"Alright! That's it for today's session!" Guy-Sensei called, causing Naruto, Yakumo and Lee to jump away from each other and turn to him, "Naruto you're progressing well in your family's style! You are well on your way to mastering the intermediate level techniques and should be ready to move to the advanced level after the Chunin Exams! Yakumo I am ecstatic at how quickly you've grown! I can confidently say that you should have little to no problems once you take your competency tests and become a true Kunoichi! Just remember that while your body is stronger than it used to be, your fighting style should still revolve more around dodging then blocking just to be on the safe side."
"Yes Sensei," Yakumo bowed. She was currently wearing a light pink battle kimono that ended just above her knees and detached sleeves, the dress being kept in place by a dark green obi belt with dark orange leaves, black shinobi sandals and dark pink socks that ended just below her knees.
"I agree! Seeing how far you've come just drives me on further!" Lee yelled, making Naruto and Yakumo sweat drop. Pausing Lee then coughed into his hand, "Apologies. As I was saying, I am glad to see how far you've come to overcome your previous weaknesses as well as how much you've helped me overcome mine. And Naruto, your growth has been equally inspiring! I hope we get to face each other in the Chunin Exams without holding back."
Naruto grinned and held out a fist, "I feel the same way Lee, and if we don't get the chance, then perhaps we'll at least get fights that'll fully test us!"
Lee grins and fist bumped Naruto with Yakuo joining moments later. Guy smiled at the sight, knowing that the three would go far in their Shinobi careers, "How about we go get some barbecue?" Yakumo suggested, "After that session I'm starving."
"I would love to join, however I planned to get some extra D-Ranks in," Lee replied, stepping back, "I'm trying to save up for some new training equipment I can use at home… and hopefully this one lasts longer than the others did."
"Not a problem Lee," Naruto said, "Perhaps next time?"
"I would be delighted!" Lee grinned before turning and taking off.
Yakumo sighed with a small grin, "So… we still getting barbecue or are you taking off too?"
"Nah. I'll join ya," Naruto chuckled and the two began walking, leaving Guy-Sensei with a small smile. The Jonin wondering if this was just two friends hanging out or something more.
As the two young teens walked through Konoha they spoke about various topics. Some of Naruto's missions, some new Genjutsu Yakumo was trying to learn. If the Demon Cat Tora was in Konoha again and if so what unlucky Genin would be tasked with catching her. What Kurenai was doing as neither had seen her in some time. By the time they arrived at Yakiniku Q, Naruto was recounting how he tricked Zabuza into joining Konoha, making Yakumo laugh so hard she had tears in the corners of her eyes.
Once they were at a booth on the second floor and waiting for the food their ordered Yakumo said, "Thanks for joining me Naruto," She had a faint rosy tint to her cheeks but Naruto brushed it off thinking it was just from her earlier laughter, "With how busy everyone is, I haven't really had a chance to just relax with one of my friends."
"Yeah… things have been pretty busy lately," Naruto nodded, "What with training, all the missions, and the like. Lately I've been working so hard that the moment I get in bed I fall asleep."
Yakumo giggled as part of her wondered if Naruto realized they were basically on a date. Shaking her head slightly she said, "So… you have the Fox Contract and your family's Dragon Contract. Any other secrets you're willing to share?"
Naruto was silent for a few moments, "Yeah… but not here, and I should tell the others too. My sisters and teammates know…," He sighs, "That's going to be fun…" Looking out the window, Naruto makes a hand sign and three clones burst into existence on a roof on the other side of the street who quickly took off.
"Must be a big secret then," Yakumo said, her mind racing. What could this secret be?
"Yeah…" Naruto shook his head, "I wonder if Aunty Tamamo would let you sign the Fox Contract. A lot of the Foxes use Genjutsu."
Yakumo tilted her head, "Huh… I wonder if we could combine our Genjutsu to make something new… Why do you call her Aunty?"
Naruto grinned, "That's what she insisted I call her. She even called herself my aunt in Wave."
Yakumo giggled a rosy tint returning to her cheeks. She paused when she saw Naruto looking out the window at a woman with light pink hair with a light blue bow in it wearing a loose kimono. At first she thought he was interested in her before she noted he was more amused than anything, "Why are you amused Naruto? Does it have something to do with that woman?"
"Well…" Naruto started before the food was delivered, the waiter doing his best to keep his face neutral. When the waiter left and the first group of meat was on the grill, Naruto pulled out a seal and put it on the table, "There we go. Now no one can listen to our conversation."
Yakumo raised an eyebrow, "No one?"
"Absolutely no one," Naruto nodded, "Not even the Hokage could get through this. Orchid-Sensei taught me as it's one of the tricks she learned from my mom."
Yakumo smiled, "That must be a high level seal."
"It's one of the first Advanced Level Seals the Uzumaki learn," Naruto grinned, "Because if the user can't be trusted with this seal, then they can't be trusted with any of the more powerful seals."
"Makes sense," Yakumo nodded, "So what made you so amused?"
"That woman was Yōseiken. A gender fluid member of the Fox Clan and member of a group known as the Elemental Pack with her specializations being seduction and intel gathering," Naruto grinned, "I summoned her a while back and she hasn't returned to the Fox Realm yet and I don't know how she does it but she's able to easily slip through the defensive seals my home has… I'm guessing Kageken the stealth and Infiltration specialist of the pack could also get in if she wanted but she hasn't had a reason too yet."
Yakumo giggled at the exasperated look Naruto gained when he mentioned how easily the fox could get through his home's defenses. Naruto then explained about Milly and the others in the Dragon Clan he'd met as the two enjoyed their meal. Once done and standing outside the restaurant Naruto then motioned for her to follow and began walking back towards his home. Even as Yakumo wondered what the big secret could be she was happy that what she considered her first date with Naruto went well and hoped she'd get the chance to do it again soon.
Kabuto and his team walked into the mission room behind his useless Sensei. He had to hide a smirk as he'd placed a subtle Genjutsu on the bespectacled shinobi to make sure the team got a C-Rank Mission that would take them near the Land of Grass. Once there he, Yorioi and Misumi would kill the fool they were stuck with and head to Oto. It was a shame he'd have to leave Konoha so early but in the end the results would be the same and this disease ridden tree would be burned to the ground.
Kakashi and Tenzo aka Tiger were meeting in a small bar that only Jonin and Anbu knew about and were allowed in,, and used as a place to relax after a long mission or just talk about news that they didn't want spread around town, "I'm glad to see you're taking your job seriously again Senpai," Tenzo said as he took a small sip of his non-alcoholic sparkling cider.
Kakashi nodded leaving his cup of sake untouched for the moment, "It wasn't until I saw Guy and Yūgao sparring a couple months ago that I realized that I was failing my team and Sensei. It… wasn't a kind realization but one I needed."
Tenzo nodded, "You might not be back at your old strength but at least you're back in the A-Ranks without using your Sharingan."
Kakashi sighed, "Please don't mention that. I'm ashamed of myself for falling that far."
The corner's of Tenzo's lips twitched which for the ex Root agent was a full on smirk, "Well how's writing down all the Jutsu you've copied going?"
"I've got more than half of them written down thanks to using Shadow Clones to write them while I work on mastering all the Jutsu I know."
"No small feat," Tenzo replied, "So what do you think of how Uzumaki tricked Zabuza into joining Konoha?"
"That he's very lucky," Kakashi groaned as he picked up his cup.
"But he'd make his mother proud with that I bet," Tenzo said.
"He would," Kakashi nodded, placing his now empty cup of sake down, "So how's training young Haruno going?"
"She's driven, I'll give her that," Tenzo replied, "She's able to use most of the Jutsu I teach her easily now even if they take a lot of Chakra. So we're currently working on ways to increase her Chakra Capacity as quickly as possible."
"Is her control taking a hit form her rapidly growing capacity?" Kakashi inquired.
"Surprisingly no," Tenzo replied, "Her natural mastery of her Chakra is phenomenal. Her Chakra Control has, if anything grown along with her capacity."
"Good chance she'd make Chunin then," Kakashi stated, "At least now that she's broken out of her fangirl mentality. Who'd have thought that the last thing needed for that was her mother being arrested as a spy."
"I still wonder how the woman met Orochimaru," Tenzo said, "I wonder if Ibiki has been able to get something useful out of her yet."
"As much as I'd love to say we have," Anko groaned as she and Tayua plopped down in the booth next to Kakashi and Tenzo.
"That bitch is being so fucking stubborn," Tayuya growled, "We've thrown just about everything we can at her and she hasn't given us jack!"
"Even Tayuya's main summon Lin-Lin has had no luck and that dragon can be more sadistic than I am sometimes," Anko stated.
"Really," Kakashi asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Only when she's going more for a scare tactic at least," Tayuya snorted as a clone of Anko arrived with the ladies drinks.
"That's still something," Tenzu smiled, "Perhaps she has a seal preventing her from saying anything? Perhaps similar to the one Root used?"
"Perhaps," Anko said slowly as she scratched her chin in thought, "We did a normal search for weapons and the like but not for those kinds of seals. Where was it normally placed?"
Tenzo the opened his mouth and stuck out his tongue showing three lines of black ink above two more lines that were cut in half, "...Those look like a pair of fucking pants," Tayuya deadpaned as Tenzo closed his mouth, "Who came up with a lame ass design like that?"
"Roots old Seal Master if not Elder Danzo himself," Tenzo replied.
"Well we'll look into it tomorrow. Luckily we've only just started on her due to all the work that piled up when Tayuya joined," Anko smirked at her red haired friend.
"Hey don't pile the blame on me!" Tayuya scoffed, "Blame the people whose jobs it is to notice the spies! Those lazy assholes needed a kick in the pants."
"If not a kick somewhere else," Anko cackled, making the two males flinch, "At least there weren't any spies within their ranks when we looked."
Kakashi shook his head and tried to steer the conversation to less sadistic drawing topics, "So how's Naruto's training going?"
This was the wrong thing to say as Tayuya gave the white haired shinobi a feral grin, "Why you asking? Still butthurt because Yūgao won't let you train him? Or is it because there hasn't been any other team sparring sessions for you to… critique?"
Anko cackled again as Kakashi's forehead met the table with a bang, "You really walked into that one Sempai."
"Walked?" Anko laughed, "He ran face first into it!?
"Jokes at the wannabe cyclops expenses aside," Tayuya snickered, "He's doing well. I have no doubt he'll make Chunin. Karin is also doing well even if she doesn't have a proper team yet."
"Has there been any trouble with the… you know what?" Tenzo asked only for Tayuya to place an Uzumaki secrecy seal on the table.
"No. Naruto has had no problems with the giant ball of red fur," Tayuya smirked, knowing that the switch between Tamamo and the Kyubi had only happened last week, "The big guy has apparently been pretty chill. Then again Naruto can get on almost anyone's good side when he's not pranking the shit out of them."
"You mean like that one time he somehow snuck into T&I and put laxatives into all the prisoners' food a couple weeks after he became a Genin?" Anko smirked, "Ibiki was so pissed that someone managed to do that but was equally impressed by the results after the prank continued for an entire week. We got so much info just on the promise of making the 'torment' end."
"He really managed to do that for an entire week?" Tenzo inquired, shocked that a Genin even if it was Naruto had managed the feat.
"We still have no idea how he did it either," Anko laughed, "We could find no holes in our security that he'd be able to take advantage of," Tayuya had a large smirk as she knew he must have used his physical transformations to sneak in and out but there was no way she was revealing that ace up his sleeve.
"Do you know if he's told anyone yet?" Kakashi asked as he shook his head. Not for the first time wondering why all Uzumaki seemed to be so chaotic.
"I know his teammates know," Tayuya said, "But I don't know if he's told anyone else yet. I'll ask when I get home."
"With a friend group like the one he's got I'd be shocked if any turned on him for something like this," Anko stated, "I mean being a Jinchūriki isn't that much worse than being that Snake Bastard's student."
"Well… that one Neji prick would probably say something to make the others kick his ass," Tayuya said.
Once the Genin of Teams Six, Seven, Eight, and Nine/Guy minus Neji arrived at Naruto's place with Karin, Shino and Hinata standing next to the blond for moral support. Naruto said, "So… there's a big secret I feel like it's time to talk about."
"How big of a secret are we talking about here?" Shikamaru asked.
"S-Rank," Hinata replied, making all the Genin not in the know and Yakumo's eyes go wide.
"To be blunt," Naruto started know that if it wasn't for his friends and sister by his side he would be having a lot more trouble finding the courage for this, "The Fourth couldn't kill the Kyubi as the Biju are beings of pure Chakra so if they 'die' they just reform in a few years time…"
"So if he couldn't kill the fox," Sasuke stated.
"Then he had to seal it away," Choji continued, looking Nartuo dead in the eye, "I'm guessing he sealed the Fox in you?"
"Correct," Karin stated as she adjusted her glasses once more making them shine and hide her eyes for a moment, "The only ones able to become the Jinchūriki for the Kyubi are the Uzumaki due to our dense and powerful Chakra that acts as a filter for the Kyubi's Chakra."
Choji nodded as Sakura asked, "Is… is the Kyubi as animalistic as the reports from that night suggest?"
"I doubt it," Ino stated with Tenten and Shikamaru nodding, "The Biju are at least as old as the Sage of Six Paths so it doesn't make sense if they'd just be mindless beasts…"
"You're right," Naruto nodded, "He is way more intelligent than the reports of that day, but he hasn't told me why yet."
"Genjutsu?" Lee suggested, "History also says Madara Uchiha used the Biju against Hashirama Senju and I doubt they agreed to work with him."
Sasuke tilted his head in thought. It wouldn't be a stretch to assume Madara had the Mangekyo Sharingan… wait. Didn't his family's scrolls say he took his brother's eyes? He'd only found records of it once in one of the oldest scrolls his family had that only the Clan head has access to. One apparently written by Madara himself… the Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan. The question was who apart from Itachi could have had the Mangekyo Sharingan, "Ryo for your thoughts Sasuke?" Shino asked.
"The night he killed our clan, Itachi had a stage of the Sharingan that to my knowledge no one else had called the Mangekyo Sharingan. According to the scroll. The Mangekyo Sharingan can only be awakened by killing your best friend… Though Itachi wasn't the first to have it. As far as I know the one who discovered the Mangekyo Sharingan… was Madara Uchiha."
"So we know that it's very likely the Sharingan can control the Biju," Shikamaru stated, "The question now is, 'who did it'?"
The room went quiet as Sasuke closed his eyes in thought, going over all the names he knew though the majority of them were confirmed to be killed by Itachi, and with how prideful they were… none of them would have been able to hide those eyes. Every Uchiha who went Nuke-Nin with the exception of Itachi were quickly hunted down and killed… but what about an Uchiha who everyone thought was already dead? He gritted his teeth as he concentrated. His instincts were screaming at him that he already had all the information he needed at the moment. Who, who could it possibly be? What two bit Uchiha could possibly have unlock this stage of his eyes? Two Bit… Two Bit Oh… Oh Bit To… Sasuke's eyes snapped open, "Obito Uchiha… Kakash's old teammate…"
"Isn't he dead?" Tenten asked.
"Officially yes," Sasuke replied, "I was looking over a record of Uchiha who died in the last War. Both for a reminder of those who died to protect Konoha, and morbid curiosity on how they died. Every single Uchiha who died was incinerated shortly after death as is Uchiha Tradition and Law to make sure our eyes don't fall into the wrong hands… all save one," Everyone was quiet as this sank in, "Obito was half crushed by a boulder when he gave his eye to Kakashi to replace Kakashi's recently damaged eye. Kakashi and Rin then left, leaving Obito trapped."
"So anyone might have come across Obito, taken him away to be healed up and brainwashed," Karin whispered hands over her mouth, "Or at least steal his remaining Sharingan if it was undamaged."
Sasuke nodded, "I did a little training with Kakashi after Wave. During that session I asked how his teammates died. His only female teammate Rin Nohara was kidnapped by Kirigakure and had the Three Tail sealed inside her. Kakashi rescued her but was ambushed on the way and when attempting to kill one of the attackers with his Raikiri Rin jumped in the way so she'd die as well. The seal used on her made her a ticking time bomb so instead of risking Jiraiya not being able to alter the seal and the Three Tail rampaging she took her own life. Kakashi most likely has the Mangekyou Sharingan as well but hasn't used it as he doesn't know about it."
"And because Obito still had one of his eyes, his might have evolved at the same time," Ino gasped, "Sasuke do all Mangekyou share the same powers?"
"I.. don't know," Sasuke sighed, "The only power I know it has is one of if not the most powerful Genjutsu on the planet called Tsukuyomi named after the Moon Kami. Itachi used it on me after killing our parents. Three days within the Genjutsu was really only three seconds," He then looked at Naruto, "I don't know if the Kyubi can hear me but I'm sorry for how my family's treated the Biju."
Within Naruto's head the Kyubi chuckled, "An Uchiha who doesn't have his head up his ass… color me impressed."
Naruto nodded slowly, "Want me to send a clone to the Hokage with that info?"
"Nah. I'll go see him afterwards," Sasuke said with a small smirk, "Personally I'm wondering if I can unlock the Mangekyou Sharingan through training alone, and killing someone close to you is just the shortcut. So I'm going to work towards that if only to counter Itachi and Obito when they appear."
Naruto grinned, "Once you do let me know. We might be able to make a seal to shut down their Sharingan without affecting you."
The group then moved onto light topics and just had fun hanging out.
Tsunade and Jiraiya sat opposite Hiruzen who was smoking his pipe while Shizune was at the Senju compound, "Jiraiya, Tsunade. Glad you could finally join us. I sent that letter quite some time ago. What took you?"
"Getting Hime here back to her previous level," Jiraiya replied, "Or at least as close to it as possible in such short a time."
"I see," Hiruzen said, "Well it's good to see you again Tsunade."
"It's good to see you too, Sensei," Tsunade said with a small smile, "So how's Naruto been doing?"
"Very well," Hiruzen replied with a small sad smile, "I haven't spoken to him since he learned more about how I'd failed and unintentionally manipulated him but he's taken Konohamaru under his wing and my grandson sees him as a brother figure while Yakumo Kurama is a sister to him. The three are good influences on each other."
"Really?" Jirayia asked, "I guess that makes sense. How's she doing controlling her bloodline after I removed that faulty seal?"
"Only minor flare ups," Hiruzen replied.
"Good," Jiraiya nodded.
"Anything else we should know before moving on to more important things?" Tsunade asked.
"Three things," Hiruzen stated, "First, Naruto has brought two more Uzumaki to Konoha. Karin and Tayuya Uzumaki. Karin and her mother were in Kusa. I will go over why she finally joined Konoha later. As for Tayuya," Hiruzen took a puff from his pipe, "She originally joined Orochimaru in an attempt to keep him away from other Uzumaki but when he turned his eyes on Karin due to her possessing a unique ability she blew up the base she was stationed at and fled. Tayuya also bears one of Orochimaru's Curse Seals."
"Are you sure we can trust her?" Jiraiya asked, "She was important enough to get a Cursed Seal after all."
"Are you able to trust Anko?" Hiruzen countered, making Jiraiya's jaw click shut.
"Low blow Sensei," Jiraiya grumbled. Anko had had one of Orochimaru's Cursed Seals for years and never did anything against Konoha.
"The third thing is Naruto has become friends with the rest of the Genin from his generation and two older Genin," Hiruzen said with a small smile, "Including Sasuke Uchiha so you might have four cousins who don't hate you on principle Tsunade. Sasuke has made remarkable progress with his therapy and might not need it soon."
"Huh," Tsunade said in surprise, "I wasn't expecting to hear an Uchiha get a hold of their pride apart from Itachi and Shisui. I'll be cautiously optimistic."
"Oh one more thing… Naruto thinks he might have found a way to remove the Cursed Seals and now that the two of you are back we will be able to put his idea to the test," Hiruzen said.
"WHAT?!" Jiraiya yelled as he surged to his feet, "I've been trying to figure that out for years and Naruto's managed it within a… what a few months?! How's he able to figure it out when I haven't been able to?"
"He's an Uzumaki," Tsunade chuckled, "That gives him a natural advantage with Seals."
"He also has all his mother's notes and the Dragon Clan to aid him. In fact I believe that Anko has also been allowed to sign the Dragon Contract so that seal is the last physical link she has with Orochimaru," Hiruzen said with a small smile. He didn't say anything about Naruto having the Fox Summon wanting to know how Naruto would reveal it.
Jiraiya pouted as he sat back down, "So what's this idea the brat's come up with?"
"Creating a controlled failure due to the Cursed Seal being made up of several different seal matrices," Hiruzen explained, "He's also learned the trick of carefully channeling Chakra to his eyes to magnify what he's looking at."
"You've got to be fucking kidding me!" Jiraiya groaned as Tsunade burst out laughing, "It took me until Jonin to learn that trick! How did the brat learn it so early?!"
"Well…" Hiruzen said before blowing out a bit of smoke that took the form of a leaf, "Tayuya is a Tokubetsu Jonin so perhaps he learned it from her? Or perhaps from the Dragon Clan," Jiraiya's pout intensified. If Naruto kept this up, what would be left for The Great Toad Sage to teach him? "Well let's get onto more important topics for now shall we?"
Omake/Cut Scene
Naruto sat cross legged in his backyard moments after Tamamo had been released from the Seal with the Kyubi taking her place. Karin and Prism-Scale were nearby as they were the only Medics he trusted to be present.
Naruto flexed his Chakra a little as he could feel the immediate difference and was about to get to his feet when was dragged into his mindscape. Thankfully it was no longer a giant sewer and was now a giant forest like the one outside of Konoha with a large pagoda tower like the one Tamamo had shown him through a genjutsu. The leaves of the forest slowly and endlessly blowing in a light wind.
"ARE YOU FUCKING SERIOUS!" The Kyubi bellowed as small yellow leaves fell off his body. Remnants of his time in the Plains of Inari, "I thought I'd be rid of the constantly falling leaves when I left the Fox's Realm!" The giant red furred, red eyed fox glared down at the laughing blond, "... Tamamo came up with this idea didn't she?"
"Yup!" Naruko cackled as he picked up one of the yellow leaves, "So this is a real ginkgo leaf huh?" Naruto's grin slowly grew as many of the trees around the tower changed to have the ginkgo leaves even if they didn't become birch trees.
"INARI DAMN IT!" The Kyubi bellowed as the ginkgo leaves joined their green siblings in the wind as Naruto's cackling resumed.
Author's Notes:
Yakumo's combat outfit is based off the black haired Furisode GIrl from Pokemon X&Y
For how Naruto knew what a pagoda looked like… small genjutsu from Tamamo.
I tried writing the scene where Tamamo and the Kyubi swapped places but none of the attempts felt right so I just moved on. The Omake is the only bit left.
