Naruto sat at his bedroom's desk looking over his notes on Anko's and Tayuya's Curse Seals. Tayuya had introduced him to Konoha's Snake Mistress, explaining that the two were both betrayed and branded by the Snake Sannin, which is what led to Naruto's current research project. There had to be a way to remove the damn parasite, for that's all it was. A parasite. The Curse Seal acted like a drug, the more you use it the more addicted to the power you get. Not only that it also clouded your mind, making you more and more of an obedient puppet to Orochimaru. Naruto was grateful to have Yūgao as a Sensei and the help of two more Uzumaki to help him and Yūgao work on ways to remove the seal. The two female Uzumaki might not be as advanced as he was in Fuinjutsu but they were quickly catching up. Doubly so since they'd learned the Shadow Clone Jutsu and were abusing the clones to train and grow more than he did!
"There has to be something we're overlooking," Naruto muttered, "Everything has a weakness… some kind of fatal flaw. No fortress is invincible and even the greatest of Shinobi can be brought down…" Naruto's mind whirled and he sighed, looked around the room and saw a box containing the game Jenga that Shino got for him shortly after he moved in, as a way to both kill time on his days off and for strategy training.
"That… is just simple enough to work," The Kitsune said as Naruto's thoughts reached her, "Instead of just removing it like any other parasite, make it collapse on itself. If done right, the entire thing could essentially self-destruct without harming Tayuya or Anko."
"Yeah… That or make it retract to the point it'll be a piece of cake to remove…" Naruto double checked his notes and this time something stuck out. Putting the notes down he then bolted out of his room and pounded on the door to Tayuya's room.
"Alright alright! Give it a break with the fucking knocking!" Tayuya groaned as she opened the door, "What do you want, Squirt? I was just about to head to bed."
"I want to check your Cursed Seal," Naruto said, his eyes sparkling, "I need to check something and if I'm right, the Kitsune and I might have just found how to remove it!"
Tayuya's eyes went wide and she bolted back to the room and sat in her desk chair, her new flute sitting proudly front and center. Pulling her hair to the side she said, "Well what the hell are you fucking waiting for?!"
Naruto chuckled and moved behind her, and carefully examined the seal. Each hook was actually made of tiny Fuinjutsu script and Naruto had to carefully channel Chakra to his eyes to see everything. Something the Kitsune had taught him and even now was coaching him through it. After a couple minutes he grinned, "I knew it. The reason the seal is such a pain to remove is it's made of several different matrixes mixed together. Removing one would cause it to destabilize causing who knows what to happen… however because of that we could cause a more stable failure…"
"Causing it to collapse and destroy itself!" Tayuya finished her eyes wide as the possibilities crossed her mind, "We HAVE to see if this works!"
"But if it doesn't there's a possibility you could die!" Naruto stated in shock. He'd just gained a real family and he wasn't about to lose one of them so soon, "We'll need not only a high level Medic Nin but also need Konoha's Seal Master to double check our findings. Then we need to do some tests just to make sure it's even possible!"
"I know, I know!" Tayuya said as she turned around as she pulled Naruto into a rare hug. Out of the three Karin was the most likely to initiate a hug as she had a slightly better time growing up before her mother died, "But the fact we have a way forward of getting this damn thing off me is amazing just on its own! You bet I'll be letting Anko know about this! If mine is like this then perhaps Anko's is the same!"
Naruto struggled for a few moments before giving up and hugging his older sister, "I know. I just don't want to lose the family I just got…"
Tayuya's expression softened slightly, "I know… I feel the same way. I just want this fucking parasite off of me, and Anko feels the same. It's the last tie I have to that bastard and I've even been considering asking if Anko could be allowed to sign our families contract."
Naruto nodded. The Snake Mistress despised Orochimaru just as much if not more than Tayuya as the man had been her Sensei, and while she did have some friends in the Snake Summons. They knew that as long as Manda was in control of the Snake Clan she wasn't safe, "Don't worry sis. We'll find a way to get that thing off. I promise!"
A few days later, while training an Anbu appeared and gave a scroll to Yūgao before vanishing, "Team we're being summoned by the Hokage for an emergency mission. We'll meet him on the roof of the Hokage Building."
"Yes Sensei!" The three said and the four booked it for the tower, with Naruto sending a clone off to tell Karin and Tayuya about the mission. Landing on the roof they found the Hokage waiting for them.
"I'll make this as brief as I can. Asuma took his team on a C-Rank mission to the Land of Wave to protect a man building a bridge between it and the Land of Fire. Ten minutes ago they were attacked by a pair of Chunin known as the Demon Brothers of Kirigakure. Asuma could have turned back but decided against it as the Land of Wave is being taken over by the shipping magnate Gato, who plans to use it as a base of operations for all his illegal businesses. As the Land of Wave is just off the coast of the Land of Fire we cannot allow Gato to take over. Doubly so with the Chunin Exams in only a couple months. We don't know if Gato has any more Shinobi working for him however as the Demon Brothers are known to work with Zabuza Momochi having fled with him after Zabuza's failed Coup against the Mizukage it is highly likely that Zabuza will be involved. Team Guy is off on a mission to the Land of Tea. As such you are the best option for providing immediate backup due to your speed."
"Understood sir. One question, how did Asuma send word for back up?" Shino asked and the Hokage gave a small smile.
"He's a summoner of the Monkey Clan just like I am. He just keeps that as an ace up his sleeve," Hiruzen explained, "Should you require more reinforcements than Naruto or Asuma can send word with a summons. Now go, I already alerted the East Gate that you would be leaving."
"Yes Sir!" Team Six responded and vanished as they sped towards the east gate.
As they shot out the gate, the Eternal Chunin Kotetsu and Izumo were shocked at the speed Team Six showed, "Holy shit! I didn't think any Genin Team that Might Guy wasn't in charge of could reach that speed!" Kotetsu exclaimed.
"Well Yūgao is the one in charge, and there are a lot of rumors of how hard Kushina pushed her Genin," Izumo replied, "So it's no surprise that Yūgao is pushing her own students just as hard."
Team Six rocketed through the Land of Fire, pausing only for small meals and sleep. Even at their speed it took two days to reach the coast of the Land of Fire where the same small boat that Team Seven had used was waiting for them. After a quiet boat ride the four took off again, Naruto leading the way as he used his Inuzuka level senses to follow the scents of Team Seven. Soon though they heard the sounds of combat, "Going in hot again huh?" Naruto snorted, "Is this going to be a theme with C-Ranks going forward?"
"Let's hope not," Hinata replied, "That would be incredibly annoying!"
They came across the Genin of Team Seven at the edge of a large lake, standing around an old man. Kiba and Sasuke at the front, and Shikamaru at the back, bow and arrow at the ready. On the lake Asuma was fighting a tall shirtless man wearing a belt diagonally over his chest, baggy blue pants, black and light wrist warmers, matching leg warmers, black shinobi sandals and white bandages as a mask, a huge cleaver like sword with a circular hole towards the tip and indent near the handle. On his forehead was a Kirigakure Forehead Protector with a gash right down the middle. Asuma was constantly moving over the water as several clones of the Nuke-Nin tried to grab his legs from under the water.
"Having fun with your little dance?" The Nuke-Nin asked in a mocking tone even as he brought his massive blade down in an attempt to cut Asuma in half.
Asuma dodged to the side, twisted in the air and used his knuckle knives to cut another water clone's head off, "Like I'd let you trap me in a Water Prison Jutsu," Asuma scoffed, "I'd be a fool to fall for that Zabuza," The Jonin then channeled Wind Chakra to his weapons and charged at the Nuke-Nin even as Yūgao charged in from behind in a perfect pincer attack.
Instead of blocking Zabuza leapt high into the air and put his blade on his back, "Back up huh? Should have guessed," Blitzing through hand signs he called, "Water Release: Dagger Rain Jutsu!" Water quickly condensed around him forming daggers and shot forward with a second wave of liquid daggers forming.
The last two Water Clones leapt out of the water where Asuma and Yūgao quickly cut them down before Yūgao went through a motion with her blade that made Zabuza's eyes go wide, "Surging Serpent Hissatsu: Tempest Serpent Cleaver!" As Yūgao brought her sword up, a serpentine form of water shot out of the lake, its form rippling as if there was a whirlpool or tornado just under the surface and it charged straight through the rainfall of daggers completely unbothered by the Jutsu.
"You've got to be FUUUUUUUU!" Zabuza cried as the technique crashed into him, sending the swordsman higher into the air only for the tail of the aquatic snake to slam into his back, sending the swordsman crashing into the lake before the serpent burst apart. Or at least Zabuza would have crashed into the lake if a horizontal mirror made of ice hadn't formed just above the water and the man somehow entered the mirror which shattered. The two Konoha Jonin blinked in surprise before groaning in annoyance.
"He has a Hyoton user as an ally," Asuma grunted as he and Yūgao returned to the shore, "Add that to the Demon Brothers who retreated after their assassination attempt on Tazuna failed… this mission is going to be a pain in the ass I just know it."
Yūgao nodded even though she was panting slightly, "At least he won't be attacking for some time so we can plan."
"Never thought I'd see you panting after a single attack," Asume chuckled, "That attack must have taken a lot of Chakra."
"What the HELL was that?!" Kiba shouted while Tazuna just looked on, stunned at how quickly the battle had turned in their favor.
"That Kiba was one of the most powerful techniques of my families Kenjutsu style," Naruto said with a smirk, "I'm nowhere near learning it but I'll get there one day."
"There is no way that was just a Kenjutsu technique," Sasuke gasped. Even he was in awe at the attack. He doubted even Itachi had an attack that could match it!
"We shouldn't be talking about this in the open," Shikamaru said completely seriously, "Let's get to Tazuna's house then talk."
"Good idea," Hinata nodded.
"How far is your house sir?" Shino asked.
Tazuna shook off his shock, "About an hour or two's walk north. We'll have to go through the city… or the remains of it though, unless we want to extend the trip by another two hours to go around it."
"Let us make haste then," Shino replied adjusting his glasses, "Zabuza might be out of the picture for now, but he still has allies who could attack."
"We'll go through the city," Asuma said, "Gato will already know you're here so no point hiding it and the sooner we get to your home, the sooner we can protect you and your family."
As they passed through the ruined city the Shinobi were silent as they kept their eyes open but the sight was incredibly grim. Run down or destroyed buildings, men, women and children living on the streets wearing stitched up and torn clothes each one begging for food. Out of all the Shinobi, Sasuke was the only one who said nothing, but Asuma did note that a little bit of red was creeping over his eyes. Looks like the strong emotions of the sight was awakening his bloodline.
When they arrived the Shinobi saw the house was built onto a pier over a lake with a windmill next to it and the Shinobi wondered why Tazuna's home hadn't been touched yet. Tazuna used his key to unlock the door. As he opened it he called out, "Tsunami! Inari! I'm back and we have more guests than I anticipated… and I could use one heck of a super drink!"
"Welcome back father," A fair skinned woman with dark blue hair that went down to her shoulders wearing a pink shirt and long blue skirt that went to just below her knees greeted as she walked out of what the Shinobi guessed was the kitchen. While a young boy with spiky black hair under a blue and white striped hat, wearing a yellow shirt under a green jumpsuit came in from another room.
"Everyone this is my daughter Tsunami and my grandson Inari," Tazuna introduced.
"Nice to meet you," Yūgao said before turning to Naruto, "Naruto get your clones to set as many traps as you can around the house. If Gato sends his thugs or the Demon Brothers then your traps can hold them off while we get Tsunami and Inari to safety."
"Got it. I'll make it a mix of lethal and annoying traps," Naruo said as he pulled a large scroll out of his pocket, "I'll have to send clones into the surrounding area or back into the city to find more supplies though," Naruto created a couple dozen clones outside the building and tossed the scroll through the still open door. The clone who caught the scroll gave a two finger salute before Shikamaru who was at the back closed the door and the clones set off to get to work.
"Why bother?" Inari asked. Sasuke and Naruto noticed the look in the kids' eyes. He'd given up all hope. Looking at each other the two Genin nodded and Sasuke stepped forward.
"Who did you lose, kid?" Sasuke asked.
"Why do you care?" Inari countered glaring at the Uchiha.
Sasuke smirked, "Let me put it this way. I lost my entire clan, my entire family in a single night to my older brother," Inari's eyes went wide and he took a step back, "I've made it my goal to hunt down and make my brother pay for what he did, and there is no way in HELL I'm stopping until I succeed or die trying," Sasuke's eyes fully became red with a single magatama slowly rotating around his iris', "I learned that day that you can either lie down and become a victim, or stand up and strike back. You're not a shinobi. You're a civilian, a kid. So let us do the job we were paid for and protect your gramps while he finishes the bridge. Once that's done we'll take out Gato so he can't just move in and take it over once we leave. Point is kid, people die. That's a fact of life. What matters is what you do afterwards."
All of the Konoha Shinobi looked at Sasuke in shock before Asuma smirked. Looks like the therapy was taking root, "Well put Sasuke," Asuma chuckled, "I can say with one hundred percent certainty that everyone in this house has lost someone, be it a family member, lover or friend… even if some of never had a chance to meet those family members," Moving forward Asuma kneeled down to pat Inari's shoulder, "What matters is you never forget them. I've heard it said that the only way for a person to truly die is when every last person forgets them. I'm not asking you to change your opinion overnight. Just think about it alright?"
Inari looked at Asuma, seeing the sincerity in his eyes and slowly nodded before heading out to room and upstairs.
Meanwhile Zabuza was lying in bed, his chest and legs covered in bandages, in a hideout that Gato didn't know about. The last thing the Demon of the Bloody Mist wanted at the moment was to hear that small bastard insult him for losing a fight. Zabuza was a high A almost S rank Shinobi, Asuma Sarutobi was at least a Low S-Rank after his time guarding the Fire Daimyo, and Yūgao Uzuki had recently risen to become a solid S-Rank Kunoichi in the Bingo Books after taking out the Vampiric Demon of Stone. He'd given Gōzu and Meizu instructions on what to tell the small bastard before making their way to him. In his musings he noticed his third subordinate Haku approaching, holding a steaming bowl on a tray.
"Your meal Zabuza-Sama," Haku said as she handed the tray to him. Zabuza gave a small grunt of pain as he tried to eat the soup Haku had brought him. He was incredibly lucky that his arms had taken very little damage from Yūgao's attack, but moving them too quickly would still aggravate his chest and back muscles, "Would you like me to feed you Zabuza-Sama?"
"I'm injured, not an invalid Haku," Zabuza scoffed, "Compared to that attack this is nothing. Honestly I'm more surprised anyone is able to pull off one of the Uzumaki Clan's high level techniques. Yūgao Uzuki proved she's worthy of her S-Rank."
"I've never heard of the Uzumaki Clan," Haku stated, tilting her head slightly.
"Not surprising since they along with their village Uzushiogakure were destroyed at the start of the last Shinobi War," Zabuza replied, making Haku's eyes go wide.
"One clan… had an entire village?" Haku gasped. During the Yuki Clan's prime it had about a hundred and fifty members. For a single clan to need an entire village they would need almost a thousand members at least!
"Yeah," Zabuza grunted, "During their prime they had almost three thousand Pure Blooded members. If you include all the members who were only part Uzumaki they were almost five thousand strong, but that's not the reason it took the combined army of Iwa, Kuma, and Kiri to destroy them."
"It took three of the Five Great Shinobi Villages to destroy them?!" Haku gasped again. How powerful had the Uzumaki been?
Zabuza nodded, "The combined army was almost fifteen thousand strong. It took almost a week to just break through the defenses of the village and even then more than half the army fell in that time," Haku was dumbstruck. More than half of one of the largest armies in history… decimated from the defense of one clan, "Course the Uzumaki were demons with those seals of theirs," Zabuza scoffed, "Honestly the entire invasion was a fool's errand to begin with. The only reason the Uzumaki joined the Second Shinobi War was to act as defense while Konoha was the offense. The Uzumaki were simply protecting civilians and wounded, leaving more of Konoha's forces to fight. But no. The Uzumaki have more powerful Chakra, longer lives and are naturally gifted with Fuinjutsu so they must be planning something."
"So… the Uzumaki were destroyed for similar reasons to the Bloodline Purges?" Haku asked.
"Basically," Zabuza nodded, "And one the invasion entered the village proper, the real bloodbath started and another forty to forty-five percent of the combined army were slaughtered."
The two stayed silent for some time until the Demon Brothers arrived, "What do we do now Boss?" Gōzu asked.
"First thing is not to attack the target's house," Zabuza scowled, "Yūgao is the last living student of The Red Death of Konoha, and we have no idea how skilled she is at Fuinjutsu. She was able to flawlessly pull off one of the Surging Serpent's most powerful techniques so there is no way we're underestimating her. First thing is to gain as much intel on the two teams as possible."
"We know that Asuma's team has an Inuzuka, Nara and the so called 'Last Uchiha'," Meizu said as he recalled the short fight the two had with the team, "No idea if the Uchiha's Sharingan are unlocked but from what I've heard of the bloodline your Hidden in the Mist Jutsu should be a good counter."
"Yeah," Gōzu nodded, "They do need to see you to copy your Jutsu so filling the air with enough Chakra would be a good counter."
"Another counter could be some of my Jutsu," Haku stated, "Even if he could track my movements, it would mean little if he couldn't keep up with the speed my Demonic Ice Mirrors grants me."
"The Nara also had a bow," Zabuza stated, "An odd choice for a Shinobi but given the Nara preferred to stay back and trap people with their shadows it could work with their normal style."
"We didn't see anything odd about the Inuzuka but that doesn't mean he doesn't have any tricks up his sleeves," Meizu nodded.
"What did you see while you were spying on my fight with the Tree Lovers?" Zabuza asked, "Find anything useful on the reinforcements?"
"I did see the Uzumaki Spiral on the back of the blond's 'Kill-me-Orange' coat," Meizu stated, baffled as to why any shinobi would willingly wear that color, "And I'm pretty sure the others are a Hyuga and Aburame."
Zabuza rubbed his chin in thought, "Might be a descendant then and the Uzumaki Blood is so diluted he doesn't have their red hair. It wouldn't surprise me that some Uzumaki fled to Konoha after the Fall of Uzushio to join Kushina. If so, we definitely don't want to attack the house and possibly the bridge as well. Putting traps around the house is far more likely but we can't ignore the possibility of putting traps around the bridge."
"Hey didn't the blond kid look a little like the Yellow Flash?" Gōzu asked.
Meizu shrugged, "Yet the bastard never had a kid. He's most likely a Yamanaka who's a Yellow Flash fanboy."
"A Yamanaka-Uzumaki mix huh?" Zabuza stated, "Interesting combination. Though with both the Violet Reaper and Asuma Sarutobi, we'll have to focus on simply killing the old man. We don't need Konoha on our backs like Kiri for killing the Hokage's Son, one of their few S-Rank Shinobi and the Uchiha Heir."
"Perhaps ambush them on the way to the bridge?" Haku suggested.
"We could also kidnap the old man's family while they're out shopping," Gōzu added, "They'll most likely just have one, maybe two of the Genin with them."
"That's far too much like something Gato would do for my taste," Zabuza scoffed, "We'll shelve that idea for now. Haku, you're the one with the most medical knowledge. How long do you think it'll take me to be healed?"
"If I gather some more medicinal herbs, and you move around less… possibly by the end of the week Zabuza-Sama," Haku said, bowing her head slightly.
"Go. Avoid the Konoha Shinobi if you can but if you have no choice but to speak with one then try to get some intel," Zabuza ordered. Haku bowed before leaving the room. Her Master had given her an order and as Zabuza's Tool, she would do her best to get him on his feet by the end of the week.
Author's Notes:
Why did I use 'Hissatsu' instead of the english translation of Deathblow or Certain Kill? 1: Hissatsu sounds a little flashier. 2: I am a Kamen Rider fan and wanted to reference Den-O a little lol
As for how I handled Inari… I just didn't want the kid to suffer longer than he had two. Everyone has lost someone. And while the pain of that loss never truly leaves us, what matters is we remember them… even if that kind of mindset isn't always easy when the pain is fresh.
Why is Haku female here… I literally flipped a coin because I couldn't decide. As for the Demon Brothers… they're Chunin with a focus on teamwork and assassinations. Why the hell would they just stay and fight an S-Rank Jonin when they've lost their advantage of surprise? Plus as Chunin they need to be at least proficient in strategy. Basically they got robbed of showing what they could really do in Cannon.
