"Damn it kid where are you"?
The Kyubi was racing through the trees following the footprints of Naruto when he suddenly found his scent and he followed it.
"There you are kid I told you to stay put"!
Kyubi drops down in front of Naruto then looks up and sees a red-headed girl with Naruto.
"Explain now"!
"Kyubi back that way there is a small house and it is under attack by some ninjas"!!!
The Kyubi looks in the direction of the house then he sniffs the air and can smell blood.
"I made a shadow clone and used it as a distraction and it was able to stab and kill one of them".
The Kyubi looks at Naruto with a look of surprise at the fact that Naruto was able to make a shadow clone.
"How far away is the house from here"?
"Uh, it is about three minutes away way"?
"Because I can smell blood and a lot of it".
Naruto looked confused and the Kyubi saw this.
"Before you ask we are too far away for me to only smell one dead body which means there is more than one body". "Stay here and this time do not move or I swear I will beat you got me"?
Naruto looked scared for a moment and quickly nodded his head.
Then without warning the Kyubi jumps from tree to tree with the speed of a chunin-level ninja.
"Damn this clone body is hard to move in".
Within a few seconds, Kyubi sees the house and looks around from the tree line. He looks around and sees three ninjas on the ground in puddles of blood and also sees two others near the front of the house. He jumps down and goes over to the house. He hears small whispers coming from the mother.
Kyubi slowly walks up to her and gets down to his knees by the mother's side.
"Hey hey hey it's okay I'm not here to hurt you".
"Karin, is she safe"? "Is my baby girl safe"?
The Kyubi looks down at her with a sad but reassuring tone of voice.
"Yes, she is me and the kid will take care of her". With a sad and happy smile, she looked up at Kyubi and said "Thank you".
"I have to ask those ninjas are from the hidden Grass, so why were they after you and your family"?
The mother looked up at him and started to explain that she was a Uzumaki and that she had a special type of chakra.
"If someone bites me they can take my chakra to heal and replace lost chakra".
"Please tell Karin that I love her".
"I will and I will take her out of here with me and the kid".
"Hahaha, and people say that the mighty Kyubi is nothing more than a bloodthirsty Demon".
The Kyubi was shocked that she knew who he was and could tell.
"Don't look at me like that I am an Uzumaki I know a Jinchuriki when I see one".
In the basement of the house are some Uzumaki scrolls she had said and with that she slowly closed her eyes and fell into an eternal rest.
"Huh fuck this has been a day". Kyubi then made three shadow clones then said "You and you start making some graves for those two".
"Burn the ninjas and leave no trace of them".
As those two left Kyubi signed for the last clone to follow him into the house.
"Grab some bags and pack some clothes for the girl and no more than two bags".
The Kyubi then turns around and looks for the basement and finds it in the corner near the kitchen. He pulls on the door on the ground and walks in.
"So your name is Karin right my name is Naruto Uzumaki". He had started to talk so he could try to keep Karin calm.
"Yes, my name is Karin". "Karin Uzumaki it is nice to meet you". She had said that in a small and meek voice.
"Hey that means we are family," said Naruto as a way to lighten the mood. Karin had a small smile on her face upon hearing that.
"So where are you from Naruto"? Karin had asked so she could distract herself from the fear she was feeling.
"I am from the Hidden Leaf Village but the Kyubi and I decided to leave the village for something better".
Karin had a look of shock and fear on her face as she heard the Kyubi.
"The Kyubi," she said in a small and meek voice. Naruto nodded his head and said, "Yeah but don't worry he is not some mindless killing monster like everyone says".
She had a look that said that she did not believe him but she would trust him.
"So hey can you tell me about the Uzumaki Clan I was born an orphan and no one has told me anything "?
Karin looked at him with a look that said she only knew the basics of the Clan.
"Well from what my mother has told me about the Uzumaki, we are born with high levels of chakra, and by the time we are in the academy we have low to mid-levels of chakra".
Naruto looked at her with amazement and excitement.
"Is that a lot no one has taught me about chakra yet"?
"Hahahahaba" Karin could not stop laughing Naruto looked so cute with the look of a puppy.
"Yes, it is a lot of chakra". "Think of it like this low levels of chakra imply that you are mostly a Genin and mid-levels suggest that you are mostly likely a Chunin".
Naruto had stars in his eyes at that explanation.
"That is so cool"!!! "Do you know anything else about our Clan"? Karin had a small smile on her face as she looked at Naruto.
Right as she was going to say more about the Clan four people dropped down from the trees.
Without any thought, Naruto protectively got in front of Karin. But when he looked up at the four people he saw himself.
"Calm down kid it is just me and some clones that I had made". With that Naruto slowly relaxed and let Karin out from behind him.
The Kyubi looked over at the girl and asked" Hey your name is Karin right"?
Karin slowly nodded her head and looked at him with a look of anticipation and worry.
"I am sorry girl but your mother is dead and there was nothing that I could do to save her".
He said that with a soft voice and his head down at the end of his sentence.
She started to cry and sob, holding onto Naruto and crying in his chest.
"MOMMY, please please please," she said as she sobbed.
"Karin her last words were if you were safe and that she loved you very much".
The voice of the Kyubi was so soft that if anyone ever asked he would deny it. Naruto didn't know what to do so all he did was hold onto Karin and hug her tight. He whispered to her "Don't worry I am here with you and you still have a family.
Kyubi started to lead them back to the camp where he had left the animals that he had hunted. It only took them thirty minutes to get back to the site.
"Naruto do you see those sticks and tree branches go and collect them but stay in my line of sight got me"?
With a salute, he was off and gathering wood.
Kyubi then brought Karin to a turned-over log and sat her down.
"Karin when I was at your house I grabbed some supplies for you and some pictures of you and your family as well".
Karin looked up at him hugged him and whispered "Thank you Kyubi"
"Now we need to talk and discuss what we are going to do with you".
As Naruto was gathering wood he started to feel sick and threw up. The memories of killing that ninja came rushing back now that he had time to settle down.
"Is this what being a ninja is about"?
"I feel so cold and sick".
"Blood so much blood I can still see it on my hands". He said all of This and started to cry as he did. His body was shuddering and he threw up again.
"Kami I'm so sorry please forgive me".
"I know that if I didn't do that then Karin would be dead just like her mother but yet I feel so sick".
Slowly Naruto got control over his body and a look of determination crossed his face.
"Karin is my family I will protect her and that is a promise I swear".
As Naruto came back with the wood he saw that the shadow clones that Kyubi made a camp sign for everyone.
"Good Naruto you have brought some wood for a fire". The Kyubi had noticed that he had returned with some firewood.
"Yeah sorry it took so long". Naruto had said that with a sheepish look and his hand on the back of his head.
"Well that is good you can drop the wood over there and the clones will start to make a fire".
"But you and I need to talk". Kyubi had said that with a hard look in his eyes. Naruto had started to sweat a little at the look that the Kyubi was giving him.
"Sit"
The Kyubi had said in a commanding tone. Naruto did as he was told and quickly sat on the ground not wanting to anger the fox.
"First I am going to explain how the Demon clone works".
"The clone is made with my chakra which is more potent than human chakra".
Naruto nodded his head he had known that from when it was first formed.
"After that comes the hard part for me".
"I send my mind into the body of the clone which means that when I am 'out of the seal'
I do not have a mental link to you".
Naruto had a surprised face when hearing that, and then he realized what the Kyubi was saying.
"You mean when I wandered off and ran into those ninjas you had no clue that I could be in trouble or even killed"?!?
"Yes and if you were to be killed I would have known since the seal would have shot me back into the cage and would be locked tight".
They both just sat there in silence thinking of what was just said. Eventually, Naruto began to speak.
"I am sorry I did not know and was not thinking".
The Kyubi had a small grin on his face as he heard his words.
"Not a problem, now let's talk about a basic plan for now".
Naruto looked excited hearing that. He was about to learn more about the Uzumaki Clan.
"What can you tell me about my Clan"?
"How strong is the Uzumaki Clan"?
"And what were they best at"?
Naruto was speaking so fast that the Kyubi could barely keep up.
"SHUT UP YOU BRAT" the Kyubi yelled out as he hit Naruto on the head. Naruto sat there rubbing his head but could not get the beaming smile off his face.
"Well, kid first the Uzumaki were a Clan of seal masters".
"They were the best at sealing Jutsu, and some even say that it was in their blood". The look of awe and reverence for his clan.
"Your clan also had a bloodline ability called chakra chains".
Hearing that he may have a bloodline made Naruto gitty with excitement. With all that he was told about his clan, Naruto almost started to think they were invincible. But with Kyubi's next words, Naruto was put back into reality.
"But with all of their power and abilities, they were still only a clan of about 300 ninjas".
"At the very start of the third great ninja war, three of the five major Hidden Villages attached the clan". For the third time that day hearing about his clan had left him shell-shocked.
Before Naruto or Kyubi could say anything else they heard a voice from the treeline next to them.
"Um, Kyubi Sama I have been thinking about what we talked about earlier".
Both Naruto and Kyubi looked over to see Karin coming from the trees and could see a look of determination in her eyes. But Kyubi saw a small look of fear and sadness as well.
"Naruto is the only family that I have at the moment so please let me travel with the both of you"!!!
When she said that she had a look of pleading in her eyes.
"Naruto do not speak".
Kyubi said that with a look and then moved his gaze to Karin.
"You know that my only concern is Naruto and if you slow us down I will leave you"?
"Not even Naruto will convince me to not leave you behind".
Naruto wanted to yell at the Kyubi for saying that. He had just met someone from his clan and was not going to let him talk to Karin like that. As he was about to open his mouth, Karin spoke up with a confident tone.
"Yes, I know and I will pull my weight"!
Then Kyubi spoke again but this time he added some killer intent to his words.
"If you come with us you will need to be strong and there will be no shortcuts like Naruto has with being my container".
Naruto looked a little confused at his words about shortcuts to getting stronger that he has.
"Yes, I know and I will be strong just like my mother was".
The look in her eyes was what Kyubi wanted to see. With a smirk, Kyubi started to laugh at the face she was making, It was so adorable.
"Hahabaha well then welcome to the group".
Naruto and Karin looked at one another and started to jump up and down in excitement.
"Now you too the clones that have been working around the camp have finished making some food, go and get some then turn in for the night".
"This clone will only be able to work for a few more minutes at most, we will start training tomorrow".
Chapter end
Authors note
Hey guys I have a few things I want to say about this chapter regarding Naruto and his character and mindset. In this fic, I am going to try and keep everything as close to the canon as possible with the characters and stuff like that. But one thing that I want to point out is that Naruto does have some trauma from his time in the village. This is my first story so I think that I didn't do a good job of experiencing that in my chapters before. But the bottom line is that Naruto does not want to have anyone see him as weak and vulnerable. That is why he waited to be semi-alone before showing weakness.