted him and the repeated thoughts filled him with rage. The rage fed the curse mark, the curse mark kept him focused on his losses, and kept the cycle going. In his mind, Orochimaru was to blame for everything since Suna had already been destroyed and conquered.
Suddenly, four ninjas wearing the Oto uniforms appeared around the Uchiha. Sasuke saw them and smirked, thinking that he could easily take these intruders and force them to tell where Orochimaru was. He took a battle-ready stance, but the blue haired one decided to speak.
"Alright, kid, Orochimaru sent us here to collect you. Are you going to come willingly?" the blue-haired kunoichi said.
"Where is Orochimaru? I need to kill the snake bastard and avenge my clan!" Sasuke snarled.
A creepy ninja that was slightly hunch backed spoke. "Will you look at this kid? He thinks he can kill Orochimaru-Sama, what a joke!"
Another voice came from the hunch back's back. "Can you believe it Sakon? This silly wickle genin thinks he can do anything to our master, pathetic."
Sasuke flared his chakra and darted forward. He engaged in hand-to-hand combat with the blue kunoichi. She repelled his attacks easily and stabbed him in the arm with a pink crystal. Sasuke jumped back and launched a 'mythical fire flower' jutsu at the group of shinobi. They scattered.
"Guren, we are drawing too much attention, we need to grab him and get out of here." One of them said, Sasuke noted he was the fat one.
"Shut up, fatty. Don't say my damn name in this pathetic village!" The now-known Guren said.
At that time, the four Oto shinobi were surrounded by Root and ANBU forces. They cursed as they realized their predicament. Fugaku stepped forward from behind some of his forces.
"You have two options, Oto nin. You will submit yourselves for interrogation, or you will die here today." Fugaku snarled at the group. "Leave it to that arrogant snake to think I would just let him take my son. I will get my revenge!"
The Oto group exchanged looks and attempted to escape. They used shunshin in various directions and tried to make a break for it. The ANBU forces divided up and gave chase. The chase lasted for 30-minutes, and it resulted with one dead and two subdued Oto ninja. Unfortunately, the kunoichi with blue hair escaped, which enraged Fugaku, and he took it out on his new captives.